Youth Program

Addressing Domestic Violence from Day One

DVPN has dedicated a program focused on youth because teen dating violence is often a risk factor to future victims and perpetrators of domestic violence and other types of violence. It is also a situation that affects far too many of our young people with nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.

Indiana ranks 3rd highest out of 30 states for sexual dating violence in high school.

That’s far too high. We believe domestic violence prevention starts early, which is why we’ve dedicated significant resources to engaging young people.

The aspects of our youth program include:

• Educator Resources include resources for school personnel and other youth workers that address dating violence and social issues. The main resource is The Change Project which DVPN created to bring a healthy relationship curriculum into the classroom. Our Youth Program staff go onsite, whether a classroom or after-school setting, to administer our healthy relationship curriculum. Other resources include toolkits and videos brought together from various sources. We also have our Title IX page that goes more in-depth on this helpful resource.

• Parent Resources includes a curated list of resources designed to help parents discuss these difficult topics with the young people in their lives. We also have a list of potential ways parents can get involved alongside their young people to address issues around teen dating violence.
• Youth Resources includes a curated list to navigate and explore healthy relationships and tips to become activists to end violence and impact cultural understanding in their peer groups. There is also information about our Youth Network, a leadership after-school program that goes more in-depth on teen dating violence.

By eliminating harmful stigmas and changing cultural norms, we will see a better tomorrow for our children and grandchildren.

Looking for Adult Training on Teen Dating Violence? Visit our Adult Training Services for more info.