Boyfriends, girlfriends, teen love stories and, high school sweethearts, yes those all sound nice but in reality it’s not all hugs and kisses. According to everydayhealth.com about 2 in every 10 teen girls report being sexually or physically abused in their relationship and about 1 in every 10 teen boys have reported abuse in the relationship. Teen dating violence is a pattern of behavior that includes physical, emotional, verbal or sexual abuse used by one person in an intimate relationship to exert power and control over another. Teen dating violence is generally defined as occurring among individuals between the ages of 13-19 years old. Teen dating violence can be both a good thing and a bad thing, however most cases of teen dating violence is bad, it leads to trust issues, and it can negatively affect your physical and mental health.
When you are in relationship you are supposed to be able to trust the person you are with. You are not supposed to be afraid of them. Teen dating violence causes teens to have trust issues. Girls that are in an abusive relationship are afraid to tell someone about the abuse not wanting to be hit again by their boyfriend. Afraid to tell their partner they want to break up, scared that they will spread rumors about them or tell personal information that they know, trying to ruin their image, or they are just afraid they will get abused again. The trust the girl once had for the boy decreases each time as the hitting continues. Not knowing if she can trust him when he says “ I will never hit you again, I’m so sorry.” wanting to believe that he is telling the truth she forgives him, not wanting to lose him. According to suicide.org/domesticviolenceandsuicde only half of the domestic violence incidents are reported to police.
When a girl gets abused by their significant other they do not want to tell anyone afraid that they will lose them. So instead of telling the truth on how they got the bruises they say they either fell or they hit it on a table to cover up the abusive relationship. Wanting to be the “alpha” of the relationship the boy slaps her into place so she doesn't forget where she belongs. Physical abuse is not only slapping, punching, kicking etc. It can be sexually as well. Forcing the girl to do things she does not want to do, afraid to say no she does them so she will not be hit. Feeling helpless the girl does what the boy says to avoid being hit again. In adult domestic violence, women are more often the victim. In teen relationship abuse, both boys and girls report abuse about equally. But most of the time, boys tend to start the violence more often and use greater force the the female does.
It’s never good to be in a violent relationship, but depending on how you handle it after getting out of it, it can either strengthen your mental health or completely destroy it. When people hear about domestic violence, they mostly think about physical abuse such as hitting, punching, slapping, kicking, etc. What they don’t think about is the verbal/mental abuse. Verbal abuse is talking down to your significant other, making them feel smaller or less important. The verbal attacks are meant to control the victim, and to try to strip her of her self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-love. The perpetrator also often wants the woman to believe that she is at fault for the violence and the verbal abuse, says Kevin Caruso from suicide.org/domesticviolenceandsuicide. Being abused by your partner can lead into depression, causing them not to eat, sleep, constantly feeling sad, sometimes even causing one to commit suicide. Studies show that one out of every four women who are the victims of domestic violence attempt suicide. Just because others cannot see the mental abuse that is going on does not mean that it is not as bad as physical abuse. They both take a negative affect on your health.
When there is violence in the relationship it is because they want to show dominance. Thinking that the bruises will eventually fade the male keeps hitting the female until they think that they have learned their lesson. Acting before they think the male hits the female not thinking about the consequences after. Afraid to stand up for yourself the hitting continues and gets worse over time until it is just too much to handle. Some think that hitting your significant other makes the relationship stronger but in reality it leads to having trust issues for the rest of your life, and it can negatively affect your physical and mental health.
