Dating Violence – West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services (WVFRIS)

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What is It?

(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.

What to Know

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

Examples of Dating Violence

Examples of controlling tactics an individual might use with persons they are dating 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
Restricting people with whom they can be around

Examples of abuse and aggression an individual might use against persons they are dating or have dated include:

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.

About 1 in 10 students who had been in a partnered relationship since entering college experienced non-sexual partner violence. Rates were highest for undergraduate TGQN students (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming, questioning or with another identity) (22%) and female students (14%). Among students experiencing nonconsensual sexual penetration since entering college, 64% of TGQN students, 44% of women and 48% of men were victimized by current/former intimate partners. (Cantor et al., 2019)
Data from CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Nearly 1 in 9 female teens and approximately 1 in 13 male teens reported having experienced physical dating violence, for the year preceding the survey. 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).

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
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
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).

Take It 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.

Foster 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
Fostering the development of such skills

If You Experience It

(Also see the website section, What Victims Need to Know.)

Call 1-800-656-HOPE or contact the rape crisis center in your area for free, confidential support and help.

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.

Love is respect 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

See What Victims Need to Know for general safety planning, including seeking orders of protection.

References

Cantor, D., Fisher, B., Chibnall, S., Harps, S., Townsend, R., Thomas, G., Lee, H., Kranz, V., Herbison, R. & Madden, K. (2019, revised 2020). Report on the AAU campus climate survey on sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Washington, DC: Association of American Universities.

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.