FEBRUARY 27, 2020

February is the month of love, Black History, Heart Health, and also Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, an issue unfortunately 1 in 3 young people face. That is 1 in too many.

This is an issue that impacts everyone – not just teens – but their parents, teachers, friends, and communities as well. Together, we can raise awareness about teen dating violence and promote safe, healthy relationships in North Texas, statewide and across the nation. In his 2013 Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month Proclamation President Obama called on all Americans “to stand against dating violence when we see it.”

At a time when an estimated 1 in 10 teens will experience dating violence we all must take this opportunity to amplify our efforts and shine a spotlight on this important issue.

Teen dating violence and abuse is a big problem. It’s important for loved ones to catch the signs early. YOU can do something about it by having candid and honest conversations between healthy and unhealthy dating behaviors. In healthy relationships, the foundation should be mutual respect, honesty, individuality, and good communication.

Healthy relationships should make individuals feel secure and good about themselves – unhealthy relationships do not.

Here are a few signs of control in unhealthy relationships,  includes:

We challenge everyone in Dallas and beyond to get talking about to start real and honest conversations around the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships.

If you are asking yourself what you can do, do not give up on your loved one experiencing an unhealthy relationship. It can be really difficult for someone to leave an abusive partner. Being supportive, listening and allowing your loved one a space a talk are all helpful. Other things you can do are:

If your loved one is open to leaving the abusive relationship, help them identify resources, including online and local. Let’s break the cycle, by joining together, let’s stop teen dating violence before it even starts.