By Teresa Moritz

New York State Lacks Education About Teen Dating Violence

Although studies show that one in three teenagers nationwide are victims of dating violence, there is no law requiring education about how to prevent it in many states, including New York.

There is no national law requiring the implementation of teen dating violence prevention in a school’s curriculum. Laws regarding education about teen dating violence are determined on the state level. 

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, only about 22 states have laws that require or even urge teen dating violence prevention to be included in their schools’ curriculum. 

New York State has one of the highest reported teen dating violence statistics in the country. About 12.1% to 14% of high school students have reported teen dating violence in New York. 

As reported by a Centers for Disease Control in a February 2016 study, 12.1% of New York teens admitted that they had been physically abused by a partner and 11.8% admitted that they were sexually abused by a partner.

Currently, there are four bills in 2017 that have been introduced in the New York State Senate surrounding teen dating violence education. The most recent action on any of them was on May 11th and the earliest was January 20th.

Thirty-two New York State Senators were contacted by this reporter for a response on education laws dealing with teen dating violence. These Senators were from both or either the Education and Health committees. They were all contacted by email on Friday, June 30, and by Wednesday, July 5, only one senator replied.

The senator who responded was James L. Seward, a Republican, who didn’t answer any questions but said, “Your address indicates that you are a resident of the 7th senatorial district, and not the 51st senatorial district, which I represent.” 

Seward said according to protocol, questions should be asked of the individual’s own elected representative.

Nicole Daley, the Program Director at Start Strong Boston said, “There’s a lot more weaving of teen dating violence into curriculums.”

She supports education about teen dating violence because often teenagers don’t necessarily realize that they are involved in an abusive relationship. 

“I would say most are not aware that they are in an emotionally abusive relationship until it gets severe,” said Daley. 

Some teens experience an abusive relationship and don’t realize that their partner’s abuse is not part of a healthy relationship. According to an article by the Huffington Post, “Teens who may be involved in their first relationship may not be able to determine if a partner’s behaviors are normal because they lack a basis for comparison.”

“Emotional abuse is harder to pinpoint because we see so much of it normalized in relationships as drama or the pains of love. So many people get tricked into believing that love is painful and the emotional roller coaster is a part of the journey. I think in the end many start to realize it is wrong but it takes a while,” Daley said.

Malcolm Astley, whose daughter was a victim of teen dating violence, said that an important step to stop this problem from occurring is “circulating the warning signs.” He said that as for education on teen dating violence, “many schools don’t have anything to do with it.”

Astley’s daughter Lauren was 18 when she was murdered while breaking up with her boyfriend in Wayland, Mass., in 2011. He was sentenced to life in prison.

 Astley, a retired school principal, spends his life now speaking to groups and pressing for change so other parents won’t lose a child to such violence. He tells groups that he didn’t see it coming. There had been no violence in his daughter’s life that he knew of.

Robert Eckstein, a lecturer at the University of New Hampshire, said that education on teen dating violence is, “starting to happen more and more on the high school level.” There are “more laws being passed.”