Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month 2025: How Can I Help?

This year, advocates for adolescent health and wellness will observe Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month 2025 during the month of February. This awareness month – shortened as TDVAM – brings awareness to a disturbing phenomenon: violence among adolescent dating partners.

TDVAM began in 2006 as “National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week,” and became an official national observance day in 2010, through a proclamation by President Barak Obama. In 2025, the non-profit group Love is Respect hosts TDVAM with a broad range of awareness activities planned for the month of February, all organized around helping prevent teen dating violence.

Here’s an excerpt from the text of the presidential announcement that made TDVAM official:

“Violent dating relationships can lead to depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol use, and thoughts of suicide, and victims may continue to experience detrimental effects throughout their lives.”

Rasing awareness about teen dating violence is an important step in promoting communication between teens and adults – parents, teachers, and policymakers alike – about how to identify, reduce, and prevent teen dating violence.

That’s the first way parents of teens can help: by starting a conversation with your teen about dating violence. If you’re uncertain exactly what it is, start with the definition we offer below.

What is Teen Dating Violence?

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicate that teen dating violence is a type of intimate partner violence that includes some or all of the following types of behavior:

• Physical violence: hitting, kicking, or hurting a partner with physical force
• Sexual violence: forcing a partner to engage in sexual acts, sexual touching, forcing a partner to post/share sexual pictures, sharing sexual pictures, sexting someone without their consent
• Psychological aggression: using verbal or nonverbal communication with the intent to harm or control a partner
• Stalking: a pattern of repeated unwanted attention/communication by a current or former partner that results in fear or concern for safety of the victim and/or their friends

Dating violence is a traumatic experience that has ongoing, long-term consequences. It’s more than one bad day/night where things got out of hand. Experiencing is almost never something a person can simply get past or get over. In addition to the negative outcomes described by President Obama above, data from the CDC shows dating violence increases risk of the following disorders/behaviors/experiences:

• Eating disorders
• Risky sexual behavior
• Domestic violence during adulthood
• Problems at work or school
• Problems with family and friends
• Moderate to severe emotional issues

That’s why Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month 2025 is essential: the consequences of dating violence are severe – but preventable. Let’s learn more about TDVAM now.

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month 2025: Major Themes and Concepts

The organizers at Love is Respect selected the following them for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month 2025:

Respect That

Respect – more than any other factor – can change the fundamental nature of a relationship. A relationship without mutual, two-way respect is likely to be an unhealthy relationship, with negative consequences for both people. Respect, however, is not only a thing, like noun: it’s proactive. In the context of a dating relationship, respect is more like a verb. It implies engaged intention. Someone who prioritizes respect in a relationship takes clear steps to respect the humanity, rights, and intrinsic value of their dating partner.

Here’s how the people at Love is Respect talk about the active component of respect:

“Respecting someone isn’t just a vague idea. It’s action and a mindset. We want to highlight the importance of treating partners with dignity, listening to their viewpoints, respecting their boundaries, and valuing their autonomy by focusing on respect.”

The organizers of TDVAM identify three primary reasons respect is important in relationships:

1. Trust: mutual respect builds confidence and fosters a feeling of safety
2. Equality: mutual respect means both partners have the same level of input and ability to make decisions about the relationship
3. Well-Being: mutual respect increases emotional wellness and improves self-esteem

And here’s how the Director of Love is Respect, Angela Lee, describes respect in the context of relationships:

“Knowing your worth and recognizing that your individuality adds something special to the world is essential… respect is not defined by others or societal norms. Instead, it is defined by how you see yourself and show up in your relationships. Respect That and we will always support your journey!”

We agree – and offer our support as well. Before we dive into the details on how can all Respect That during the month of February, we’ll take a moment to address the scope of the problem, and share what we know about how many teens experience dating violence every year.

The Latest Facts on Teen Dating Violence

We collected the following data from the Love is Respect website, the National Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence Survey (NISVS), the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ). The following figures include our current understanding of the prevalence of teen dating violence in the U.S.

We’ll start with the data on high school students.

Dating Violence Among Teens and High School Students

• 19% of teens report dating violence.
• 8.3% of teens reported experiencing dating violence in the past year
• 25% of female dating violence victims reported first instance happened before age 18
• 20% of male dating violence victims reported first instance happened before age 18
• 26 million teenagers reported dating violence before the end of high school
• 11% of female high school students reported sexual dating violence in 2023
• 8% of high school students report being forced to have sex in 2021
  • By gender:
    • 14% of females
    • 4% of males
  • By ethnicity:
    • Highest among American Indian/Alaska Natives: 18%
    • Lowest among Asian people: 4%
  • By orientation:
    • Heterosexual: 5%
    • LGBTQIA+: 20%
• 3% of male high school students reported sexual dating violence in 2023

Next, the data for college students, many of whom are teenagers for the first two years of college.

Dating Violence Among College Students

• 43% of college-age women who date report experiencing dating violence/abuse
• 57% of college women say it’s difficult to pinpoint when behaviors cross the line
• 58% of college-age women say they don’t know how to help someone experiencing dating violence/abuse
• 33% of college students who date gave their partner a password
  • Giving a dating partner a password increases likelihood of abuse
• 16% of college-age women report experiencing sexual abuse in a relationship

• 20% of undergraduate students report physical abuse from a dating partner

That’s the scope of the problem. To put some of these numbers in perspective, there are around 42 million teenagers – give or take – in the U.S., according to data published in 2019. Based on that figure, we see that close to 8 million teenagers report experiencing dating violence in their lives. The figures also reveal that over 4 million female high school students and over 3 million male high school students experienced dating violence in 2023. The college numbers need no real explanation: close to half of college age women experience dating violence or abuse, and one-fifth of all college age students experienced physical abuse from a dating partner.

