The Silent Epidemic

By Ananya Hindocha

On February 12, 2019, I traveled to the state capitol to give a speech on what I call the silent epidemic: teen dating violence. The speech was part of the “Orange Day Rally” designed to publicly gather support from politicians specifically related to funding for programs throughout the state. Orange is the color that represents teen dating violence throughout the nation. Communities throughout the state are unwilling to address the problem, which can only lead to its exacerbation. This rally hopes to prove to people, especially politicians, that teen dating violence is real, and there are sure ways to prevent it.

1 in 3. That’s the number of teenagers that are victims of emotional, physical, or verbal abuse from a partner. 16- to 24-year-old women experience the highest rate of relationship violence. These are the facts, and they are astonishing.

I call teen dating violence the silent epidemic. It’s rarely brought up and it affects some of the most secretive people in the country: teenagers. In my community, it almost feels like adults are purposely suppressing any talk of dating abuse for fear that even bringing it up will somehow encourage their children to date and have sex. It’s the opposite. If the youth aren’t educated on healthy relationships, their knowledge will come from the media or word of mouth, and that is definitely not reliable. The media, especially, is guilty of promoting unhealthy and abusive relationships and marketing them as “romantic.”

As long as the issue is suppressed, we leave the youth of the state more susceptible to dangerous teenage and adult relationships. If teenagers grow up with no knowledge of healthy relationships, it leaves them more vulnerable to abusive relationships in adulthood. We can’t keep treating relationship abuse as if it doesn’t exist, it will solve nothing.

I started working with a local domestic violence organization in Fremont called SAVE. My mom and aunt are very involved and they have a youth empowerment group dedicated to educating young people and adults. Through my advocacy work I’ve seen how much of a difference education and support can have. After one of my presentations, our advisor had a girl reach out to her for resources on how to leave an abusive relationship. Education is key and adults, especially those who are teachers or school administrators, can help. Implementing curriculum or having organizations such as SAVE come and host workshops at middle and high schools can have an immense impact. Lift youth voices: there are so many passionate young people in communities; we just need the resources and support adults can provide us. Make sure you are involving youth in your curriculum creation, outreach efforts, and through other platforms. And on top of that, there are a number of amazing organizations that are dedicated to helping survivors of dating abuse, and I strongly urge you to support them, monetarily and otherwise. Teen dating violence is real, and it is time to start addressing it. Thank you.

Organizations dedicated to dating abuse education and prevention:

Love is Respect https://www.loveisrespect.org/

California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (CPEDV) http://www.cpedv.org/

Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments (S.A.V.E) https://save-dv.org/