US Tweens in Abusive Relationships

This article deals with the recent survey, commissioned by Liz Claiborne Inc, that found that one in five 13- to 14-year-olds say they know someone their age who has been physically abused, and nearly half know someone who has been verbally abused in a relationship.

A surprising number of sometimes very young teens in the US are in physically and emotionally abusive dating relationships, according to the survey released.

Dating relationships and dating abuse can begin as early as age 11, underscoring the need for early education on the subject, the survey found.
The data also suggest that sex in these early relationships increases the risk of abuse.

Of teens who had sex by age 14, 33% said they had been kicked, punched, choked, slapped or hit, and 58% said they had been verbally abused. That compared to about 10% of all teens aged 15-18 who were physically abused by a partner, and 29% who had been verbally abused, the survey found.
College Violence and US Tweens in Abusive Relationships The findings compliment research by Christine Forke of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia published this week in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. Forke found emotional violence - which includes verbal abuse and subjecting a partner to controlling behaviour and put-downs - was the most common type of violence at all ages, especially before college.

Forke surveyed students at three urban colleges and found nearly 45% had experienced relationship violence before or during college. The risk of emotional violence is that it can predispose victims to other forms of violence, Forke said by telephone. Miller said few dating violence prevention efforts address young teens, and the new data underscore the need to aim prevention messages at a younger audience.
She said about half of all 11 to 14-year-olds surveyed did not know the warning signs of a bad dating relationship.

"It's the kinds of behaviours that can start out with something as simple as wanting to know who you are going to hang with this Friday," Miller said. "But it can escalate to controlling what their partner wears, whether they go to school or whether they get pregnant or not.

" I have 4 children and this information was very alarming for me.
Times certainly are changing.
These kids are dealing with things that they aren't mature enough to handle, in my opinion. What are we to do as parents when dealing with US tweens in abusive relationships?