Students are urged to look for signs of dating violence
By Sarah Sly, Reporter
West Hancock high schoolers may think twice next time before sending a text message, as students recently learned about the warning signs and affects of teenage dating violence.
Barb Benson and Jo Powell of Forest City Crisis Intervention spoke to students Wednesday, Oct. 28, of the increasing trend of violent acts within young relationships today.
“Most women I encounter in the shelter say the violence within their relationship is like quicksand,” Powell said. “The relationship was wonderful in the beginning, but then as soon as the violence emerged, they felt as if they were being sucked in by their partner.”
Also up for discussion, was the growing phenomenon of “electronic aggression,” yet another form of violence to emerge within today's society.
Electronic aggression is easily elicited through that of today's numerous, technological mediums, ranging from incessant text messaging to Facebook messages within a small time frame.
“Most are not aware that about 10 to 30 texts an hour, from a significant other, can be considered a form of electronic violence,” Powell said. “The texts will typically start out as a ‘Hey where are you' sort of vibe to ‘Call me before you go to bed' message. It's all about the power.”
It's reported nearly 70 percent of partners, male and female, have been checked up on by their significant other, a startling statistic brought about by this medium. Both cell phones and the Internet have made the entities of dating and relationships more evasive and intrusive.
Aside from physical and electronic violence, Powell explained how quickly most individuals forget that name-calling is yet another form of violence many overlook, simply because it has become a prevalent issue within much of society today.
“Name-calling isn't something that solely takes place on the playground, but is rather common within relationships as well,” Powell explained. “Unfortunately it starts out at a young age, whether we get it at home or from our school bully, and it just continues from there - it's like a fire that can't be put out.
And to show how easily dating violence can be overlooked, Benson and Powell shared a video with the audience demonstrating how submissive such attributes can be within a relationship.
“I think the video is what really commanded the audience's attention,” said West Hancock High School Guidance Counselor Mary Clark. “It was important for students to see a visual of what our speakers came to talk about, and helped get their point across to our young audience. They were extremely attentive.”
In addition to the teenage dating violence forum, West Hancock also invited Katie Thompson of 31 Voices, an assemblage of 31 female, domestic abuse survivors as part of Red Ribbon Week.
“We were very fortunate our students were able to view this program as well, as it is only offered to college campuses,” Clark said. “Our school was the only high school to see it, so we are grateful for the opportunity it presented to our students.”
Red Ribbon Week is a weeklong observance used to educate children and families alike about the dangers of drug abuse, typically held during the month of October.
“If you take away anything from this presentation today, it's this- abuse is not inherit, we are not born this way,” said Powell. “Unfortunately many are introduced to it at too young of an age, but we can change that.
“we can ‘unlearn' this behavior and the first step is education, because deep down, we are all good-natured individuals and everyone has it within them to change.”
Story created Nov 03, 2009 - 17:08:30 CST.
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