Tuesday, December 6, 2011

A Pretty Blue Dress

My sister Mary came to school today to give a brown-bag lunch (and when I saw "brown-bag" I mean gourmet corn friseĆ© salad that comes free to me as part of my contract) talk about teen dating violence as part of the 16 Days Campaign against gender violence. 

My advisees and some of their pals came to the event, had some treats, and learned some staggering facts about teen dating abuse.  For instance, I didn't know that 1 in 3 adolescents experiences dating abuse.  Also, I didn't know that 1 in 10 adolescents have been purposely hit by a dating partner.  Further, I didn't know that rates of violence among same-sex couples are the same as those among heterosexual couples.  Finally, I had no idea that girls and women ages 16-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence of anyone.

So, basically I didn't know much of anything about teen dating violence.

Next our advisory going to plan a project (PSA festival?  Assembly announcement?  Podcast?) to share what we've learned with the school.  81% of parents say that they either think that dating violence is not a serious issue or don't know whether it is.  We've learned otherwise, and now we plan to share out.

4 comments:

LH said...

These are disturbing figures and I did not know the severity of this problem. Thanks for the info. I'll spread the word. Looking forward to learning more about your work with your kiddos.
Happy Pinnacle Day to you.

mm said...

I think it's wise to share the news. Good job! I'd listen to the podcast... just saying.

jdoc said...

I like this approach to advisory. Well done.

Indiana Rock on a California Roll said...

Way to go, KC and sis! Bad news all around, except the fact that you're on the case.