To raise awareness around the issue of domestic violence, in October 2011, The Verizon Foundation awarded $105,000 in grants to nine Georgia organizations, including GCADV, to support programs dedicated to educating teens about dating and domestic violence prevention.

“We work very hard to prevent family violence before it happens. Reaching teens, both boys and girls, regarding healthy relationship behavior, signs of abuse and prevention techniques will help improve our state’s families for future generations,”  says Nicole Lesser, Executive Director.

Through this $15,000 grant, GCADV is announcing its new Facebook page and its 2012 Safe Tech & Healthy Relationships Artwork Contest!

GCADV is asking teens to express their ideas on dating violence using graphic software and/or free hand art work and to name a new training to increase awareness and conversation around teen dating violence . Contestants will name and demonstrate through poster design, GCADV’s new Teen Dating Violence Initiative.  Participants will be invited to engage with domestic violence advocates from around the state to share their views, experiences, and opinions on how to decrease teen dating violence and become advocates for a meaningful cause.

For more infomation, visit http://teens.gcadv.org/

See contest Facebook page HERE

Almost two years ago, the story of Yeardley Love, a University of Virginia student who was tragically murdered by her abusive boyfriend, dominated the news. Questions still remain. In her story, Soraya asks: “How…could this have happened? Where were the parents? Where were the teachers? Where were the friends? And yes, why couldn’t she end it?” The Apps Against Abuse program addresses these questions and raises one more: What could have been done to prevent it? With the innovative new Circle of 6 iPhone application, help can be just a click away.

Learn more about emerging technologies empowering bystanders, both men and women, to start the conversations and stop the violence. Download the app and say NO MORE.

http://www.circleof6app.com/

Okay, so I started hanging out with this guy when I was 14.  He was 15, hot, a grade older than me, had a job, and was very popular.  Dating him was great because when I started my freshman year at the same high school as him, he was a sophomore and already well-known.  Plus, people thought I was older than I was because I was always hanging around him and his friends.  It all started great but moved pretty quickly.

Once we had been together for about 6 weeks, he gave me $500 for my birthday.  For our first anniversary, he bought me a huge sapphire ring.  He would tell EVERYONE that he got me the jewelry and make sure that anyone we came into contact with knew that I was his.  He took me shopping and picked out clothes for me.  I didn’t even realize how much I started changing.  In the back of my mind, I always felt like I owed him something because he had given me so much.  My parents always told me that we were getting too serious, but I didn’t feel that way.  I didn’t realize that his behavior was how he started controlling me.

When I turned 16, I started thinking about getting a part-time job so I could get a car and pay for my own phone.  He was always angry at my parents for making me get off the phone because they were getting overages on their bill.  He told me that getting a job was stupid idea because he would never get to see me if we were both working.  I told him that we could hang out at school or on the nights that we were both off since he had a car.  He wasn’t happy, but I got a job anyway where all my friends worked.  He came into my job constantly.  He ended up getting me fired because my boss said that he was a distraction to me and my coworkers.

After I was fired, I couldn’t pay for my phone anymore so he got his parents to add me to their family plan.  He agreed to pay for my unlimited minutes and texts.  He would grab my phone out of my purse so he could see exactly who I had been texting.  When I got pissed at him, he’d say, “Well, you’re not paying for the phone anyway.”  He’d text my friends back from my phone pretending to be me and saying things that I would never say.  If I was talking to or texting guy friends, he’d call them and threaten them.  Everyone I knew well starting saying that I had changed and that I was “all up him.”  He’d text me all the time so that I couldn’t sleep.  My grades started slipping so my parents were angry with me.  I couldn’t talk to them because they would tell me that they “told me so.”  All my friends started talking about how they were afraid he would “go psycho” on them, so people started avoiding me since he was always somewhere nearby.  Even though my Facebook showed this super-happy couple, I felt like I couldn’t talk to anyone.  I felt isolated and alone.  We finally broke up after a year and a half because I found out he had been cheating on me.

