1 in 5 teens who have been in a relationship reports being hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner.
1 in 3 teens report knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked, or physically hurt by a partner.
Only 33% of teens who have been in or have known about an abusive relationship have told anybody about it.
Nearly 1 in 5 teen girls who had been in a relationship says a boyfriend had threatened violence or self-harm when presented with a break-up.
More than 1 in 4 teenage girls report enduring repeated verbal abuse.
13% of teen girls in a relationship report being physically abused.
73% of teens say they would turn to a friend if they were trapped in an abusive relationship.
80% of teens regard “verbal abuse” as a serious issue for their age group.
How to help a friend:
Do listen to what she has to say.
Do tell her that you are there for her whenever she wants to talk. Let her know you care about her, and that you are worried about her.
Do talk to her in private, and keep what she says confidential.
Do let her know why you are concerned. Be specific. Refer to certain incidents you have witnessed, not to the relationship in general. Let her know what you saw and how it made you feel. Tell her how you see his behavior having an impact on her – “He put you down and he manipulated you and you made excuses for what he did. The way he treated you made me worried about your safety.”
Do offer to get information for your friend.
Don’t be judgmental.
Don’t make her feel ashamed. She probably feels badly enough already.
Don’t give ultimatums like “It’s him or me!” and “Leave him or I’m telling!” Experts say she will end up apologizing for his behavior or lying to cover up for him, and she will end up going back to him.
For more information, check out Love is Not Abuse
Over the past 17 years, Liz Claiborne Inc. has been leading efforts to end domestic violence as one of the first major corporations in the U.S. to take a stand on this issue. As pervasive as the issue is, abuse remains one of the most undeserved and underfunded causes in this country. To date Liz Claiborne Inc. has invested over $8 million in the effort, including the funding of a new National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. Today, Liz Claiborne Inc.’s Love Is Not Abuse initiatives strive to address partner abuse at its root cause and therefore the company has begun a sustained effort to focus on teen dating abuse and violence. With a teen dating abuse prevention curriculum, hand books and innovative research to help teens, teachers, parents, and domestic violence organizations, Liz Claiborne Inc. provides free resources to all members of society—alerting all demographics to the domestic violence epidemic and educating them on what they can do, individually and collectively to curtail abuse.
Resources:
The National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline and loveisrespect.org are national resources for teens that include a 24-hour telephone helpline (1-866-331-9474 or TTY 1-866-331-8453). The Helpline is designed to help teens prevent and protect themselves from abusive relationships by providing expert advice, peer counseling, information and other support services. The Helpline is operated by the National Domestic Violence Hotline and was established through a gift from Liz Claiborne Inc.
Teen Dating Violence Prevention Curriculum:
Liz Claiborne Inc. partnered with the Education Development Center (EDC) and Break the Cycle to create a teen dating violence prevention curriculum. The curriculum was launched in April 2006 and has been distributed to approximately 3,500 schools and organizations across all 50 states. It includes a teacher’s manual with three lesson plans, activities, handouts, wallet cards and a new supplementary video, “Real Teens, Real Stories.” Liz Claiborne Inc. is also working with a group of teen survivors and advocates to educate the public about teen dating abuse as well as to promote the curriculum and other resources to help teens, parents and teachers deal with this issue. The Love Is Not Abuse curriculum is provided free-of-charge and can be ordered from their website at loveisnotabuse.com.
It’s Time to Talk Day:
“It’s Time to Talk Day” is dedicated to encouraging people to take one day and talk about the issue of domestic violence. Each year around the country, media personalities, government officials, domestic violence advocates, businesses and the public-at-large come together on this day to speak openly about domestic violence. Since 2004, Liz Claiborne Inc. has organized “It’s Time to Talk Day” each fall to draw national attention to the importance of talking about intimate partner abuse. They designed the first ever Talk Radio Row focusing on domestic violence that features multiple talk radio hosts doing back-to-back interviews with guests on various domestic violence issues throughout the entire day. Partners have included Marie Claire, Redbook, VerizonWireless, Talkers Magazine and Talk Radio News. Information on “It’s Time to Talk Days” past and present can be found at www.loveisnotabuse.com/itstimetotalk.