How We Can Change the Situation: Lead With Respect

This year, the organizers of TDVAM published a guidebook for the month called “Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month 2025: What, Why, and How?.” In this publication, the people at TDVAM explore the various types of respect that form the foundation of healthy relationships. Healthy relationships respect:

1. Boundaries
2. Consent
3. Open, Honest Communication
4. Individual Differences

We’ll explain how each of these contributes to mutual respect in the context of a healthy, nurturing, and fulfilling relationship.

One: Respect Boundaries

Boundaries refer to the personal limits each of us set in order to protect our overall physical, emotional, and psychological safety and wellbeing. In the 21^st century, boundaries can be digital or cover things that occur online.

Healthy boundaries include:

• Being friends and following each other on social media, but not sharing passwords
• Being okay with kissing and holding hands, but not in public.
• Texting each other regularly, but not all day every day and not at odd hours, e.g. the middle of the night
• Making out a little is okay, but I don’t want to have sex

Unhealthy boundaries include:

• A partner needing to know your whereabouts 24/7
• Partner saying things like “If you love me, you won’t hang out with [insert name].”
• A partner saying “I can’t stand seeing you talk to other [guys/girls/people]. I get so jealous and I think you’re gonna cheat on me.”
• Partner saying, “If you really loved me, you’d change. For me.”

With regards to boundaries, always remember that you get to set them. If something feels like a violation of your boundaries, it’s a violation of your boundaries. You’re the only one that gets to decide what violates your boundaries and what doesn’t.

Two: Respect Levels of Consent

Consent means “to give approval.”

Literally everything in a healthy relationship revolves around consent. Saying yes to a date is consent. Saying yes to “Can I text you?” is consent. Consent applies to everything from having a conversation ot having sex.According to the organizers of TDVAM:

“Consent should be clear, enthusiastic, and freely given.”

In a relationship, you can gauge whether your partner respects your consent by watching out for Green Flags (good) and Red Flags (bad).

Green Flags

Green fags indicate your partner respect consent. Examples include your partner asking questions like:

Is this okay?

Should we slow down?

Do you want to go further?

Do you want me to stop?

Red Flags

Red flags indicate your partner doesn’t respect consent. Examples of red flags include:

• Putting pressure on you to do things you don’t want to do
• Implying that you owe them something in return for something they did, or saying you owe them something because you’re in a relationship
• Reacting with extreme emotion or volatile behavior when you don’t consent to something they want to do

Three: Respect in Communication

Healthy relationships are characterized by respectful communication. In a relationship, it’s important that you feel safe speaking your truth on any and all matters, whether related to the relationship, or about entirely unrelated topics.  Healthy communication is:

• Open
• Honest
• Direct

Communication works best with reciprocity. When you speak your truth, make sure you give your partner the time and space to speak their truth, too.

Four: Respect Differences

Diversity makes the world more interesting.

We’re all individuals, and we all have our ways of doing things. Our habits and tendencies may be related to our hobbies and interests, our family background, or our broader cultural heritage. In any case, your dating partner needs to respect any differences between you and them. This mean they respect your:

• Race
• Gender
• Sexuality
• Socioeconomic status
• Family
• Friends
• Choices

Those are the four categories of respect common to healthy, fulfilling relationships. Respect is the foundation from which the positive aspects of relationships grow. If you read through the four types of respect above and realize your relationship lacks those things, we encourage you to decide whether your dating relationship is the kind of relationship you want to have.

If you’re the parent of a teen reading this article, we encourage you to read about these four types of respect, and ask them to evaluate any relationship they have – dating or otherwise – through the lens of respect.

The Opposite of Respect

We’ve spent the majority of this article talking about respect, and how it’s a core component of any healthy relationship. According to the organizers of TDVAM, the opposite of respect in a relationship is easy to label:

The opposite of respect is abuse.

Disrespect, in a relationship, is a form of abuse.

Abuse is a form of violence.

Therefore, disrespect, in dating relationships, is a form of dating violence.

Disrespect is not the only form of violence and abuse in relationships, but it’s critical for people to understand that abuse refers to a wide variety of behaviors.

Relationship abuse may include:

• Physical abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Verbal abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Financial abuse
• Tech/digital abuse
• Stalking

These types of disrespectful behavior also meet criteria for abuse:

• Touching you without consent
• Insulting you/calling names
• Trying to control how you dress
• Trying to control how you talk and act
• Harassing/pressuring you to have sex/engage in sexual activity
• Tracking your location or activity in any way, e.g. social media

Disrespect is never acceptable. Abuse is never acceptable.

Never.

This is worth repeating: disrespect is abuse, abuse is a form of interpersonal violence, therefore, disrespect in relationships is violence, which means disrespect in teen dating relationships is teen dating violence. That’s a firm position to take, but it’s real, and we can’t mince words or pull punches about something with significant, negative, short- and long-term consequences.

Dating, Relationship, and Domestic Violence Resources

• The Love Is Respect website provides an abundance of resources for victims of dating violence, and anyone who wants to learn more
  • Call 1.866.331.9474 to get help
  • Text LOVEIS to 22422 to get help
• Break the Cycle also provides valuable information about dating violence and intimate partner violence
• Start Strong – Building Healthy Teen Relationships provides excellent advice on forming and maintaining positive relationships
• National Domestic Violence Hotline:
  • Call 800.799.SAFE (7233) to get help
  • Click here to access chat windows
  • Text START to 88788 to get help