Dating violence facts

Teenagers often experience violence in dating relationships. Statistics show that one in three teenagers has experienced violence in a dating relationship. In dating violence, one partner tries to maintain power and control over the other through abuse. Dating violence crosses all racial, economic and social lines. Most victims are young women, who are also at greater risk for serious injury. Young women need a dating safety plan .

Teen dating violence often is hidden because teenagers typically:

are inexperienced with dating relationships.

are pressured by peers to act violently.

want independence from parents.

have "romantic" views of love.

Teen dating violence is influenced by how teenagers look at themselves and others.

Young men may believe:

they have the right to "control" their female partners in any way necessary.

"masculinity" is physical aggressiveness

they "possess" their partner.

they should demand intimacy.

they may lose respect if they are attentive and supportive toward their girlfriends.

Young women may believe:

they are responsible for solving problems in their relationships

their boyfriend's jealousy, possessiveness and even physical abuse, is "romantic."

abuse is "normal" because their friends are also being abused.

there is no one to ask for help.

Teenagers can choose better relationships when they learn to identify the early warning signs of an abusive relationship, understand that they have choices, and believe they are valuable people who deserve to be treated with respect.

Early warning signs that your date may eventually become abusive:

Dating abuse

This article is about general article about dating violence. For the article specific to teens, see Teen dating violence .

Dating abuse or dating violence is defined as the perpetration or threat of an act of violence by at least one member of an unmarried couple on the other member within the context of dating or courtship. It is also when one partner tries to maintain power and control over the other through abuse/violence. This abuse/violence can take a number of forms: sexual assault. sexual harassment. threats, physical violence, verbal. mental, or emotional abuse. social sabotage, and stalking. It can include psychological abuse. emotional blackmail. sexual abuse. physical abuse and psychological manipulation. [ 1 ]

Dating violence crosses all racial, age, economic and social lines. The Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness describes dating abuse as a "pattern of abusive and coercive behaviors used to maintain power and control over a former or current intimate partner." [ 2 ] The Family & Community Development support group at eCitizen in Singapore has described what it calls tell-tale signs of an abusive relationship.

Contents

Profiles of abuser and victim [ edit ]

Individuals of all walks of life can find themselves in an abusive relationship. Abuse can occur regardless of the couple's age, race, income, or other demographic traits. There are, however, many traits that abusers and victims share in common.

The Centre for Promoting Alternatives to Violence describes abusers as being obsessively jealous and possessive, overly confident, having mood swings or a history of violence or temper, seeking to isolate their partner from family, friends and colleagues, and having a tendency to blame external stressors. [ 3 ]

Meanwhile, victims of relationship abuse share many traits as well, including: physical signs of injury, missing time at work or school, slipping performance at work or school, changes in mood or personality, increased use of drugs or alcohol, and increasing isolation from friends and family. [ 4 ] Victims may blame themselves for any abuse that occurs or may minimize the severity of the crime. This often leads to victims choosing to stay in abusive relationships.

Strauss (2005) [ 5 ] argues that while men inflict the greater share of injuries in domestic violence, researchers and society at large must not overlook the substantial minority of injuries inflicted by women. Additionally, Strauss notes that even relatively minor acts of physical aggression by women are a serious concern:

'Minor' assaults perpetrated by women are also a major problem, even when they do not result in injury, because they put women in danger of much more severe retaliation by men. [. ] It will be argued that in order to end 'wife beating,' it is essential for women also to end what many regard as a 'harmless' pattern of slapping, kicking, or throwing something at a male partner who persists in some outrageous behavior and 'won't listen to reason.'

Similarly, Deborah Capaldi [ 6 ] reports that a 13-year longitudinal study found that a woman's aggression towards a man was equally important as the man's tendency towards violence in predicting the likelihood of overall violence: "Since much IPV [Intimate Partner Violence] is mutual and women as well as men initiate IPV, prevention and treatment approaches should attempt to reduce women's violence as well as men's violence. Such an approach has a much higher chance of increasing women's safety." However, Capaldi's research only focused on at-risk youth, not women in general, and, therefore, may not apply to the entire population.

Characteristics [ edit ]

Emotional abuse [ edit ]

He/She is afraid of his/her date

He/She is afraid of making the date angry and are unable to even disagree with the date.

His/Her date has publicly embarrassed and humiliated him/her.

Psychological abuse [ edit ]

The date threatens to use violence against him/her or against himself/herself.(e. g. "If you leave me, I will kill myself".)

Fact Sheets by Topic

Judicial Education

Policy & Advocacy

Workplace Safety & Inequality

1. Catalano, Shannan. 2007. Intimate Partner Violence in the United States. U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available at http://bjs. ojp. usdoj. gov/content/pub/pdf/ipvus. pdf .?

2. Adverse Health Conditions and Health Risk Behaviors Associated with Intimate Partner Violence, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. February 2008. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at http://www. cdc. gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5705.pdf .?

3. National Crime Victimization Survey: Criminal Victimization, 2007. 2008. U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available at http://bjs. ojp. usdoj. gov/content/pub/pdf/cv08.pdf .?

4. Family Violence Statistics: Including Statistics on Strangers and Acquaintances. 2005. U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available at http://bjs. ojp. usdoj. gov/content/pub/pdf/fvs02.pdf .?

5. Catalano, Shannan. 2007. Intimate Partner Violence in the United States. U. S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available at http://bjs. ojp. usdoj. gov/content/pub/pdf/ipvus. pdf .?

6. Whitfield, CL, Anda RF, Dube SR, Felittle VJ. 2003. Violent Childhood Experiences and the Risk of Intimate Partner Violence in Adults: Assessment in a Large Health Maintenance Organization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 18(2): 166-185. ?

7. The National Network to End Domestic Violence. 2009. Domestic Violence Counts 2008: A 24-hour Census of Domestic Violence Shelters and Services. Available at http://www. nnedv. org/resources/census/67-census-domestic-violence-counts/232-census2008.html .?

8. Davis, Antoinette, MPH. 2008. Interpersonal and Physical Dating Violence among Teens. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency Focus. Available at http://www. ocjs. ohio. gov/TDVMonth/Interpersonal_Teens. pdf .?

9. Adverse Health Conditions and Health Risk Behaviors Associated with Intimate Partner Violence, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. February 2008. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at http://www. cdc. gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5705.pdf ?

10. Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 2003. Available at http://www. cdc. gov/ncipc/pub-res/ipv_cost/IPVBook-Final-Feb18.pdf .?

11. Max, W, Rice, DP, Finkelstein, E, Bardwell, R, Leadbetter, S. 2004. The Economic Toll of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. Violence and Victims, 19(3) 259-272.?

12. United Nations Development Fund for Women. 2003. Not A Minute More: Ending Violence Against Women. Available at http://www. unifem. org/resources/item_detail. php? ProductID=7 .?