Delaware Business Lawyer Blog

This is the 3rd article in a series of articles on the subject of teen dating violence. Previous articles are:
Delaware Attorney Discusses Schools and Teen Dating Violence
Teen Dating Violence In Schools

In June 2009, Delaware’s General Assembly established a Teen Dating Violence Task Force. The Task Force was given the responsibility of submitting a report containing recommendations for schools relating to policies on teen dating violence. The report has been written, and here are some of the highlights:

First and foremost is the adoption of the following definition of dating violence:
“Dating violence shall be defined as a pattern of assaultive and controlling behaviors that one person uses against another in order to gain or maintain power in a current or past relationship. The abuser intentionally behaves in ways that can cause fear, degradation, humiliation, injury or harm or uses any other coercive behaviors to control the other person. Abuse can occur in both heterosexual and same-sex or serious and casual relationships and covers a wide range of behaviors that includes harassment, verbal, emotional and economic abuse, sexual abuse, stalking, and physical abuse.”

The Task Force did some research into what other states are doing about this problem, and noted that “in 2009 and 2010, twenty-two (22) states introduced or enacted legislation that directs their Department of Education to implement policies for reporting and responding to dating violence and/or required schools to provide dating violence education.”

Examining the social implications of dating violence, the Task Force found that “dating violence involves a pattern of coercive, manipulative behavior that one teen uses against the other for the purpose of establishing and maintaining power and control.’

And, the Task Force explained why it is so important to establish school policies: “teen dating violence is a threat to school safety and undermines our schools’ capacity to accomplish their core mission, academic achievement.”

If you are a student or the parent of a student who is the victim of teen dating violence in school, contact a Delaware attorney to learn what your options are for ending the violence.

As a Delaware attorney who fights for victims of abuse, I am especially saddened when I hear about a young woman who has been physically abused by her boyfriend. And the situation gets even worse when the girl and her abuser attend the same school. There is a great deal of information available about teen dating violence in the schools, and if you're interested in learning more, a good place to start would be to check out the links provided below.

One interesting site is from a non-profit group called "Break The Cycle." Here's a brief excerpt:
Teen dating violence is an urgent, silent epidemic. One in three teens will experience abuse in a dating relationship and more than two-thirds of them will never report it to anyone. Break the Cycle believes everyone has the right to safe and healthy relationships. We are the leading, national nonprofit organization addressing teen dating violence. We work every day towards our mission to engage, educate and empower youth to build lives and communities free from domestic violence.

Break The Cycle publishes a State Law Report Card which surveys the civil domestic violence protection order laws of all fifty states and the District of Columbia, assessing their impact on teens seeking protection from abusive relationships. The State of Delaware earned a grade of "B" on its report card for 2010.

Invisible Victims: Holding the Educational System Liable For Teen Dating Violence at School written by Christine N. Carlson

Schools have a unique responsibility to address the issue of dating violence for several reasons. First and foremost, schools force contact between a batterer and a victim in a way that most other environments do not

Second, schools have a duty to provide protection for their students, including safeguarding them from physical harm inflicted by other students.

Third, schools have a unique opportunity to affect a teen abusers behavior to a greater degree than actors in most other settings.

Fourth, schools and school districts are liable for sexual harassment that occurs on school campuses if the harassment is known to a school authority figure who has the power to stop the harassment but ignores the problem or does not address it sufficiently.

CDC

Teen Dating Violence Prevention:On-Line Tips and Tools For Educators

Teen Dating Violence

Understanding Teen Dating Violence

NPR - New Dating Seminars Target Teen Violence

Should a school district in Delaware be held liable when it fails to protect a female student who is a victim of dating violence while she’s at school? This is the first in a series of articles on this topic. Let’s start with an explanation of the problem.

As far as I can tell, Delaware is lagging behind some other states in protecting young girls from teen dating violence. The only law on the books at this time is one that allows persons in a current or former substantive dating relationship to apply for a domestic violence protective order. However, it also appears that Delaware is finally getting the message. Here are the most recent actions by Delaware’s General Assembly.

Last year, for example, Delaware created a Teen Dating Violence Task Force to evaluate and make recommendations on policies for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Education in Delaware. The reason the task force was created was because teen dating violence has become a prevalent problem in high schools, junior high schools and middle schools throughout the U.S. The Task Force was required to submit its written report and recommendations by May 1, 2010. It appears that there’s been some sort of delay, and I’m looking into it.

In the meantime, the month of February of 2010 was designated as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention month in the State of Delaware. The basis for designation was the following:

(1) approximately 1 in 4 adolescents report verbal, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse each year;

(2) 61% of teens in a relationship say that a partner has made them feel bad or embarrassed about themselves;

(3) 40% of teenage girls between 14 and 17 years of age reported being physically abused or sexually abused by a dating partner;

(4) 1 in 4 teens in a relationship say they have been called names, harassed, or put down by their partner during cell phone conversations and in text messages;

(5) 2/3 of these teens were with someone who they said acted jealously and who regularly asked where and with whom they were;

(6) almost 1/3 of girls who have been in a relationship said they’ve been pressured to have sex or to engage in sexual acts when they didn’t want to do so;

(7) 25% of pregnant teens reported being physically abused by their boyfriends, and half of those pregnant teens said the battering began or intensified after their boyfriends learned of their pregnancy;

(8) violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications, causing victims to be at a higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior, unplanned pregnancy, suicide, and adult re-victimization;

(9) a study of adolescents and college students revealed that date rape accounted for 67% of sexual assaults;

(10) 81% percent of parents surveyed don’t realize that this is a problem.