Dating Violence: Facts, Effects and Resources
Article components are quoted from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence at www.ncadv.org.
Dating violence occurs when one partner attempts to maintain power and control over the other through one or more forms of abuse, including sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional abuse. Dating violence affects both females and males, and does not discriminate by racial, social, or economic background. Given the prevalence of domestic violence within dating relationships, communities must work together to prevent these violent relationships and ensure that victims of dating violence have adequate access to legal protection.
DID YOU KNOW?
1. Women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest per capita rates of intimate violence - 20 per 1,000 women. (US Dept of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2001. Special Report Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim, 1993-1999. Washington, DC.)
2. 53% of domestic violence victims are abused by a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend. (Liz Claiborne Inc. Study on Teen Dating Violence, www.loveisnotabuse.com.)
3. 13% of teenage girls who are in a relationship report being physically hurt or hit. (Dating Violence Facts. 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2007 from http://www.ricadv.org/dating_facts.html.)
4. 71% of rape and sexual assault victims knew their offenders. (Dating Violence Facts. 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2007 from http://www.ricadv.org/dating_facts.html.)
5. Studies indicate that as a dating relationship becomes more serious, the potential for and nature of violent behavior also escalates. (Teen Dating Violence Resource Manual, Denver Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1997. pg 17.)
6. 21% of college students report they have experienced dating violence by a current partner. 32% report dating violence by a previous partner. (C. Sellers and M. Bromley, Violent Behavior in College Student Dating Relationships, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 1996.)
7. Over 13% of college women report they have been stalked. Of these, 42% were stalked by a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. ((B. Fisher and F. Cullen, Extent and Nature of Sexual victimization of College Women, Washington National Institute of Justice. Retrieved from Campus Dating Violence Fact Sheet, www.ncvc.org.))
EFFECT OF DATING VIOLENCE ON HEALTH
1. Those who experience dating violence are more likely to participate in binge drinking, fighting, and/or smoking and are at an increased risk of suffering from mental illness. (Seave, P., and Lockyer, B. 2004. Teen Dating Violence. Office of the Attorney General and the Crime and Violence Prevention Center, WestEd.)
2. A Harvard School of Public Health study indicated that female teenagers who are victims of dating violence are significantly more likely to become victims of sexual assault. (Harvard School of Public Health. 2001. Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls Linked with Teen Pregnancy, Suicide, and other Health Risk Behaviors.)
3. It was found that females involved in violent relationships typically suffered from post-traumatic stress and dissociation, while males suffered from anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. (Harvard School of Public Health. 2001. Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls Linked with Teen Pregnancy, Suicide, and other Health Risk Behaviors.)
4. Research strongly suggests that social support helps mitigate the negative mental health consequences of dating violence. (Dating Violence Facts. 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2007 from http://www.ricadv.org/dating_facts.html.)
FOR MORE INFORMATION
1. National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline at 1-866-331-9474 or visit www.loveisrespect.org.
2. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
3. Dating Violence Resource Center at www.ncvc.org.
4. Ozarka Ash Flat Campus Contact, Terry Bennett, 870-994-7273 EXT 4027, tbennett@ozarka.edu; Ozarka Melbourne Campus Contact, Joan Stirling, 870-368-2007, jstirling@ozarka.edu; or Mountain View Campus Contact, Gin Brown, 870-269-5601, gbrown@ozarka.edu.