Preventing domestic violence in your community

Grand Rapids, Mich (WOTV) - Last month was Domestic Violence Awareness Month.  The purpose is to bring to light what domestic violence is and that it can and does effect all ages, genders, ethnicities and economic levels.   According to an article reported on by the Huffington Post , that was written by Bernice Yeung in California Watch, attitudes are changing.   When I was growing up, domestic violence was something that happened to other people and no one talked about it.   Now, according to this new survey, the majority of people are aware that it can and does happen to anyone and most said they knew someone who had been a victim of domestic abuse.  This is a major shift from not that many years ago.

 We are on the right course to understanding, but now need to proceed to prevention.  The best place to teach young people about healthy relationships is at home, but since parents and homes differ widely, the prime location becomes schools.   This same survey asked opinions on prevention programs for kids and found that a majority felt it was a good idea to provide information on dating abuse in middle schools to prevent domestic violence.  This was tried in New York in 117 schools in 2009 and 2010 and found to be a success, but attempts to make a program mandatory in California schools has not been successful.

As a former teacher, it seems like a no-brainer to me.  A mandatory, nationwide program that addresses healthy relationships, bullying, sexual harassment and how to develop the self-esteem to walk away from an abusive relationship (even if it is with the hottest guy is school), would be nothing but a win for everyone.   It might even help those who have witnessed abuse at home from becoming abusers if they were taught how to deal with conflict in a healthy way.  What do you think?  Would you support a mandatory program for all middle school kids that dealt with these issues?  Comment below and let us know what you think.

Nothing herein constitutes a legal opinion.