My story isn’t different from a lot of teens.  This guy was my first serious boyfriend, and I didn’t know what was normal and what wasn’t for a relationship.  Now I realize that there were so many things unequal in our relationship.  He used his money, social status and technology to influence, monitor and control me.  Over and over, he showed a pattern of being jealous and possessive, and he tried to put me down in front of others.  Even though he would tell me that he loved me, his intentions were to make me do what he wanted me to do.  I wish I could tell my friends now what would have helped me then.  If you have a friend that is dealing with an abusive relationship, let them know you are concerned about them.  So many people gossiped about me, but none of my friends actually asked me if I was okay.  That would have helped me a lot.  Need more advice?  Call 1.800.334.2836 or http://www.loveisrespect.org.

What can your organization do to support Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention  Month this February? Here at Start Strong Atlanta we want to reach out to our collaborating partners and community organizations to offer our support on any planned activities this coming February.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any thoughts on any collaborative events or activities.

In addition to offering our collaboration on events and activities, we have an amazing group of Start Strong Atlanta Teens who perform a play about teen dating violence that makes an excellent addition to any event.

Here are some brief information sheets to encourage participation in Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month:

Call To Action- Parents

Call To Action- Youth Influencers

Call To Action- Students

Contact:  Brian Namey, bnamey@nnedv.org; 202-543-5566

National Network to End Domestic Violence Safety Net Technology ProjectJoins Facebook’s Global Safety Advisory Board

Washington, D.C. – The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) today announced that it is joining Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board, becoming one of five organizations from North America and Europe to be a part of the group. NNEDV’s Safety Net Technology Project experts have worked with Facebook consistently to represent the needs of victims of domestic violence, cyber-stalking and teen dating violence.

“We are honored to join Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board,” said Cindy Southworth, one of NNEDV’s vice presidents and the founder of NNEDV’s Safety Net Technology Project.  “We’re grateful that Facebook regularly works with us to collect feedback on privacy features and online safety. We look forward to continuing our efforts together in an even greater capacity to create the safest possible online networking space for everyone – including survivors of domestic violence, dating abuse, cyber-stalking and harassment.”

Celebrating its one-year anniversary this week, Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board provides suggestions on new Facebook products before they are launched and advises Facebook on increasing online safety measures.

“Protecting the unique needs of domestic abuse victims and survivors is a responsibility shared by policymakers, safety advocates and organizations that seek to create the most robust safety environment possible, like Facebook,” said Marne Levine, Facebook’s Vice President for Global Public Policy. “We are thrilled to welcome the National Network to End Domestic Violence to our global Safety Advisory Board, and look forward to working with them closely to make sure that we are always taking into account the needs of domestic abuse victims.”

The four other member organizations of Facebook’s Safety Advisory Board are:

• Childnet International, a UK-based charity working to help make the Internet a safe place for children and young people, alongside enabling them to use interactive technologies safely and responsibly.
• ConnectSafely.org, the leading interactive resource on the Web for parents, teens and educators engaged and interested in youth safety on the fixed and mobile Internet platforms.
• The Family Online Safety Institute, which works to make the online world safer for children and their families by identifying and promoting best practices, tools and methods in the field of online safety that also respect free expression.
• WiredSafety, the largest online safety, education and help group program in the world that provides help, information and education to Internet and mobile device users of all ages, especially on cyber-bullying matters.

For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/fbsafety#!/note.php?note_id=172904199397037&id=125459124158601.

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NNEDV, a 501(c)(3) organization, is the leading voice for domestic violence victims and  advocates. Its members include the 56 state and territorial coalitions against domestic violence.  It works closely with them to understand the needs of domestic violence victims and advocacy programs.  NNEDV has been a premiere national organization advancing the movement against domestic violence for the past 15 years, after leading efforts among domestic violence advocates and survivors in urging Congress to pass the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994.  To learn more, please visit www.nnedv.org