Start Strong Los Angeles Presentation to LA City Council During Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month
LA City Council Declares February Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month in LA
Peace Over Violence Recognized for over Twenty-Five Years of Service Working with LA Youth
February 19, 2010 – February marks the newly nationally declared Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. Fifteen years ago, teen dating violence was not on anybody’s radar screen; it was the time when adults thought teenagers were experiencing “puppy love” and the black and blue marks on their daughters were still invisible to them. We continue to educate that teen dating violence is serious and can be lethal. We’ve come a long way—- but there are still many black and blue marks to erase and many more to prevent. Emily Austin, Director of Prevention Services at Peace Over Violence, presented to the LA City Council, who had before them a city-wide resolution declaring Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. Austin highlighted POV’s work with youth in the LA community, specifically within the Start Strong Los Angeles project and also unveiled POV’s newest curriculum Be Strong: From the Inside Out.
Start Strong Los Angeles is the largest initiative ever funded to target 11 to 14 year olds and rally entire communities to promote healthy relationships as a way to prevent teen dating violence and abuse. Peace Over Violence is one of eleven nationwide sites to receive this grant, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Blue Shield of California Foundation.
Be Strong: From the Inside Out, made possible with funding from the Verizon Foundation and Weingardt Foundation, is an asset-based health promotion and violence prevention curriculum empowering young women ages 13-19. It gives them the skills to have healthy relationships in all areas of their lives and become community advocates.
We know that teens are especially vulnerable to relationship violence:
• 1 in 3 girls will experience physical abuse in a relationship during their teen years.
• 10% of CA teens report being in an abusive relationship each year. Up to 80% teens report knowing someone in an abusive relationship.
• Young women ages 16-24 experience the highest rate of relationship violence homicide.
TDVAPM is a moment to turn public attention to abusive youth relationships – but it is also an important opportunity to nurture teen leadership skills by giving them the information and expertise to educate and challenge their peers to have healthy relationships.
To view more information on Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, click here.
Youthoverviolence.org
Peaceoverviolence.org
(* Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is funding ten sites around the country and Blue Shield of California Foundation is funding one site in California.)