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Dating Violence

 

What is Dating Violence?

(Drawn from CDC, 2017, 2018; Dating Violence Resource Center, n.d.; National Center for Victims of Crime, 2012)

 

Dating violence is controlling, abusive and aggressive behavior against a person on a date or a current or former dating partner. It can occur in person or electronically.

 

Examples of controlling tactics an individual might use with persons they are or have dated include:

 

  • Calling or texting them frequently to find out where they are, whom they are with and what they are doing;
  • Telling them what to wear, do or say;
  • Having to be with them all the time; and
  • Restricting people with whom they can be around.

Examples of abuse and aggression an individual might use against persons they are or have dated can be categorized as:

 

  • Physical—intentional use of physical force with the intent to cause fear or injury, such as hitting, shoving, biting, strangling, kicking or using a weapon.
  • Emotional/psychological—non-physical behaviors such as threats, insults, constant monitoring, humiliation, intimidation, isolation or stalking and harassment.
  • Sexual—subjecting others to sexual contact without their consent, and that lack of consent is due to physical force, threat or intimidation. It might also include non-contact offenses that are sexual in nature, such as texting or posting sexual pictures of dating partners online without consent.

Another example of controlling and abusive behavior in a dating situation includes a dating partner coercing another into forced labor or commercial sex acts (human trafficking).

 

Is Dating Violence the Same as Domestic Violence?

In some situations, dating violence is the same as domestic violence.

 

  • Domestic violence is abusive behavior perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It also may be called intimate partner violence/abuse or relationship abuse/violence.
  • Dating violence may be a more relatable term for teens and younger people who experience this type of victimization to explain their circumstances than domestic violence. They may associate domestic violence more with couples who are older or in more serious or long-term relationships.

In other situations, dating violence may have different dynamics than domestic violence. For example, teenagers and adults may be abused by someone with whom they are casually dating or dated just a few times or only once. Abusive tactics in these situations may or may not be more subtle than tactics used in established intimate relationships.

 

  • A date could be a casual encounter of persons who have not yet been intimate. Or they may have been intimate but do not consider themselves in a relationship (e.g., if they hooked up at a party they both attended but had no subsequent contact). The persons involved might not think of their interactions as “a date” or “dating.”
  • Violence committed on a date is often mainly sexual in nature—when that is the case, the dynamics may be more like non-stranger sexual violence than domestic violence.

 

 

Who Experiences Dating Violence?

Anyone can experience dating violence, regardless of their age or phase of life. But unhealthy relationships frequently start early—in teenage and young adult years—and can last a lifetime (CDC, 2017).

 

Unfortunately, millions of teens and young adults in the U.S. each year become dating violence victims. Data from CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey indicate that (CDC, 2017):

 

  • Nearly 1 in 9 female teens and approximately 1 in 13 male teens reported having experienced physical dating violence in the year preceding the survey (Kann et al., 2016).
  • Over 1 in 7 female teens and nearly 1 in 19 male teens reported having experienced sexual dating violence in the year preceding the survey (Kann et al., 2016).
  • 23% of women and 14% of men who were victims of contact sexual violence, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime reported first experiencing these or other forms of violence before age 18 (Breiding et al., 2014).

 

 

Why Does Dating Violence Occur?

Teens and young adults may think some behaviors, like teasing and name-calling, are a normal part of romantic relationships. However, these behaviors have the potential to become abusive and develop into serious forms of violence (CDC, 2017).

 

Violence is related to certain risk factors, with the risk of having unhealthy relationships increasing for teens who (CDC, 2018):

 

  • Believe that dating violence is acceptable;
  • Are depressed, anxious or have other symptoms of trauma;
  • Display aggression towards peers or display other aggressive behaviors;
  • Use drugs or illegal substances;
  • Engage in early sexual activity and have multiple sexual partners;
  • Have a friend involved in teen dating violence;
  • Have conflicts with a partner; and/or
  • Witness or experience violence in the home.

