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We have all heard about the horrors of domestic violence. There are movies, songs and billboards and fundraisers to prevent domestic violence. Domestic violence is horrible and toxic, but how many of you have heard of teen dating violence? Dating violence is when someone is in a mentally and/or physically abusive relationship with a person they are not married to. Many young women and men do not recognize this type of violence because it is usually associated with a married person. Teen dating violence is spreading like wildfire it becomes more common and recognized every day. Many teens may not be physically abused but may not recognize the signs of mental abuse.
It can be difficult to recognize abuse for what it is. Relationships are full of powerful emotions and it can be tough to take a step back and evaluate the situation. You may not have a black eye, but that doesn’t mean your partner hasn’t been abusive to you. Dating abuse comes in a lot of different forms, and doesn’t always leave marks visible to the eye.
Here are some signs that you may be in an abusive relationship…
Physical abuse: any intentional use of physical force meant to cause fear or injury, like hitting, shoving, biting, strangling, kicking, or using a weapon.
Emotional abuse: non-physical behavior such as threats, insults, humiliation,
intimidation, isolation, or stalking.
Sexual abuse: any action that forces undesired sexual behavior on you by another person. This includes making you do anything you don’t want to do sexually, refusing to have safe sex, aggressively pressuring you to go further than you want to sexually, or making you feel badly about yourself sexually.
Act jealous or possessive
Try to control where you go, what you wear, or what you do
Text or IM you constantly, Harass you online
Refuse to consider your point of view or desires
Keep you from talking to or spending time with close friends or family
Drink too much or use drugs and then blame the alcohol and drugs for his/her behavior
Threaten to hurt you or themselves if you leave them
As much as 25% of young women have reported signs of an abusive relationship whether it is sexual, physical and/or emotional. Young women and men can be in these types of relationships and they are very hard to get out of. If you or a friend thinks you might be in an abusive relationship, talk to someone. Whether it be your best friend, professor, parent or a member of the medical community. We have our whole lives ahead of us and we need to start now respecting our bodies and minds. Action is empowerment.
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