February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

According to the Children’s Safety Network, teen dating violence is a pattern of controlling behavior exhibited by one teenager towards another in a dating relationship. This controlling behavior can manifest as physical abuse, sexual abuse, and / or emotional abuse, including threatening, ridiculing, stalking, and / or using technology to harass or intimidate. 

The CDC’s High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 2021 reports that:

• more than 10% of high-school girls and nearly 7% of high-school boys in the United States experience physical dating violence;

• more than 15% of high-school girls and 4% of high-school boys in the United States experience sexual dating violence.

This month, we strive to bring awareness to teen dating violence prevention in the Northwest Corner through multiple community awareness-raising campaigns. First, Project SAGE is distributing three handouts throughout Region 1 and at local private schools that support not only TDVAM but also our Year of Digital Safety:

• #AskB4UPost sticker - to raise awareness about the need for consent around sharing images on social media

• Non-consensual Image Sharing brochure - to provide simple and practical information on what to do if your image has been shared without your consent

• Surf Safer webcam cover - to prevent others from capturing images through a webcam without the user’s consent

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Thinking about Our Community This Week

Dear Project SAGE Community, 

For many of us, this week’s election was a highly anticipated one, with people experiencing significant stress about the outcomes either way at the local, state, and federal levels.

Stress can sometimes make us feel more escalated. 

At Project SAGE, when a client is experiencing escalation in a relationship, our client-centered, trauma-informed approach is to safety plan.

Therefore, if you are currently feeling escalated, here are some things we can offer: 

• Identify safe people with whom to talk.

• Identify strategies that are self soothing for you. 

• Stick to your schedule.

• Be honest with yourself about when, where, and how you can engage in difficult interactions.

• Remember that healthy communication is specific, curious, includes clear boundaries, and respects the reality that multiple perspectives can be true simultaneously. 

As a community-focused organization dedicated to creating social change to end interpersonal relationship violence, we remain committed to advocating for and supporting victims and survivors, as well as challenging attitudes and beliefs around power, control, and gender norms. 

A reminder that our 24/7 hotline is always available for support.

FOR SUPPORT, ADVOCACY, REFERRALS OR EMERGENCY SHELTER
24 HOUR HOTLINE (860) 364-1900

SIMPRE HAY AYUDA DISPONIBLE:
PARA SOPORTE, DEFENSA, REFERIDOS O REFUGIO DE EMERGENCIA
LÍNEA DIRECTA LAS 24 HORAS (860) 364-1900

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