Teen Dating Violence

Prevalence

In recent years, more and more researchers, health practitioners, and youth service providers have become aware of the problem of teen dating and sexual violence. Teen dating violence is shockingly common. In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that nationally one in 11 adolescents has experienced physical abuse. CDC also cited a 2001 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association stating that one in five high school girls have been sexually abused by a dating partner. Many youth also experience emotional abuse, harassment, and stalking in dating relationships.

Teen dating violence is a pattern of behavior where one person uses threats of or actual physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse to control his or her partner. This form of violence can include verbal abuse, written materials, use of weapons, the destruction of property, stalking, and other forms of intimidation.