International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women

It's International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women and this excellent New York Times article describes a great initiative to combat relationship violence before it starts by teaching middle school children what being in a healthy relationship means. 

"After studies emerged more than a decade ago showing that the highest rates of physical and sexual assault happen to women ages 16 to 24, programs to prevent abusive relationships have concentrated on high school and college students.... Some initiatives have shown promise, but overall statistics remain largely unchanged: the most recent government report stated that nearly one in 10 high school students said they had been physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend," reports Jan Hoffman. 

This article discusses new efforts to decrease dating violence by targeting education programs at even younger groups of youth in middle school: "The goal is to educate them about relationships before they start dating in earnest." The eligibility age for dating violence education and service programs has now dropped to 11. 

Kelly Miller, a former domestic violence prosecutor who runs Start Strong Idaho, a group involved with one of the profiled education programs, stated that the need for this type of education is real: “Most young people have a sense of what’s abusive but they don’t know what a healthy relationship means.”

A wonderful resource to share with teens on this topic is the excellent website loveisrespect.org, a collaboration of the National Dating Abuse Helpline and Break the Cycle: visit http://www.loveisrespect.org/ or connect with them on Facebook at loveisrespect, National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline

In our "Abuse/Violence" section under "Social Issues," we have a selection of selection of books, especially for teen readers, that address issues of violence. There are a number of excellent choices, perfect for sparking conversation around this important topic, including "Speak," "Hush," "I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This," and others. To browse the selection, visit http://www.amightygirl.com/books/social-issues/abuse-violence 

There is also an excellent guide, "A Smart Girl's Guide to Boys," for girls 9 to 13 that "addresses a girl's very first forays into the boy/girl world and gives her wise, warm advice." This is a great resource to provide foundational advice on approaching relationships in a healthy manner:http://www.amightygirl.com/a-smart-girl-s-guide-to-boys 

For LQBTQ youth seeking relationship guidance, we recommend "Queer" for ages 13 and up athttp://www.amightygirl.com/queer

A useful resource for older teens and adults in unhealthy relationships is “Stop Signs: Recognizing, Avoiding, and Escaping Abusive Relationships” at http://www.amightygirl.com/stop-signs

Finally, if you’re a parent concerned that your daughter may be in an unhealthy relationship, check out the books “But I Love Him: Protecting Your Teen Daughter from Controlling, Abusive Relationships” athttp://www.amightygirl.com/but-i-love-him and “Saving Beauty From The Beast: How to Protect Your Daughter from an Unhealthy Relationship” at http://www.amightygirl.com/saving-beauty-from-the-beast