Dating Violence

Teen Dating Violence RED FLAGS

  • Shoves, slaps, chokes, hits, or uses weapons against me

  •  Constantly checks up on me or makes me check in

  •  Isolates me from my friends

  •  Texts or calls me excessively

  •  Has frequent mood swings: Is angry one minute and the next minute is sweet and apologetic

  •  Puts me down, calls me names, or criticizes me

  •  Breaks things or throws things to intimidate me

  •  Yells, screams, or humiliates me in front of others

  •  Threatens to hurt him/herself because of me

  •  Makes me feel nervous or like I'm walking on eggshells

  •  Forces me into proving my love or loyalty constantly

  •  Pressures me into having sex

If a teen answers "YES" to any of these questions, they may be in an abusive relationship.

Why Focus on Young People?

  • Girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence – almost triple the national average.

  • Among female victims of intimate partner violence, 94% of these age 16-19 and 70% of those age 20-24 were victimized by a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend.

  • Violent behavior typically begins between the ages of 12 and 18.

  • The severity of intimate partner violence is often greater in cases where the pattern of abuse was established in adolescence.

Lack of Awareness

  • Only 33% of teens who were in a violent relationship ever told anyone about the abuse.

  • Eighty-one (81) percent of parents believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue.

  • Though 82% of parents feel confident that they could recognize the signs if their child was experiencing dating abuse, a majority of parents (58%) could not correctly identify all the warning signs of abuse.

Source - Dating Abuse Statistics

Sexual Victimization

Sexual Assault Statistics

  • Nearly 1 in 4 women may experience sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.6

  • According to the U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey -- there were 248,300 assaults in 2007 (the most recent data available).7

  • 15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.8

  • 20% to 25% of women in college reported experiencing an attempted or a completed rape in college.9

  • 13.3% of college women indicated that they had been forced to have sex in a dating situation.10

Sources

6The World Health Report Fact Sheet on Sexual Violence, 2002.

7U.S. Department of Justice. 2004 National Crime Victimization Survey. 2004.

8RAINN, 2010 Sexual Assault Numbers. 2010.

9Fisher BS, Cullen FT, Turner MG. 2000. The sexual victimization of college women. Washington: Department of Justice (US), National Institute of Justice; Publication No. NCJ 182369.

10Johnson, I, Sigler R, 2000. “Forced Sexual Intercourse Among Intimates,” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15(1).

State Resources

  • Texas Council on Family Violence - serves three main functions: to provide support to service providers, to advocate on behalf of domestic violence victims to the state government and to develop and implement prevention programs focused at ending domestic violence at its root causes. For more information click here.

  • TAASA - State of Texas anti-sexual assault organization.

  • Texas Advocacy Project - provides free legal advice over the telephone to support the victim through the legal process.

National Resources