February 2 - 6 is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week

We care about our teens, don't we? And sometimes they are not only our children, they are our employees as well.

The crime of teen dating violence, including physical, emotional and sexual assault, and harassment via texting, email or Instant Messaging is a reality for many American teenagers.

Did you know:

- One in eleven adolescents reports being a victim of physical dating violence.
- 30 percent of teens in a dating relationship have been text-messaged 10, 20, or 30 times an hour by a partner finding out where they are, what they are doing or who they are with.
- One in five teens in a serious relationship reports having been hit, slapped or pushed by a partner.
- 29 percent of girls in a relationship report having been pressured to go further sexually than they really wanted.

The Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Initiative was started by teens through the American Bar Association in 2004. In 2006, the first national "week" was declared by Congress, and has been recognized every year since then. Since its inception, a number of governors have declared proclamations, and today, the Initiative includes over 50 national, state and local agencies and organizations as partners. More information can be found at: http://crapo.senate.gov/issues/teen_dating_violence.cfm.

One thing you can do in honor of “National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week” is sign the MADE petition at http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/made/.)

And here is a small list of online resources:

http://www.loveisnotabuse.com – Learn what you can do about teen dating abuse from this site from CAEPV Member Liz Claiborne Inc.

http://www.loveisrespect.org – This is the site for the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline

http://www.thatsnotcool.com/ -- New teen site from CAEPV Member the Family Violence Prevention Fund

http://www.caepv.org/getinfo/links.php?linksec=19 – A listing of Teen Resources on the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence website