Mr. Seemy’s class was discussing dating abuse and assault. Many students were surprised about how common dating violence was.

“I knew some teens experience dating violence,” Marcus says, “but to see studies that show more than half of teens who date experience some sort of dating violence is crazy. We’re young and many of us have just started dating, and we’re already experiencing physical and emotional abuse? Shouldn’t we do something to stop this?”

Piper responds, saying, “Nothing can be done if people don’t report it. I think the reason we’re surprised is because people don’t talk about it. They either have distorted ideas about what abuse is or maybe they are afraid of triggering more abuse if they tell someone.”

“Well, I think that’s why it’s important to talk about how we can help. We can’t assume the people who are experiencing dating abuse and physical assault will look for help. Instead, we have to learn the warning signs so that we can do something about it.” Pedro says.

“These are all great arguments. But it’s important to remember that every situation is different, and we aren’t experts in dating violence intervention,” said Mr. Seemy. “We can use our best judgment, or we may seek out advice from an adult or dating violence hotline. Let’s take a closer look at the Justice Policy Center study about teens seeking help with dating violence. Perhaps it can help us think about how we can support teens and prevent dating abuse.”

Turn and Talk:

Discuss how you would explain these data to a friend who wasn’t familiar with the topic. How does the information in the list on the right relate to the pie chart? What might be confusing?

How does the number of teens who sought help compare to the number of teens who said they experienced dating violence?

Discussion Question:

What are some possible reasons that so few teens seek help? Could it be unclear what is considered abusive behavior? Maybe they are afraid to talk about it? Maybe they do not know where to seek help? What do you think?