Guest Post: February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month
Follow along this month as a local high school student shares what they’re learning about healthy relationships!
Hi! My name is Kivrin (they/them) and I am a junior in high school. I love listening to the soundtrack of Hadestown, scrapbooking, collecting wacky earrings, and going to theatre rehearsals every day after school. Social activism has always been a passion of mine. I think teen dating violence prevention is critical because relationships in teen years are the foundation for learning how to advocate for personal boundaries, set limits, and recognize abusive patterns.
In one of my favorite books, A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab, Kell Maresh, a magician who can travel between the four parallel Londons, and Delilah Bard, a notorious thief, go on an adventure to save all of the worlds. It is not a primarily a romance novel so the relationship between Kell and Lila has more time to develop as we see more of their individual growth across the trilogy. This novel gives many great examples of consent in relationships.
Come find me on the YWCA Northeast Kansas Facebook and Instagram pages, where I’ll be posting some fun videos about healthy relationships - with the help of a few friends!
One organization I think you should check out is love is respect. It’s a national organization with resources about healthy relationships, advice for teen dating, how to communicate, and how to stay safe. I also found information on how to support a friend dealing with an unsafe or unhealthy relationship.