Information on Teen Dating Violence

What's Teen Dating Violence?

Teen dating violence is a pattern of abusive behaviors used to exert power and control over a dating partner.

Dating abuse (or Relationship Abuse): A pattern of controlling behavior that someone uses against a girlfriend or a boyfriend. The core of dating abuse is Power and Control.

 What Does Dating Violence Look Like?

Teens and young adults experience the same types of abuse in relationships as adults do. This can include:

•                  Physical abuse: any intentional use of physical force with the intent to cause fear or injury, like hitting shoving, biting, strangling, kicking or using a weapon

•                 Emotional abuse: non-physical behaviors such as threats, insults, constant monitoring, humiliation,         

                intimidation, isolation or stalking

•                 Sexual abuse: any action that impacts a person’s ability to control their sexual activity or the  

                circumstances in which sexual activity occurs, including rape, coercion or restricting access to birth

                 control.

Ten Warning Signs of Abuse

While there are many warning signs of abuse, here are ten of the most common abusive behaviors:

•              Checking your cell phone or email without permission

•              Constantly putting you down

•              Acting extremely jealous or insecure

•              Having an explosive temper

•              Demanding to know where you are and who you are with all the time

•              Isolating you from family or friends

•              Undergoing large mood swings

•              Physically hurting you in any way

•              Being possessive

•              Telling you what to do

Sexting: What is it?

Sending or forwarding nude, sexually suggestive, or explicit pics on your cell or online. For some people, it's no big deal. But real problems can emerge when the parties involved are under 18, when people get pressured into sexting, and when sexts go viral.