Violence Profile

Are you going out with someone who:

• Abuses alcohol or other drugs and pressures you to take them?
• Has a history of failed relationships? and blames the other person for all the problems?
• Is jealous and possessive, won't let you have friends, checks up on you, won't accept breaking up?
• Is violent? Has a history of fighting, loses temper quickly, brags about mistreating others? Grabs, pushes, shoves, or hits you?
• Makes your family and friends uneasy and concerned for your safety?
• Pressures you for sex or is forceful or scary about sex? Gets too serious about the relationship too fast?
• Puts you down in front of friends, tells you that you would be nothing without him or her?
• Scares you? Makes you worry about reactions to things you say or do? Threatens you? Uses or owns weapons?
• Tries to control you by being bossy, giving orders, making all the decisions, not taking your opinions seriously?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions you could be the victim of dating abuse. Dating violence or abuse affects one in ten teen couples. Abuse isn't just hitting. It's yelling, threatening, name-calling, saying I'll kill myself if you leave me, obsessive phone calling, and extreme possessiveness.

What You Can Do

• Ask your school library to purchase books about living without violence and the cycle of domestic violence.
• Create bulletin boards in the school cafeteria or classroom to raise awareness.
• Perform a play about teen dating violence
• Start a peer education program on teen dating violence.