This is Teen Safety Week. It’s a program that supports teens by bringing awareness to the social challenges they face, and then connecting them and their parents with tools and resources that are available in the community. The Steamboat Springs Police Department is partnering with local agencies and non-profits during Teen Safety Week.
For information or to get involved, visit www.steamboatsprings.net/teensafety, or contact:
Patty Oakland with Steamboat Springs Police Department
Email Patty Oakland | 970.457.7414
Teen Safety Week – Teen Dating Violence/Sexual Pressures/Assault
Dating violence is more common than one may think, especially among teens and young adults: 1 in 3 U.S. teens will experience abuse from someone they’re in a relationship with before they become adults. We are not immune to teen dating violence in the Yampa Valley.
Dating violence can take many forms, physical violence, sexual violence, psychological aggression, intimidation and isolation, and stalking. Additionally, dating violence doesn’t just happen in person, but also digitally via cell phones, social media, and other technology.
Teen dating violence greatly impacts lifelong health, opportunity, and wellbeing. Unhealthy relationships can start early and last a lifetime. Unhealthy, abusive, or violent relationships can foster anxiety and depression, cause teens to engage in unhealthy sexual behaviors, use drugs and alcohol, develop eating disorders, and exhibit antisocial behaviors. The good news is, teen dating violence is preventable, and we can all help young people grow up violence-free.
In addition, teens are often faced with pressure to have sex, sometime during their adolescence. Some teens engage in sexual relationships to keep pace with their friends or because they think “everyone else is doing it”. Some teens engage in sexual activity because they feel pressured by their partner, or because they simply want to feel loved or accepted. Teens are often influenced by what they see on television, in the media, and online. Since teens are facing these pressures from every angle, it is important to have conversations about healthy relationships, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and sexual consent.
Tips
- Encourage open, honest, and thoughtful conversation with your teen. Talk openly with young teens about healthy relationships.
- Take a clear stand. Let your teen know how you feel about disrespect, use of abusive language, controlling behavior, or any forms of violence.
- Make the most of “teachable moments”. Use TV episodes, movies, music lyrics, news, community events or the experiences of friends to discuss healthy and unhealthy relationships.
- Discuss how to be an ‘upstander’. Teach teens how to stand-up for friends when he or she observes unhealthy treatment of his or her peers.
- Be an active participant in your young teen’s life. Stay in touch with your young teen’s friends and interests. Find activities you can do together.
- For teens, practice how to say no, what are you saying no to, how to verbalize boundaries, and how to listen to others’ boundaries.
Resources
- CDC – Preventing Teen Dating Violence
- Advocates of Routt County