Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week

You know the world is in a sorry state when the U.S. Congress sets aside an entire week for "National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention." According to an article on CNN.com, "The Justice Department says girls between the ages of 16 and 24 are more likely than any other age-group to become victims of relationship abuse -- almost triple the national average."

I guess I'm a little naive. I had no idea that young women were this susceptible to abusive relationships--I always assumed that abuse was something that crept into adult relationships along with alcoholism, financial pressures, and the general stress of raising a family. A group of teenage girls have formed a group, TEAR (Teens Experiencing Abusive Relationships), to help other girls avoid getting involved in abusive relationships. As discouraging as this all is, raising awareness of abuse in teenage relationships will hopefully lower the number of women getting involved in abusive relationships as adults, when there are added complications like children, family expectations, and finances to make it so much harder for women to leave harmful relationships.

Source:
Feyerick, Deborah. "Young Women Form Anti-Abuse Group."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/08/teen.abuse/index.html