 

 

Impact on Victims

(CDC, 2017)

Dating violence can have significant consequences for victims. For instance, youth who are victims of dating violence are more likely to (Foshee et al., 2013; Roberts, Klein & Fisher, 2003; Exner-Cortens, Eckenrode & Rothman, 2003):

 

  • Experience symptoms of depression and anxiety;
  • Engage in unhealthy behaviors, like using tobacco, drugs and alcohol;
  • Exhibit antisocial behaviors, like lying, theft, bullying or hitting; and/or
  • Think about suicide.

Teen and young adult dating violence can set the stage for problems in future relationships, including intimate partner violence and sexual violence perpetration and/or victimization throughout life. For instance, victims of dating violence in high school are at higher risk for physical and/or sexual victimization during college (Smith, White & Holland, 2003).

 

 

Taking Dating Violence Seriously

It is important not to minimize the seriousness or criminal nature of these acts simply because they occurred within a dating relationship or on a date. Violence is violence regardless of the victim’s relationship to the offender.

 

Those professionals involved in a community response to dating violence, particularly those in the criminal justice system, must recognize that individual acts of dating violence may be considered criminal under the West Virginia law. Each individual act should be investigated and, if applicable, prosecuted.

 

 

If You Are a Victim

Call 1-800-656-HOPE or contact the rape crisis center in your area for free, confidential support and help.  Also see the website section on victim guides—victim information for more on what to do following victimization.

 

Teens and young adults can also go to loveisrespect.org and contact its hotline/textline (a project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline):

 

  • Call: 1-866-331-9474
  • TTY: 1-866-331-8453
  • Text to 22522

 

 

Safety Planning

Safety planning can be useful for individuals experiencing dating violence or who otherwise are in an unhealthy relationship. It can help them plan out what they can do to become safer or seek out safety in various situations.

 

The love is respect website offers a page on safety planning for teens and young adults experiencing dating violence that includes:

 

In addition, the page includes general tips addressing safety planning:

 

  • Before you leave
  • When you leave
  • After you leave
  • Emotional safety planning
  • Safety planning for family and friends

Also see the section in this website on victim guides, victim information for more on general safety planning information, including seeking orders of protection in West Virginia.

 

 

Fostering Healthy Relationship Skills

Supporting the development of healthy, respectful, and nonviolent relationships has the potential not only to reduce the occurrence of teen and adult dating violence but also to prevent later sexual and domestic violence and stalking (CDC, 2017). With that in mind, FRIS and the rape crisis centers in West Virginia engage in a variety of efforts to promote:

 

  • Teaching youth in their communities about the skills needed to create and foster healthy relationships; and
  • Fostering the development of such skills.

 

 

A Few Additional External Resources

From the CDC (2018):

 

 

 

References

Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Basile, K.C., Walters, M.L., Chen, J. & Merrick, M.T. (2014). Prevalence and characteristics of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization—National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States, 2011. MMWR Surveillance Summary, 63(SS-8):1-18.

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2017). Preventing dating violence [Fact sheet]. Atlanta, GA: Author.

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2018). Teen dating violence [Web page]. Atlanta, GA: Author.

 

Dating Violence Resource Center (n.d.). Campus dating violence fact sheet. Arlington, VA: National Center for Victims of Crime.

 

Exner-Cortens, D., Eckenrode, J. & Rothman E. (2003). Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. JAMA Pediatrics,131(1):71-78.

 

Foshee, V.A., McNaughton Reyes, H.L., Gottfredson, N.C., Chang, L.Y. & Ennett, S.T. (2013). A longitudinal examination of psychological, behavioral, academic, and relationship consequences of dating abuse victimization among a primarily rural sample of adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(6):723-729.

 

Kann, L., McManus, T., Harris, W.A., Shanklin, S.L., Flint, K.H., Hawkins J, (2016). Youth risk behavior surveillance–United States, 2015. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 65(SS-6):1-174.

 

National Center for Victims of Crime. (2012). Bulletins for teens: Dating violence. Arlington, VA: Author.

 

Roberts, T.A., Klein, J.D. & Fisher, S. (2003). Longitudinal effect of intimate partner abuse on high-risk behavior among adolescents. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 157(9):875-881.

 

Smith, P.H., White, J.W. & Holland, L.J. (2003). A longitudinal perspective on dating violence among adolescent and college-age women. American Journal of Public Health, 93(7):1104–1109.