I believe that our youth should be educated on dating violence , and I think it should be mandatory for our school systems to offer this to our students. As a survivor of Dating Violence and rape I urge you to take this matter very serious. I was never taught that there was even such a thing as dating violence. If I had been educated in the matter and taught the warning signs, preventative measures, and how to get help my life would be so different. I might not have fallen victim to a boyfriend beating, strangling stabbing me 21 times then rapping me. Dating violence happens to both girls and boys even though it’s more often girls that are abused. Our young people need to be educated about dating violence. They need to know their rights, whose at risk, signs, preventative measures, and what to do if they find themselves in an abusive relationship.

Schools need to teach about emotions such as jealousy so that girls when they are dating, instead of being flattered by bringing out jealousy in a boyfriend will recognize the insecurity that this emotion may represent. Schools need to teach about thought patterns that are unhealthy and about how extremist notions and behaviors can be controlled through self-awareness and training to catch the unhealthy self-talk.

Many health education programs today are teaching about feelings and how the feelings can be controlled. This is part of harm reduction programming that also is a part of drug use (and binge drinking) prevention. Such classes should also focus on dating violence prevention.

Often times if someone is an abuser they are repeating behaviors they learned from home. It’s never too late to teach our students what is and is not ok when it comes to their relationships. A teenage abuser can still be saved and possibly never hurt anyone ever again. A lot of times what they are doing seems normal to them and it’s simply because they have not been educated about the matter. Someone that’s being abused is less likely to fall victim again or we may save their lives just by educating them. I plan to visit every high school in the state to share my story and educate the youth on all matters pertaining to dating violence. I think this is just as important as educating our youth about drugs. We have to educate our kids to protect them and their lives for the future. If we are successful with this petition our State Senators will make it law that all schools across the state of Georgia will be required to educate our youth on dating violence.