Understanding Dating Violence

Dating violence is a pattern of violent behavior—physical, sexual, emotional, or verbal—by one partner in a dating relationship toward the other partner. It can happen to teens at any age, no matter what race, ethnicity, or religion they are, and no matter their level of education or economic background. Dating violence can also occur in same-sex relationships.

Teens and adults are often unaware of how regularly dating violence occurs, so it is important to help people realize that dating violence can happen to teens as well as to adults.

Several different terms may be used to describe dating violence, including but not limited to:

• Relationship abuse
• Intimate partner violence
• Relationship violence
• Dating abuse
• Domestic violence

For the sake of clarity, this website uses only one term: dating violence.

Likewise, several terms can be used to describe the people involved in violent dating relationships, such as:

• Perpetrator, abuser, or batterer (e.g., the person causing the violence)
• Victim, survivor, or target (e.g., the recipient of violent behavior)

For the sake of clarity, this website uses two of these terms: perpetrator and victim.

Facts and Impact

Teen dating violence is a serious issue. A study of public high school students reported that one in five teenage girls have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a dating partner.¹ Many of these cases can be prevented by helping teens develop skills to form healthy relationships with others.

Some teens and adults may think of dating violence as only physical violence—pinching, slapping, hitting, or shoving. They may not recognize that any relationship involving physical violence, sexual violence, emotional abuse, or the threat of violence is an unhealthy relationship. Emotional and verbal abuse—threatening or insulting words, texting excessively, spreading rumors, and controlling someone's activities—may not leave visible physical marks, but can leave painful emotional scars. If no action is taken, emotional abuse may become more severe and begin to include sexual and physical violence.

Dating violence can have serious consequences for both the perpetrator of violence and the victim. Patterns of violence may be carried into future relationships. Teens who experience physical violence are three times more likely than their non-violent peers to experience dating violence in college. In adulthood, perpetrators and victims are more likely to be involved in intimate partner violence.

¹Silverman JG, Raj A, Mucci L, Hathaway J. Dating violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy, and suicidality. Journal of the American Medical Association 2001; 286(5):5729.