Talking to Teens About Dating Violence or Sexual Abuse

It is necessary to talk to your child and explain to him how to behave in this or that situation. We collect some information about how a teen should behave in situations of dating violence or sexual abuse.

To avoid sexual violence from strangers on the street (or at home), you can:

• say “NO” if someone wants to touch you, and report this to an adult you trust. No one has the right to touch you without your prior consent.
• choose the most lighted paths to the house returning home after school at night even if it takes much time to reach your home.
• not get into the elevator with strangers, even if they offer to go together and start to make fun when you refuse.
• If you notice that the same person is following you for a long time, you need to go to the store or to other public premises and ask the guard or someone from the adults to help walk home or ask to call home so that parents can take you from this place. Before the parents’ arrival, do not leave the store or another public place.
• Do not walk on the edge of the sidewalk, as a rapist can drive in the car, stop, grab you and take you away.

What can be done to prevent dating violence:

• not to use alcohol and other narcotic drugs in order to be able to control the situation, remember that sexual relations imply the readiness of both partners for such relations and mutual consent to such relations. Remember that love and coercion to have sexual contact have nothing in common. Remember that not only a stranger but also a familiar person may be in the role of a rapist.
• many girls are mistaken in the belief that sexual relations can help keep their partner, and the girls themselves will be more respected by their peers.

According to statistics, girls more often than young men are victims of sexual violence. However, it cannot be denied that young men, like girls, may suffer from sexual violence from their older acquaintances or peers. Young men who are victims of violence are less likely than girls to report about it. They are afraid that they will be ridiculed or considered homosexual.

If, after all, you or one of your friends has been attacked or sexually abused, you MUST tell parents or adults you trust about the incident, to go to a healthcare center for medical care. It is necessary to record injuries or traumas (no matter how much violence was committed against you, physical or sexual), go to the police with adults or parents supporting you to file an assault or sexual violence.