The month of Love…
Last year I wrote about Love and 50 Shades of Grey. You can read it here: 50 Shades…
My views haven’t changed; coersion, stalking, and/or controlling another person is NOT love; not in teen relationships, not in adult relationships, not in heterosexual relationships, not in homosexual relationships. NOT EVER!
February is also Teen Dating Violence Awareness month, aka #TeenDVMonth and #TDVAM. TDVAM is a national effort to bring awareness to violence in teen and early 20s relationships. It is more common than most realize. In fact, 1 in 3 United States teens will experience physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse by someone they are in a relationship with before they become adults. Girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence — almost triple the national average.
Those are scary statistics! Yet, together we can change them. Let’s speak up, educate, and empower our young people. I am joining www.loveisrespect.org’s Thunderclap this Friday, February 12, 2016. Please join me.
For Teen DV Month and Respect Week 2016, join loveisrespect’s National Youth Advisory Board and make your voice heard with the National Respect Announcement on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016!
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we’d like to remind you that everyone deserves a safe and healthy relationship. Remember, love has many definitions, but abuse isn’t one of them. If you or someone you know has a question about a relationship, healthy or unhealthy, visit loveisrespect.org or text “loveis” to 22522.
February 8-14 is Respect Week. You can download a guide with activities at Respect Week Guide. Wear #Orange4Love on Tuesday Feb. 9 and get everyone you know to join you! Create a campus wide awareness initiative.
Thank you for joining me. Young people deserve the opportunity to be informed and guided to healthy, safe and loving relationships. Together, we Keep Up The Awareness! KUTA!
Connect with me on Instagram: #ViolenceStopsHere and Twitter: @ReginaRowley to continue creating awareness.
Visit Love Is… for more details, guidance and information about Teen Dating Violence.
