Charlotte Cameron-Hamilton
Walking around campus on the average day, it’s common to see content promoting consent. Luckily, many campuses in Canada and the USA have started to prioritize making their campuses feel safe. Many universities give talks and handouts to incoming students about consent, and some universities offer bystander intervention courses. It seems universities have begun to take instances of sexual violence on campus more seriously. All of these actions work to reduce instances of sexual violence on campus and have been measurably successful, although more work still has to be done. One problem that is not frequently discussed is that there are a significant number of students who come to university having already experienced some form of sexual violence in their younger teenage years.
Many people have never heard of the term “Teen Dating Violence”, despite more than 1 in 10 females, and 1 in 36 males having experienced it in the last year. Teen dating violence (TDV) refers to sexual violence among teens age 12-18. Similar to abuse in older populations, TDV can include physical, psychological, and verbal abuse. In recent years, TDV has become a topic of interest as researchers realize that the impacts may be different from those seen in adults; this difference can be attributed to the age of the survivors. It’s well known that the teenage years are especially formative and are when many people are having their first encounters with sexual activity, peer pressure, and relationships.
The elements that contribute to someone experiencing TDV are complex. Some factors in TDV for both perpetrators and survivors include family context, communication skills, sexual activity, and social circles. Family context has been shown to affect someone’s risk of TDV because teens from families where aggression is common are more accepting of aggressive behaviour in their other relationships. Additionally, a study by the National Institute of Justice found that children who grow up in households with other children and a strong social system are less likely to experience TDV. Teens with poor communication skills are more likely to have unhealthy relationships because they cannot properly comprehend disagreements within a relationship. Unlike adult relationships where abuse tends to stem from a need to control, abuse in teenage relationships is more likely to stem from anger. When conflict arises, a teen with poor communication skills is less likely to be able to navigate an argument properly, which can lead to the conflict escalating. Sexual activity can be practiced safely in teenage years and is a very personal decision. However, youths that engage in high-risk sexual behaviour, such as sex with strangers, unprotected sex, and sexual activity under the influence have been found to be more at risk of TDV. Lastly, a teen’s social circle can contribute to their risk of TDV for reasons such as peer pressure, lack of support, or their friends being involved in risky behaviour. The above factors are just some examples that have been proven to increase the likelihood of TDV, but it can happen to anyone, even if none of the risk factors apply.
The impacts of TDV effect all genders, sexual orientations, and some can apply to both perpetrators and survivors. The impact felt most widely from TDV are detrimental psychological effects in young adulthood (for both perpetrators and survivors). Most commonly, the psychological impacts of TDV manifest as depression and anxiety. In addition to these mental health effects, many TDV survivors have visible changes in their behaviour following the abuse; They are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviours such as problematic substance use, and antisocial behaviours such as lying and theft. Those who experience violence as youth have been found to be more likely to have unhealthy relationships later in life, or experience intimate partner violence in adulthood. The exact reason for this is unknown, but is thought to be due to the lasting behavioural and mental health effects of TDV.
As TDV awareness increases, more schools and communities are implementing programs to help prevent it. The main form of prevention is education. More specifically, teaching teenage students the importance of healthy relationships and helping them develop skills to manage feelings and open communication. However, options for TDV recovery support are still somewhat limited. For those who are not of age, there may not be available resources until they get assistance from their parents, which can be daunting if their parental situation is complex. As for the university students who have experienced TDV, there are limited non-crisis related options for longer-term support on most campuses. However, many communities have at least one resource for longer-term counselling for abuse survivors, and places on campus that deal with sexual assault can often offer referrals to the community resources best suited for the individual.
Some services offered in Kingston that treat survivors who experienced abuse at any age:
The Sexual Assault Centre Kingston (SACK)
Address:
400 Elliott Avenue, Unit 1 (Rockcliffe Plaza)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
K7K 6M9
Email: sack@sackingston.com
General Phone: 613-545-0762
Website: http://sackingston.com/
The Centre for Abuse and Trauma Therapy
Address:
234 Concession Street
Suite 200,
Kingston, ON
K7K 6W6
Email: info@centrefortherapy.ca
Phone: 613-507-2288
Website: http://centrefortherapy.ca/
Sources:
CDC. (2019, March 12). Preventing Teen Dating Violence. Retrieved from CDC.gov/Violence Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/teendatingviolence/fastfact.html
D Exner-Cortens, J.Eckenrode, Rothman E. (2013). Longitudinal Associations Between Teen Dating Violence Victimization and Adverse Health Outcomes. PubMed.
National Institute of Justice. (2019). Teen Dating Violence. Retrieved from NIJ.ojp.gov: https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/crimes/teen-dating-violence
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