ONE LOVE

As prom season and graduation season quickly approach many parents want to know how to keep their teens safe both at home and when they go off to college.  While most conversations focus on drug and alcohol abuse, one area that is frequently overlooked, despite its epidemic proportions, is relationship violence.  Teen dating violence takes place right here in Carroll County, with our office prosecuting numerous cases of intimate partner violence involving high-school and college-aged youth. Young adults ages 16-24 are at the greatest risk of relationship violence, with nearly 1.5 million high school student’s nationwide experiencing physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year.  More than 1 in 3 women and more than 1 in 4 men will be in a violent relationship during their lifetime, with nearly 50% of these women and nearly 40% of these men experience relationship violence for the first time between the ages of 18 and 24. Despite these staggering numbers, parents and peers often do not recognize the signs of relationship abuse before it is too late, in fact 81% percent of parents believe teen dating violence is not an issue or admit they don’t know if it is an issue.

In an effort to help our county’s teenagers, young-adults, parents, and teachers recognize the signs of relationship violence and how to help someone in danger, our Office will be holding a screening of “Escalation,” a movie created by the One Love Foundation to spread awareness about relationship abuse.  The screening is scheduled for April 20, 2016 at the Carroll Arts Center, and will be followed by a brief discussion on relationship abuse and the services available in Carroll County.

Image by One Love Foundation {link to http://www.joinonelove.org/}