HopeLine by Verizon
Verizon is committed to helping the nearly one in four women, one in seven men and more than 3 million children in the United States affected by domestic violence. We’re doing our part to end this epidemic by collecting no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories and turning them into support for domestic violence organizations nationwide. Through HopeLine, we’ve donated hundreds of thousands of phones and awarded millions of dollars in cash grants to our partner agencies.
More about HopeLine
Educational Handbooks:
Liz Claiborne Inc. has produced a series of five award-winning educational handbooks, each with valuable information and resources on domestic violence. The content-rich handbooks were authored by experts on the issue of domestic violence and provide direction on opening dialogues about this issue and developing and maintaining healthy relationships. Close to 800,000 handbooks have been distributed since the first one was published in 1998. They can be ordered by calling 1-800-449-STOP (7867) or downloaded from the company’s Web site at loveisnotabuse.com. The series includes:
• A Parent’s Handbook: How to Talk to Your Children About Developing Healthy Relationships (1998)
• A Woman’s Handbook: A Practical Guide to Discussing Relationship Abuse (1999)
• What You Need to Know About Dating Violence: A Teen’s Handbook (2000)
• A Parent’s Guide to Teen Dating Violence: 10 Questions to Start the Conversation (2001)
• Tough Talk: What Boys Need to Know About Relationship Abuse (2004)
Network of Partners
Liz Claiborne Inc. partners with leading organizations to strengthen awareness of domestic violence. These partnerships have included:
American School Counselor Association (ASCA): ASCA supports school counselors’ efforts to help students focus on academic, personal/social, and career development, so they can achieve success in school and are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society. ASCA has been working in collaboration with Liz Claiborne Inc. to inform their members about the Love Is Not Abuse curriculum and Loveisrespect.org, The National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. ASCA also encourages their school counselors to teach the curriculum during National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week, which coincides with National School Counselors Week each February. www.schoolcounselors.org
Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV): As a member of CAEPV, Liz Claiborne Inc. helped create and publicize a new Web site, www.girlsallowed.org, designed to help girls ages 11-14 identify and avoid unhealthy relationships that could lead to violence (2002).
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA): The Ultimate Leadership Experience. FCCLA is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences Education. FCCLA partnered with Liz Claiborne Inc. in April 2006 for the launch of the Love Is Not Abuse curriculum to distribute the resource and address teen dating violence in over 1,000 schools in 48 states. fcclainc.org
Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF): The FVPF, a San Francisco-based, national non-profit organization focusing on domestic violence prevention, education, and public policy reform, have been a national philanthropic partner of Liz Claiborne Inc. since 1991. Their expertise and counsel has been invaluable to the company’s campaign, and sales of Liz Claiborne Inc.’s fundraising items have raised more than $100,000 for the FVPF. As part of their ongoing collaboration, Liz Claiborne Inc. joined the FVPF in 2004 to introduce the Founding Fathers Workplace Campaign, which aims to challenge and recruit corporate America to lead by example and demonstrate to employees, customers and business partners that they care about ending violence against women and children.
National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH): The NDVH has been an ardent supporter of the Love Is Not Abuse program. Their expertise on the issue of domestic violence and their respect within the domestic violence movement has been invaluable to the campaign on a local and national level. The new National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline is being operated by NDVH, which is also an ongoing recipient of funds raised through the sale of fundraising items. Additionally, the National Domestic Violence Hotline number is featured on the hangtags of all Liz Claiborne brand apparel and accessories sold in the United States.
Safe Horizon: The nation’s leading non-profit victim assistance, advocacy, and violence prevention organization, Safe Horizon has been a vital partner for Liz Claiborne Inc.’s Love Is Not Abuse campaign and a dedicated supporter of the 2004 initiative to recruit corporate America to join the Founding Father’s Workplace Campaign. The company also partners with this organization to present the Liz Claiborne Champion Award at the annual Safe Horizon Champion Awards Luncheon, honoring either victims of abuse who have taken steps to regain their lives and/or those who have helped victims of abuse.
