February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness month and in Palm Beach County alone 1 in 4 teens or 25% are in an abusive relationship. Due to the increases in recent years, Ms. Schneider invited the Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services Domestic Abuse Program back for the sixth year to come to West Boca to educate our students on dating abuse. After the program, every student who participated is considered a domestic abuse ambassador who can recognize and help others who are in an abusive relationship.
The program took place in the media center over two days. On February 17, Ms. Jannelle Henry and Ms. Grace Taylor spent the entire day teaching students that “abuse is physical, emotional, and/or sexual attacks” using “manipulation and control to make you fear.” Although some students who signed up did not initially take the topic seriously, as the day commenced and they went through group scenarios and worksheets they began to grasp just how important it is that teens are educated in dating abuse.
The day’s first lesson straightened out normal high school confusion when Ms. Henry stated that “dating is just going somewhere with someone to get to know each other, period.” There was some confusion, but it was clarified that in high school, people can date others until they decide together to be exclusive. This interactive program did not just teach about our own or others’ relationship abuse but also that both partners’ boundaries are extremely important to uphold to ensure a relationship doesn’t turn into an abusive one.
The learning didn’t stop there as the students were required to make posters that would be placed up around the school to inform other students about the issues arising around them. Some of the categories of the poster assignment included listing kinds of behaviors that are abusive, the warning signs of abuse, how to help a friend in an abusive relationship, where to go for help, how gender stereotypes can lead to abuse, how to control anger using communication skills, and ways to prevent dating sexual abuse.
“It made me realize that it can happen to anyone” expressed a West Boca student about how the program made them feel. The participants thought this program was a fantastic opportunity for them to gain more knowledge about a topic many are unaware of. They learned to identify problematic behaviors and as one student said “made me look closer at how people act so I can leave the school with the ability to identify problems before they arise.”
Every year this program has been done it has been a different experience because it is the students who make this program what it is. After the department of safe schools suggested the program years ago to Ms. Schneider she has brought it back annually because she believes “it is such an important training and has been so successful” even growing to need two separate sessions due to the abundance of sign-ups. Speaking from personal experience I can openly say that this program would not be what it is if the students didn’t care as much as they do about those around them.
