DVSSP programs focus on teen dating violence
Ashley, a West Greene student, painted the purple domestic violence symbol hand print on her cheek for the “Purple Out.” West Greene High School held the event for Domestic Violence last October. The Greene County office of the Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania (DVSSP) put up an information table at the football game on Oct. 30. DVSSP will also hold programs throughout the month of February in conjunction with Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. (Photos courtesy of DVSSP)
Students decorated the school door for domestic violence awareness and the cheerleaders made banners stating “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” and “Recognize and Report It and Prevent It.”
Students from West Greene High School joined Natalie Schwoerer, Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania counselor/advocate, and Cheryl McCready, satellite office coordinator for the DVSSP Waynesburg office, on the Domestic Violence Float in the Veteran’s Day Parade in Waynesburg. One of the student’s mother was killed by her spouse. (Photo courtesy of DVSSP)
In conjunction with Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, being implemented across the nation this month, the Greene County office of the Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania (DVSSP) is bringing into the public awareness this very important but often overlooked or neglected issue.
“Abuse can take many forms — physical, verbal, mental, sexual, bullying, stalking or manipulation,” said Natalie Schwoerer, DVSSP counselor/advocate. “Because prevention is the key to eventually ending domestic violence altogether, we want to get the word out to teens at an early age.”
According to Schwoerer, parents are an essential element in preventing teen dating abuse. However, 81 percent of parents surveyed either believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they do not know if it is one.
“Fifty-seven percent of parents never speak to their children about this important subject,” Schwoerer said. “This includes talking to their sons about dating violence as to what to expect from a healthy relationship.”
The stats for teen dating abuse are alarming. Females between the ages of 16 and 24 are more vulnerable to intimate partner violence and experience abuse at a rate almost triple the national average. One in three adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence affecting youth.
High school students who experience physical violence in a dating relationship are more likely to use drugs and alcohol, are at greater risk of suicide and are much more likely to carry patterns of abuse into future relationships.
“If you come from a household that experienced domestic violence, you have a greater chance of being abused or becoming an abuser,” Cheryl McCready, satellite office coordinator for the Waynesburg office said.
“If a teen goes on a date for the first time, for instance, and gets verbally abused or even slapped, they think it’s okay because they know that Mom and Dad do the same thing at home and that they love one another.”
Other stats show that young people victimized by a dating partner are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior and unhealthy dieting behaviors, and the experience may disrupt normal development of self-esteem and body image.
Nearly half of teens who experience dating violence report that incidents of abuse took place in a school building or on school grounds, and only 33 percent of teens who are in an abusive relationship ever tell anyone about the abuse.
By providing young people with education about healthy relationships and relationship skills and by changing attitudes that support violence, the DVSSP recognizes that dating violence can be prevented. The DVSSP considers it essential to raise community awareness and to provide training for teachers, counselors and school staff so that they may recognize when youth are exhibiting signs of dating violence.
“An adult victim can usually get away from their abuser,” McCready said. “But a high school teen usually continues to attend the same school with their abuser.”
In 2015, the DVSSP presented 634 adult programs on domestic violence in the county. That same year, it offered 1,218 prevention programs for youth in schools, youth groups, playground programs and day camps.
Yesterday, the DVSSP conducted a program on teen abuse at the Greene County Career and Technology Center in Waynesburg and plans to conduct similar programs at other schools throughout the month.
“Hopefully, we will reach all the school districts in the county if they are able to fit us into their schedules,” McCready said.
To inform the public about teen dating abuse, the Greene County office is sponsoring a video contest open to all middle and high school students in the county’s four school districts. Contestants are asked to create a two- to five-minute long video on the theme “Why You Say No More to Teen Dating Violence and Abuse.”
The videos must be submitted via email to DVSSPGreene@peacefromdv.org by 4 p.m. on March 11.
The videos will be judged by DVSSP staff, and winners will be selected by the end of March. Cash prizes of $200 will be awarded to the most creative individual or group entry with $100 going to the second-place winner and $50 to the third-place winner.
Winners will receive the awards at 7 p.m. on April 21 as part of the Bonner Scholarship Program administered through Waynesburg University at a location yet to be determined. For more information, call 724-852-2373.
DVSSP operates with a staff of 30 located in offices in Greene, Washington and Fayette counties. The Greene office, located at 43 N. Morgan St. in Waynesburg, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and available to anyone needing help be it an individual suffering from abuse or their friend or relative.
DVSSP offers a range of services including empowerment counseling, support groups, emergency shelter, transitional housing, help with protection from abuse orders and a hotline available 24/7 to anyone in an abusive relationship.
The number to call is 800-791-4000.
“For those who call the hotline, we listen and talk to them, reassure them that all information is confidential and offer them options for having a safe place to go,” Schwoerer said.
In the early 1970s, executive director Michelle Robinson-Ritter opened a domestic violence shelter in Washington. Through the 1980s, there was no domestic violence help available in Greene County until Robinson-Ritter and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence started a drop-in center in Waynesburg in 1993.
This past October, the Greene County office focused on domestic violence during Domestic Violence Awareness month at a football game at West Greene. The students decorated the stadium with posters and sold purple T-shirts while the DVSSP manned a booth to pass out literature on the subject.
In November, the office also entered a float decorated with “No More Violence” signs decorated in purple and blue in the Veterans’ Day parades in Waynesburg and Jefferson.
Also, a proclamation that will be issued by the Greene County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 18 declares the establishment of Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month will benefit young people, their families, schools and communities regardless of socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity and that everyone has the right to a safe and healthy relationship and to be free from abuse.