NJ Wants Schools to Address Teen Dating Violence
The statistics are alarming: in one year, close to 1.5 million high school students in this country suffer physical abuse at the hands of the person they are dating. (1) This issue is not unique to any specific social, economic or racial group and the most serious cases end up in the headlines. Now New Jersey is considering steps to help stop this growing social problem.
This week a State Assembly panel approved a bill, introduced by the Education Committee, which would require schools to include lessons on dating violence in their health curriculum. The lessons would be geared toward middle and high school students in grades 7 through 12. In addition, teachers and other staff members would be trained to recognize the signs and handle incidents of dating violence that may occur at school. (1)
Planned Parenthood of Central New Jersey released the following statistics, supporting the need for education about this social issue: