February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. It’s a national effort carried on by youth activists, community leaders, and national and local organizations to raise awareness about abuse in teen relationships and promote programs that prevent it.
What is LOVE, Youth Wellness Connection high school clubs, and Domestic Violence Solutions are launching the Love Yourself Campaign in local high schools to bring awareness to healthy dating and friendships.
Dating violence is more common than many people think. One in three teens in the United States will experience physical, sexual or emotional abuse by someone they are in a relationship with before they become adults. These first love experiences set a young person up for the rest of their lives, and it is how they learn to define intimate relationships.
Helping teens build healthy relationship skills that focus on boundaries, respect, kindness, consent and respectful communication are key factors in preventing teen dating violence. And creating strong support networks give teens places to share experiences in a trusted space while fostering resiliency.
Help us spread awareness and stop dating abuse before it starts!
The Youth Wellness Council is a high school leadership program of the Mental Wellness Center that educates, empowers and engages students. Students meet weekly at each high school to raise awareness and reduce stigma around issues such as unhealthy relationships that can impact mental health. The Love Yourself Campaign activities include:
» High school wide poster distribution (Carpinteria through Goleta) — Feb. 1
» National school announcement — Feb. 11
» Love Yourself high school outreach with lunch tabling and activities — Feb. 14
» Real stories on Instagram — Feb. 15
Christy Stillwell, founder and executive director of What is LOVE, explains, “Dating abuse prevention is a difficult topic to approach; that’s where What is LOVE can help. We have a variety of researched programs and materials that can be implemented in all school and community settings.”
— Julia Black the marketing and communications officer for Domestic Violence Solutions.