Advocates teach adolescents about domestic violence

Eyes widened and faces twisted as seventh-graders from Eagle Valley Middle School looked at pictures of a Carson City woman who had been beaten by her husband until she was bruised, bloody and swollen.

For some, it was their first exposure to domestic violence. For others, it was a too-familiar scene.

One student had first-hand knowledge of the topic.

She recently arrived in Carson City with her mother and siblings, escaping an abusive father.

"It was scary," she said. "I can't see my dad and I can't talk to him anymore."

However, she said she understands why they had to leave.

"They kept fighting and they wouldn't stop," she said. "They fought every day."

Earline Robertson, client resource coordinator for Advocates to End Domestic Violence, spent two days last week speaking to the seventh-graders about domestic violence and violence in dating relationships in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

"In this classroom, there's at least some of you that have this going on in your home," said. "You think that kind of behavior is normal, and it's not. You have the right to change."

According to statistics published by Advocates to End Domestic Violence, about one of every three high school students is, or has been, involved in an abusive dating relationship. However, only about four out of 10 relationships end after the onset of abuse.

Children also witness violence in their own homes. The Advocates' statistics show that 3 million to 4 million juveniles are exposed to violence at home and nearly 60 percent of all runaways at youth shelters were physically or sexually abused by their parents.

The presentation helped the students understand the depths of domestic violence and how they could prevent it.

"You should respect yourself," said Elizabeth Jones, 12. "Just because you are a woman or a girl, you shouldn't feel like you're any less than anyone else."

The consequences of domestic violence were also made clear.

"I learned that it's a bigger crime than I thought it was," said Tyler Jackson, 12. He concluded that penalties should be more stiff. "They should be put in prison for sure."

To help students involved in violent dating relationships or who are involved in violence at home, Robertson is organizing after-school support groups at both middle schools and at the high school.