New 'Digital Dating Abuse' Curriculum Being Released on Capitol Hill
By: Richard Webster
Examiner.com - I can’t think of a better Valentine’s Day gift than to share the news of a new and progressive tool designed to help keep America’s children safe in cyber-world.
Love is Not Abuse is more than a web-site and a Facebook Fan Page; it’s a program and coalition of benefactors, educators and caring individuals devoted to ending domestic violence in all its forms.
Beginning in 1991, the Love Is Not Abuse program, sponsored by Liz Claiborne Inc. has provided information and tools that men, women, educators, corporate executives, children, and teens can use to learn more about this pervasive social problem and find out how they can help end this epidemic.
Love Is Not Abuse is now setting their sights on keeping our children safe on-line.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Liz Claiborne Inc. are announcing an innovative online teacher training course to expand teen dating violence education to every school in the country. Leading teen dating violence and abuse experts, parents, educators and teens from around the country will meet with legislators to call for increased education initiatives to help keep teens safe.
What: "Sexting", “cyberbullying” and websites like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are increasingly being used as weapons of violence in teen dating relationships. Policymakers, parents, teachers and teens need to be educated about how to stay safe in today’s digital arena.
Consider the fact that nearly one in four teens in a relationship have texted or called their partner hourly between midnight and 5:00 AM – leaving them plenty of time to cause, or, get into trouble. Half of all 14 to 24 year olds has been the target of some form of digital abuse. Also, one in three teenagers that have been in a dating relationship has experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, or threats of physical harm.
A newly updated version of the Love Is Not Abuse teen dating violence curriculum, with a strong emphasis on Digital Dating Abuse will be launched on February 25th, 2010 on Capitol Hill at a special meeting with legislators, parents, teens and advocates from across the country, united in their commitment to ensure that all teens are educated on the dangers of digital dating abuse.
The new Love Is Not Abuse curriculum is the first comprehensive dating abuse curriculum to address digital dating abuse and is designed to ensure that teens are equipped with the tools needed to stay safe and healthy in today’s digital arena.
The curriculum will be free of charge and available to every teacher and school in the country. Schools in DC will be teaching the new digital dating abuse curriculum on February 25th.
To significantly increase the number of schools in the country teaching curricula on teen dating violence and abuse, CDC and Liz Claiborne Inc. are also announcing an innovative online teen dating violence prevention training course called Dating Matters: Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention. This will be the first online training that officially certifies educators and others to teach curricula on teen dating violence and abuse, and will be free of charge and available to teachers across the nation.
Who: those leading the February 25th presentation will include:
- Rodney Hammond, Ph.D., Director of Division of Violence Prevention at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC
- Catherine Pierce, Acting Director, Office on Violence Against Women, Department of Justice (Invited)
- Cindy Southworth, Safety Net Project Director, National Network to End Domestic Violence
- Jane Randel, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Liz Claiborne Inc.
When: February 25, 2010; 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
Where: Congressional Meeting Room South, US Capitol Visitors Center, Washington, DC
