Are you ready to start talking about healthy relationships?

Posted

By Cheryl Bowdridge

Special to The PREVIEW

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Are you aware:

• One in three teens in the U.S. is the victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse by a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds other types of youth violence.

• Girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence (almost triple the national average).

• Violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications by putting victims at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behaviors and further domestic violence.

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