Love is respect – National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline

Why do we love MTV’s “A Thin Line” campaign? Because issues like digital disrespect, sexting, spying, and cyber bulling are things that affect so many teens. When our lives are filtered through our personal profiles and cell phones, it can be hard to know what is normal when it comes to internet/phone interactions. After all, often no one else sees your texts but you.

But that’s where athinline.org comes in. It has tons of teens talking about tech issues like that. Between videos, blog posts, quizzes and more, it’s a good place to get a lot of information. And if you need to talk to someone, MTV has listed our number and chat so you can discuss your thoughts with one our peer dating advocates.

So we’re very happy to see that MTV has been nominated for one of the biggest broadcasting awards around, the Golden Beacon Award. We wish them luck.

Listen to Jason Rzepka, VP of MTV’s Public Affairs discuss “A Thin Line” in an interview with JustMeans:

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For the third year, Jennifer Ann’s Group, an organization formed in the memory of Jennifer Ann Crecente by her father, has sponsored a video game design competition with a purpose – to educate about dating abuse. You can view and play the winning games, Grace’s Diary, A Decision of Paramount Importance, and Jellia’s Friends by visiting the organization’s website.

All of the games mention loveisrespect, National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline as a potential referral for those in need. We hope the Helpline will be able to help some of the people the games reach. For more information about Jennifer Ann’s Group and future contests, please check out their website at www.jenniferann.org.

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There’s something you can easily do to support the prevention of dating abuse – vote for Paul Lavallee’s project at Pepsi Refresh all this month. Paul is a long time high school educator that became involved in the movement against dating abuse/domestic violence after a student of his was murdered by his ex-girlfriend. Funding for his project would allow for, among other things, the production and distribution of a dating abuse DVD and curriculum to high schools across the country. Hundreds of thousands of students could be educated to look for the warning signs of an abusive relationship.

You can find out more about Paul’s project, watch a piece of the video, and vote by visiting http://www.refresheverything.com/forjustin. Just click on the “Vote for this Idea” button and follow the instructions on the screen. You can also vote each day by texting 101930 to Pepsi (73774).

Please repost this message or pass it on to your  friends and family. We’d really appreciate your support of this project.

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The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence recently made their training In Their Shoes: Teens and Dating Violence available for groups of adults that work with teenagers. The training is designed to allow adults to walk in the shoes of teens, facing obstacles and making decisions as a teenager would – especially where dating violence is concerned. Sexting, pregnancy, homophobia, and stalking are among the special circumstances encountered in the training.

The development of this training was funded by the parents of Dayna Fure, a Washington teen that was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2004. Hopefully, allowing adults a glimpse of the teen perspective will allow them to better assist teens attempting to end dangerous relationships in the future. For more information, visit www.wscadv.org.

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The Seattle Mariners have teamed up with the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence to compete for a Pepsi Refresh grant. Until August 17th, you can support their project, which focuses on the important job of teaching non-violence to young male athletes, by voting up to ten times per day. Please take the time to visit the site, learn more about the project and vote – we’d really appreciate it!

Also, keep an eye out for loveisrespect’s Pepsi Refresh project - coming in October. We’ll need your help too.

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Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between spending a lot of time with someone you like and being physically or emotionally controlled. Did you know that it’s a myth that your boyfriend or girlfriend needs to know where you are all the time? Way too many texts or calls are a warning sign of an unhealthy relationship. Watch videos and find out the other 3 myths here. Remember that it’s a fact that 1 in 3 high school students have been or will be involved in an abusive relationship. Know the warning signs!

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There is a really cool symposium taking place this week in preparation for the National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. The Squeaky Wheel Project Symposium on Teen Dating Violence takes place January 27th in Cypress, Texas at the Lone Star College Cy-Fair Branch Public Library. The Symposium is designed to raise awareness about the issue of teen dating violence and discuss prevention strategies that can be taught in schools. Those attending will be comprised of school district trustee presidents and directors of guidance and counseling. A panel of experts will be presenting the information including representatives from loveisrespect. Those wanting to attend to or receive more information can email registrar@squeakyspeaks.com.

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Have you guys been keeping up with MTV’s “A Thin Line” campaign? It has been so much fun being a partner in this amazing initiative and we hope you have had a chance to check out their awesome website. They have a ton of videos, banners, a quiz, and lots of great resources. We embedded some of our favorite videos from the website on our own site, which you can check out here. Also, be sure to enter their “Redraw the Line Challenge” for a chance to win $10,000! Click here for the details, and hurry because applications are due February 19!

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Ohio is on the right path to helping prevent teen dating abuse. A Bill has been passed requiring Ohio schools to try to help stop dating violence. Local school boards will be required to adopt policies to prevent and address abusive relationships and train staff on the subject. Lessons in dating violence prevention will also be added to seventh through 12th grade health classes. The new law has been called “Tina’s Law” named after an 18-year old in Ohio who was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1992.

Back in March, Break the Cycle  released a report card  grading states based on their laws related to domestic violence and teen dating violence. Ohio had received an “F” but with these new changes, they are well on their way to passing with flying colors this year. Check out more about this story here.

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This Thursday, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships national initiative to prevent teen dating abuse is launching a campaign to take “healthy relationships to the streets.”  On October 22nd, teens all across the country are putting together local events to get the conversation going on developing healthy relationships before the violence and abuse can even start.

Want to take part and make a difference? Help spread the word by sending out the following email from Start Strong to all your friends and family, and also be sure to follow the steps listed yourself :

BE PART OF A RECORD BREAKING DAY ON OCTOBER 22nd AND STOP ABUSE

On October 22nd,  we  are on a national mission to define a healthy relationship. It’s urgent, and we need YOUR input. Too many people are finding themselves in violent, abusive and damaging relationships. By looking at what a healthy relationship is — how to have them, build them and keep them — we can end abuse. 
 
Be a part of this RECORD BREAKING day. Start Strong’s goal is to get as many people as we can across the country (teens, adults, parents, grandparents, anyone and everyone!) tell us what they think about healthy relationships.
 
Below are ways that you can participate on October 22nd. A few minutes of your time can make a  lasting difference in someone’s life.  
 
1-      Help us spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends and family.
2-      Go to www.startstrongteens.org and give us your relationship feedback. We need to know what you know.
3-      IMPORTANT! Post a conversation starter to your Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/yfxr7yl) or Twitter profile. This will have a major impact.

For example:

(insert name) how do you start strong? Join the conversation http://tinyurl.com/tothestreets

(insert name) is on a mission to define a healthy relationship. Join the conversation http://tinyurl.com/tothestreets

(insert name) is wondering how do you define a healthy relationship. Tell us how to Start Strong before it ends wrong http://tinyurl.com/tothestreets

Thank you for doing your part to make sure that violence and abuse are never tolerated.
 
The Start Strong Community

Learn more about Start Strong at www.startstrongteens.org.

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