By John Finefrock and
Cheryl Bowdridge
Rise Above Violence Rise Above Violence
February’s Teen Dating Violence Awareness month is coming to an end, but the work to prevent relationship violence continues all year long.
Some statistics around teen dating violence include:
• Nearly 1.5 million high school students in the U.S. experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.
• Only 33 percent of teens who were in an abusive relationship ever told anyone about the abuse.
• 81 percent of parents believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it’s an issue.
• One in three young people will be in abusive or unhealthy relationship.
• 43 percent of reported cases of dating violence occurred in a school building or on school grounds.
These statistics were obtained from http://www.dvs-or.org/teen-dating-violence-statistics-2019.
To raise awareness about Teen Dating Violence, the YouthRise Teen Board of Directors have planted garden flags with “relationship red flags” around the bell tower, Town Park and the Riverwalk. Read the accompanying signs with Rise Above Violence’s 24-hour hotline on it when you’re cruising around downtown.
The teen board is open to all seventh - through 12th-grade students in Pagosa Springs and meets on Fridays.
For more information about YouthRise programs, which include free lessons around healthy relationships, bullying prevention and Internet safety plus the weekly Teen Board of Directors’ meeting, contact Cheryl Bowdridge at cheryl@riseaboveviolence.org or 946-2576, or John Finefrock at john@riseaboveviolence.org or 403-5461.
Rise Above Violence is a nonprofit organization which promotes the belief that all people have the right to live free from violence. Rise provides 24-hour support and advocacy services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of violence. All programs and services are free and confidential. Visit riseaboveviolence.org for more information or call the 24-hour hotline at 264-9075 to talk to an advocate today.
