1. How do you communicate or raise awareness about such a prevalent problem when it is a sensitive issue that deals with minors?

Case Study: Love Is Respect: National Campaign Offers Teenagers, Young Adults Support Against Abuse on the Community Level

Background

Loveisrespect.org, National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline, was launched in February 2007 through a collaboration between the National Domestic Violence Hotline and Liz Claiborne Inc. It is a 24-hour national Web-based and telephone helpline created to help teens (ages 13-18) experiencing dating abuse. Founding sponsor Liz Claiborne Inc. initiated and funded loveisrespect.org with a multiyear, million-dollar grant as part of the company's commitment to help end teen dating abuse across the nation. The helpline and Web site are both operated by the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Research

For two decades Liz Claiborne Inc. has worked to raise awareness about domestic and relationship violence, initially through its "Love Is Not Abuse" program. In 2005 the company commissioned a study about violence and abuse among teenagers (13 to 18 years) in dating relationships. The findings conveyed a compelling call for help from an overwhelming majority of teens who stated that physical and verbal abuse is a serious issue for them. Among the results:

One in three teenagers reported knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked, or physically hurt by his or her partner.

Nearly one in five teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend had threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup.

13 percent of teenage girls who said they have been in a relationship report being physically hurt or hit.

One in four teenage girls who have been in relationships revealed they have been pressured to perform oral sex or engage in intercourse.

More than one in four teenage girls in a relationship (26 percent) reported enduring repeated verbal abuse.

80 percent of teens regarded verbal abuse as a "serious issue" for their age group.

If trapped in an abusive relationship, 73 percent said they would turn to a friend for help; but only 33 percent who have been in or known about an abusive relationship said they have told anyone about it.

A 2007 study highlighted how technology is playing a role in abusive relationships:

Increasingly, teens are reporting abuse through popular technologies such as cell phones, instant messaging, and e-mails.

One in three teens who have been in a relationship says they have been text messaged 10, 20, or 30 times an hour by a partner finding out where they are, what they're doing, or who they are with.

17 percent say their partner has made them afraid not to respond to a cell phone call, e-mail, or instant or text message because of what he/she might do.

One in five teens in a relationship have been asked by cell phone or the Internet to engage in sexual activity when they did not want to.

National and Community Implementation

The national center sponsors a 24/7 helpline so teens can access help at any time of the day or night, available via phone or through a live chat line. Social media tools allow teens to communicate their thoughts, ideas, concerns, and fears with each other. Other communication tools carry the message about preventing dating violence and abuse. These include daily Twitter updates, a loveisrespect.org badge for use on blogs, online videos, and Facebook. Trained peer advocates monitor the communication vehicles and are available for private one-on-one chats.

Beyond the national resources, loveisrespect.org provides many community ideas for teens, parents, friends and family, peer advocates, government officials, law enforcement officials, and the general public. These include:

Tools to promote the National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month emphasis in February to local communities.

Posters and quizzes that can be used in schools and with youth groups and distributed at events.

Ideas for schoolwide assemblies that focus on dating abuse, such as potential speakers; clubs and organizations to involve; appropriate poetry to read; music to play.

Artwork projects that make a visual statement against abuse that could be a class assignment.

Reference materials that could be used as background information for an article in the school newspaper.

Information about starting a dating abuse awareness club.

Promotional materials to be used with events and activities.

Information about how to get involved and volunteer in the local community's domestic violence programs.

In 2008 two student groups at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, began sponsoring a fund-raiser to benefit loveisrespect, National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. GETMAD (Girls Engaged in Making a Difference) and GENTS (Guys Exhibiting Needed Traits in Society) hosted a spring fashion show that raised $50,000 for the helpline in 2010. The students also have engaged highprofile celebrities, such as Judge Jeanine Pirro and actress Robin Givens, to raise awareness about teen dating abuse and the warning signs of an unhealthy relationship at special events.

Celebrities bring the loveisrespect message to local communities. Country singer Martina McBride and her daughter Delaney shared their thoughts about what love is and the characteristics of healthy relationships in a video for the "My Time to Shine" campaign. Delaney interviewed entertainment stars like Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Randy Jackson, and Gloriana about loveisrepect and the helpline on the red carpet of the Country Music Awards. This video ran during McBride's concerts during 2009 and 2010. The message resonated with the fans and raised the name recognition of loveisrespect. Loveisrespect produced a 30-second spot that ran in movie cinemas in Texas during the summer of 2010, reaching an estimated 1.3 million viewers. The spot appeared during the opening weekend of four of the top-12 grossing films of 2010 to date: #4, Twilight: Eclipse; #5, Inception; #7, Despicable Me; and #12, The Last Airbender.

Evaluation

Since the inception of the helpline in early 1996, the yearly call volume has increased fivefold, and the yearly chat volume has increased 3.5 times. In 2009 there were more than 27,000 calls and more than 11,000 chats. Call volume was highest from teens in Texas, California, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio.