Dating Violence Intervention

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. - Hope's Door

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.

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 sexual 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).

Dating Violence Contacts & Resources

The Turning Point

972.985.0951 office

800.886.7273 hotline

www.theturningpoint.org

Hope's Door

820 Avenue F, Suite 100

Plano, TX 75074

972.422.2911

972.276.0057 hotline

https://hdnbc.org/

Denton County Friends of the Family

1400 Crescent, Suite 5

Denton, TX 76201

940.387.5131

940.382.7273 crisis line

800.572.4031

www.dcfof.org

Victim Advocate - Frisco Police Department

7200 Stonebrook Parkway

Frisco, TX 75034

972.292.6141

Frisco ISD Resources

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