This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

"Dating Violence Exists in Wilton High School" for some Teens

Local teens take the lead on raising awareness in the school and in town of just how prevalent teen dating violence is, warning it happens in the high school—and in the middle school as well.

Speaking to a rapt audience at the Wilton Library on Tuesday evening, May 17, Wilton High School seniors Sarah Hackett and Christie Greeley hoped to get the message to parents about just how prevalent dating violence is amongst teenagers. 

"Dating violence exists in Wilton High School. If you ask your kids, I can guarantee that they've heard of abusive relationships here. All of us know of at least one, if not more," said Greeley.

Sarah and Greeley are founding members of Teen PeaceWorks, the student arm of Wilton's Domestic Violence Task Force. The two groups organized Tuesday's presentation, "In Love & In Danger," to speak to parents and teens about how to recognize and prevent teen dating violence.

Find out what's happening in Wiltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The students were joined by Janienne Hackett, the chair of the domestic violence task force (and Sarah's mom), and by Terri*, a dating violence victim who recounted her experience for the audience.

Nationally, teen dating violence statistics show it's on the rise; it's estimated that one in three teen relationships is abusive, up from one in four just a few years ago. The speakers were hopeful that by providing tips and warning signs they could shed light on such a pervasive problem—and encourage others to get involved in their efforts here at home in Wilton.

Find out what's happening in Wiltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Janienne stressed that while Wilton parents may think it's not a problem here, teen relationship abuse is a problem that happens everywhere.

"Victims are not loners, kids that only come from broken homes, kids that do poorly in school or drink or do drugs, or any other negative attribute. They are smart kids, they come from good families, they have good relationships with their parents, they're admired by their peers, they have tons of friends, they're leaders in their schools. These are the kids that typically find themselves in these types of relationships," Janienne said.

PeaceWorks is not a school club, but they do concentrate their efforts on educating students, and they say they're starting to get more help from school administrators on letting them get the word out.

"We have a dating violence unit at Wilton High School taught by the Domestic Violence Crisis Center (DVCC) in the sophomore health classes," explained Sarah.

"PeaceWorks made a presentation to the Board of Education to have that added. Before it was a 45-minute class. Once we made the presentation to the board they decided it was important enough to have the DVCC come in because maybe the health teachers aren't the most knowlegeable about dating violence, they haven't gone through the training that we have," she said.

Other efforts made by PeaceWorks include peer presentations targeted at juniors and seniors; however, a prime avenue of speaking directly to freshmen—the Freshman Forums—was eliminated with recent cuts to the school budget for FY 2012.

PeaceWorks also posts flyers with crisis center hotline information, and hope to increase their efforts at the middle school level. "It's more prevalent in the middle school now. You don't really get any education about it until you're a sophomore, and by then it's too late," said Sarah.

"Dating violence is a topic that should be discussed in school just as much as drugs and alcohol. It's something that people don't like to believe is just as prevalent, but it is," Sarah added.

Greeley encouraged parents to teach their kids where to seek help if they need it.

"It's really important to talk to your kids about where they can go to get help. If they're not comfortable talking to their parents, you need to encourage them to talk to a teacher or a guidance counselor, or to call the free confidential hotline at the DVCC," said Greeley.

Both girls acknowledged that, while PeaceWorks has made strides in the schools, they hope that more parents get involved to bolster their efforts.

"Change is just starting to come to the schools because of our group. We need more adults to stand up for us and get involved, because the administrators may listen to the parents a little more than the students," said Sarah.

*Terri's last name is withheld.

To find out more information or to get involved with either Wilton Teen PeaceWorks or the Wilton Domestic Violence Task Force, email Janienne Hackett at janienne@optonline.net.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?