As Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month progresses, students from schools across Erie County took an opportunity Wednesday to educate the public about a less commonly recognized form of abuse – toxic language.
The Erie County Commission on the Status of Women hosted “Healthy Relationships,” an annual summit that brought together teens, domestic abuse survivors and county officials to raise awareness about teen relationship violence.
“Intimate partner violence and the prevalence of it is a community problem,” said Karen King, executive director of the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women.
The commission was established in 1978 to encourage public awareness, health and well-being, and civic engagement, leadership and empowerment for women in Erie County.
The summit featured a presentation from Williamsville South High School’s research committee that highlighted the effects of verbal abuse not only in romantic relationships, but also among friends, family and peers. Teens at the high school were surveyed and asked about recognizing signs of 'gaslighting,' using derogatory language and how their words impact others.
“I think it's super important to feel comfortable talking to people about what you're experiencing, because they're the ones that can help you,” said Williamsville South senior Jordyn Marcus.
Attendees also heard from local law enforcement on how to recognize signs of abuse and domestic abuse and a firsthand account of someone who was once a victim of relationship violence.
Starr Cooper is a local entrepreneur, and she’s a domestic abuse survivor. She said her first experiences with relationship violence occurred as a teen and began verbally before escalating to physical abuse.
“What you will always have is verbal and mental abuse first. That turns into physical,” Cooper said.
Survey response data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that about one in 12 teens experienced physical dating violence and nearly one in 10 experienced sexual dating violence. About 16 million women and 11 million men who reported experiencing intimate partner violence first experienced it before the age of 18.
The main takeaway that students and event organizers hope their guests left with was to be informed on how the words they say can affect others and dramatically impact the relationships in their lives.
“It is that message of informed language, and researching the history behind the terms that we say, bringing these messages to our school communities and starting there,” Marcus said. “If we all bring in our own perspectives, and, you know, come in educated, we can treat each other respectfully. ”
