ROGERS -- Hundreds of Heritage High School students pledged this week to help end abusive teen relationships.
The school's Gender Equality Club set up a booth during lunch periods this week to solicit students' pledges not to abuse. Students were asked to sign a paper cut into the shape of a hand. Each signed hand then was attached to a poster with the message "These hands don't hurt" in large orange letters.
Abuse Statistics
Violence is a problem in dating relationships of young adults. Statistics show:
• Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.
• One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence.
• One in 10 high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend.
• One-quarter of high school girls have been victims of physical or sexual abuse.
• About 70 percent of college students say they have been sexually coerced.
Source: www.LoveIsRespect.o…
The poster was overflowing with more than 200 hands by Friday afternoon.
"We targeted this issue because it's so often overlooked," said William Johnson, a senior and club president. "People have shown this is definitely something they care about."
Administrators gave the club permission to announce the initiative over the intercom Monday morning, something generally not allowed, said Principal Karen Steen.
School counselors were notified in advance of the project in case the topic caused anxiety among students who have personal experiences with abuse. No such issues had been reported as of Friday, Steen said.
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The club's project coincided with Respect Week, a chance to promote respect and healthy relationships. Orange, the color of the club's poster, is the color adopted by the Love Is Respect National Youth Advisory Board.
The Gender Equality Club is in its second year at Heritage. It has about 20 members, according to Sarah Luhtanen, club adviser and English teacher.
The club has developed a close relationship with the Northwest Arkansas Women's Shelter. Club members raised money for the shelter last semester. Rose Stanton, the shelter's outreach director, has worked with the club. Stanton introduced the students to ideas of activities to promote awareness of Respect Week.
Rebecca Farrell, shelter director, said teen dating violence is increasing. Statistics show the abusers in these relationships are just as likely to be girls as they are to be boys, she said.
"What we also know is if teens start experiencing violence in their dating relationships as teens, they're more likely to become abusers or victims as adults in their relationships," Farrell said. High school is a critical time to talk to students about the warning signs, she said.
It's also important for teens to understand they can intervene in another person's relationship if they observe violence in it, she said.
Many students lack adults in their lives to model a healthy relationship to them, Luhtanen said.
Johnson said leaving an abusive relationship -- whether that abuse is physical, verbal or emotional -- can be difficult for some.
"That's why we wanted to show support for those people, because it is a hard thing to do. We want to show we're on their side," he said.
Steen said she has suggested club members follow up on their project with a survey to help determine if their project made a difference.
"I'm tickled to death that this project was initiated by the kids," Steen said. "They took an idea and ran with it. And for some who organized it, they'll never forget this."
NW News on 02/14/2015