With February being National Teen Dating Violence Prevention andAwareness Month, Yonnie Beam, community educator for the CoalitionAgainst Domestic Violence, which serves Marshall, DeKalb andCherokee counties, is trying to get the word out to teenagers aboutunhealthy relationships and how to look out for them.
According to statistics from the Alabama Coalition AgainstDomestic Violence:
women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest per capita rates onintimate violence:
one in three high school students has been or will be involved inan abusive relationship:
50 percent of youth reporting both dating violence and rape alsoreported attempting suicide;
40 percent of teenage girls aged 14 to 17 say they know someonetheir age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend; and
one in five dating couples report some type of violence in theirrelationships.
Beam, who speaks to teens across the community about datingviolence, says this isn’t something that should be ignored by teensor their parents.
“This is a real problem in today’s society,” she said. “We have alot of kids who are growing up in homes with domestic violence, andthat’s all they know.
“I want kids to know that they can break the cycle of abuse. Ifthey can realize that and be aware of what an unhealthyrelationship is, it will help prevent them from becoming an abuserand from being abused.”
Beam says recognizing abuse in a relationship can be difficult,especially for teens.
“I have lots of
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