February 10th, 2022

From State Representative Christine Conley: 
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, and Interval House is making a new toolkit available to schools and parents with free educational resources in English and Spanish.

The toolkit includes:

• Slide Presentation (Spanish)
• Graphics – Teen Dating Violence Statistics (Spanish)
• Graphics – Types of Abuse (Spanish)
• Healthy Relationship Guide (Spanish)
• Teen Dating Cyber Safety Guide (Spanish)
• No Excuse for Dating Abuse – A Play (English only)

One in three adolescents in America are victim to sexual, physical, verbal, or emotional dating abuse, and only 33% of those abused confide in someone about the violence.

Adults are mostly in the dark about teen dating violence as 82% of parents admit they do not know if teen dating violence is an issue. Three in five parents also cannot correctly identify all the warning signs of abuse.

If you, or someone you know, needs help please call the CT Safe Connect 24-hour hotline at (888) 774-2900 or email safeconnect@ctcadv.org or use the chat option.  All services are free and confidential.

Direct connections to Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV) member organizations — such as Interval House and 17 additional local domestic violence service providers — are available through CT Safe Connect for ongoing, in-person support, in addition to other community-based resources.

By shining a light on teen dating violence, we can begin to address root causes and educate our children — and ourselves — on how to identify abuse as well as how to engage in healthy relationships.

As always, please reach out to my office if you have questions or need assistance.
If you have any additional questions, comments, or concerns, I can be reached by phone at 1-800-842-8267 or by email at Christine.Conley@cga.ct.gov. For legislative updates, please like my Official Facebook Page.