What is Adolescent dating violence?

In Canada, dating violence among adolescents is a major public health concern. The right of young people to grow up in a safe and healthy environment is undermined when dating violence occurs.

Physical, sexual, and/or psychological aggressiveness in romantic and sexual relationships between adolescents (ages 11-18) is known as adolescent dating violence. Understanding dating violence is crucial for parents, teachers, and other adults who work with young people.

Researchers in the field of avoiding dating violence like ourselves were curious as to whether or not such legislation existed in Canada. Our research shows that we are not doing enough to ensure the safety of young people in romantic relationships.

Prevalence and outcomes

One in three Canadian teens have been victims of dating violence. However, adults are not inclined to talk to their children about dating violence. In fact, most individuals don't expect dating violence to be so widespread.

The prevalence of dating violence is far lower than the prevalence of other topics that families are more willing to discuss. Substance abuse in the home is often discussed, yet fewer teens are affected by alcohol and cigarette use than by dating violence. One-quarter of Canadian teens report binge drinking within the prior 12 months. Only 20% say they haven't used an e-cigarette in the last month.

We surveyed more than 3,000 Canadian teens to get a representative sample size for our analysis of dating violence data. Twelve percent of those we surveyed reported being physically injured on purpose by a romantic partner or casual acquaintance in the preceding year. Eighteen percent of those in relationships have had a date use social media in an abusive way. In addition, 28% said their partners had attempted to control them or cause them emotional harm.

Teen dating violence is a widespread occurrence in Canada, according to a study conducted in Québec. Twenty percent of the women and seven percent of the men in the survey reported experiencing unwanted sexual activity in their current or most recent romantic partner. A sizable proportion of young individuals are also victims of stalking by a partner in a romantic or sexual relationship. Two out of every three stalking victims in Canada are female, with the majority (50%) falling between the ages of 15 and 34.

Dating violence, like many other public health issues, disproportionately impacts marginalised youth, such as trans and non-binary adolescents, low-income youth, and youth of colour.

Our team's study shows that young people who have experienced dating violence are more likely to report mental health issues in the future. Teen dating violence is a major predictor of adult intimate partner violence. Dating violence can, in extreme cases, result in death.

The role of policy in prevention

The deleterious effects of dating violence can be mitigated with early intervention. However, many teens report major obstacles to getting help after experiencing dating violence.

Educators and other influential people often struggle to know what to do in the face of relationship violence. We attribute this to adults' general lack of familiarity with dating violence policy, despite its critical importance in outlining their responses to such incidents.

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the importance of policy in addressing public health issues. However, the importance of legislation in avoiding dating violence is often overlooked.

It might be difficult to make sense of the many dating violence policies that exist across Canada's provinces and territories. As the scientific co-directors of Canada's healthy relationships hub PREVNet, we are frequently questioned by teachers about how they should approach the issue of dating violence in their classrooms. Both adults in charge of children and teens and the young people themselves may wonder what they can do to help if they learn of dating violence.

Dating violence policy map

Our team at PREVNet developed a bilingual (French and English) interactive policy map to provide easy-to-understand information on dating violence policies in each Canadian province and territory for educators, carers, and young people. When it comes to helping young people who have experienced dating violence, our map is particularly useful for educators.

For young people in Canada who have experienced dating violence, our map is a crucial first step in cataloguing accessible policy protections. However, our research also shows that while there are many policies for abused children and some for abused adults, absolutely no policy exists solely for young people who have been victims of relationship violence.

Protection orders, for instance, are typically unavailable to minors. In addition, there are no publicly sponsored resources (such as hotlines) in Canada that are specifically geared towards helping young people who have experienced dating violence. The policies now in place do not spell out how people should help these children and adolescents.

This road map shows us exactly where to go to help young people who have experienced relationship violence. There is a pressing need for federal and provincial policy that targets dating violence to be developed with input from young people. Adults' responsibilities and roles in dealing with dating violence should be made clear under this policy. In addition, it needs to offer developmental services to help young people.

The rights and well-being of young people can be bolstered through the creation and execution of such policy.