Teen Dating Violence – What You
Should Know!
Lately there
has been a lot of buzz in the media about teen dating violence. I’ve read
article after article where teen dating abuse is escalating all around the
globe, but not much is being done about it. Schools are aware of the growing
problem, but most have no plan of escape for teens. A recent study at Ball
State University, in Indiana, reported that 81.3% of school counselors surveyed
said they had no protocol for dating violence. Read
More
Yet, statistics
from Love is Not Abuse
Coalition tells us that 1 in 3 teenagers have experienced violence in a
dating relationship. SCARY!
Most adolescents and teens in first-time
relationships don’t always know the warning signs.
They may think that if their partner becomes jealous or controlling “it’s
romantic.” They might even think, if
they stay in therelationship, their partner will change, or, they can change
them.
I know I
did. I fell in love at 13. My boyfriend seemed really sweet at first. However,
within a few months, his true colors started showing through. He was not only
jealous and controlling, but he beat me. I ended up marrying him, thinking he’d
change. The abuse only intensified and he almost killed me. Luckily, I escaped
with my life. I was able to get out before it was too late.
Other teens,
like 17-year-old Cindi
Santana & high school Cheerleader, Charney Watts,
weren’t so fortunate. Their relationships cost them their very lives! Even though they broke up with their boyfriends, their x-boyfriends stalked and killed them!
That’s why I speak on
dating violence in Michigan as well as across the United States. My book, “Run For Your Life”
is based on my true story and will help teens get out of dating violent situations safely and steer clear of
abusive relationships altogether. It will also help them with other issues they face
growing up (peer pressure, bullying, drugs and alcohol abuse, etc.). Run For Your Life
will literally get them running in the right direction. I ran to all the wrong
things in life, my book clearly points that out, showing how I made poor choices
and suffered dearly for them, almost costing me my life. Read Reviews
Today, teens
all over the USA are suffering for making bad choices, whether it’s dating
violence, dropping out of school, doing drugs, etc. Our Abuse Bites
Program is designed to help empower teens to do the right thing, make
better choices, stay safe, rise above abuse and bullying, and have a productive
future. I
speak on every form of abuse, bullying and violence, in schools,
work places,
churches, and communities. Our ultimate goal is to motivate and impact every audience we speak to, so we can change hearts and save
lives.
Thanks to
our local sponsor, Big John Steak & Onion, we are having a CONTEST and giving 6
FREE WORKSHOPS away to residents in Michigan. But hurry, deadline is
coming up in September.
Written by: Lisa
Freeman, Dating Violence Survivor, CEO Abuse Bites, Owosso Michigan; Healing
Projects Specialist Bully Police USA, Abuse Advocate
& Partner with SISFI Bully Taskforce in New York & Dreamcatchers for Abused
Children.
Here are a few other links/resources
on dating violence I found while researching.
*Teenage
dating: Start Strong Program advises teens on how to break up safely Read
more.
*Dating Violence statistics, help, and warning
signs: http://www.acadv.org/dating.html
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