Young love is all about new sensations.

Your heart skips a beat when you see your beloved between classes. The much-anticipated first kiss is better than you dreamed. You wonder how you ever survived without this kind of excitement in your life.

But for some teens, that exalted feeling of first love turns into something more painful: sexual pressure, emotional abuse, and loss of control.

“Although we live on a small island that is safer from some of the big city problems, intimate partner violence knows no boundaries,” says Laura Trevellyan, the prevention coordinator and youth advocate for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services. “It can affect all of us regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion or socioeconomic status. Teens are no exception.”

February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. It provides an opportunity for our community to demonstrate its commitment to ending teen dating violence and supporting the numerous victims and survivors among us. One in three adolescent girls in the U.S. is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner. These relationships can have serious consequences for victims, putting them at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior, suicide and adult re-victimization.

Trevellyan says statistics for the San Juans are scarce; she believes most incidents are not reported. Many teens turn to their friends for support. Intimate relationships are new for them, so what constitutes unacceptable behavior is not always clear.

DVSAS is working with our county’s youth through classroom presentations and discussion groups to address healthy relationships, warning signs of abuse, setting personal boundaries, and understanding date and acquaintance rape. Parent meetings are also being conducted.

It’s critical that we, as a community, talk about this issue. The first step to helping our kids build strong and healthy relationships in opening up a discussion. DVSAS is happy to collaborate with groups interested in educating teens on this topic.

Experiencing love for the first time can be one of our most memorable experiences. Let’s ensure that all of our teens look back at their youth with fondness, not pain.

How to help

Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services is asking for help to spread the word and support them in the prevention of teen dating violence. If you would like to learn more, schedule a meeting, or set up a presentation for staff, students or other members of our community who work with youth, contact DVSAS at 376-5979 or email dvsas.prevention@gmail.com.

For more info about National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, visit www.teendvmonth.org.