New playhouse for the kids
We recently got a new playhouse for the children who stay in shelter with us. We want to thank Brittni and Carri, who built it for us as their good works project for their Personal Progress Awards. Check out their blog! They put a lot of work into it and it looks great in our back yard. The children who stay here will really love it when the weather’s a little warmer. Thank you again Brittni and Carri!
links love
Sharing articles & posts we liked this week:
Speaking out to support reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, from Jewish Women International
How to help a friend after a sexual assault, from SAFER Campus/Students Active for Ending Rape
No fine line in rape, The Oklahoma Daily
Teen dating abuse live chats on Twitter #whatlovemeans
Stalking Awareness Month – help stop the crime of stalking in your community
Teen dating violence
This month we’re busy talking with teens in local area high schools about preventing dating violence. (Follow us on Facebook!)
It’s crucial to talk with teens, parents and other adults about this issue because one in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of abuse from a dating partner, making this type of violence the most common among youth, even more so than gang violence, which often gets more press.
Girls and young women between the ages of 16-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence, triple the national average. It’s not just a female issue though, boys and young men are the ones doing the abuse in most of these cases. Abusive adult relationships often start in these teen years and the violence usually just gets worse over time, so the earlier it’s recognized and stopped, the better.
10 common signs of abuse in a dating relationship:
- Checking your cell phone or email without permission
- Constantly putting you down
- Extreme jealousy or insecurity
- Explosive temper
- Isolating you from family or friends
- Making false accusations
- Mood swings
- Physically hurting you in any way
- Possessiveness
- Telling you what to do
Love is Respect.org has tons of resources and info about healthy vs. abusive dating relationships including tips for preventing Digital Abuse (social networking, sexting/texting abuse, etc.), and a Power/Control Wheel with video examples of red flag situations.
If you think you or someone you know might be in an abusive dating relationship, you can get free, anonymous help through our local hotline: 435-865-7443, or the national teen dating hotline: 1-866-331-9474.
Also: 2012 Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is coming up in February.
