Stay Informed

Join the Marjaree Mason Center in recognizing Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM) this February with a number of events and social media campaigns you can support to get involved and encourage healthy relationships for the teens in your life and local youth. Learn how you can be part of making meaningful change and join the Marjaree Mason Center's efforts to create a community free of domestic violence.

Teen Dating Violence or Teen Dating Abuse is the physical, emotional, verbal, digital and/or sexual abuse that occurs within a dating relationship among adolescents. It’s a pattern of abuse used to exert power and control over a dating partner.

One in three women, one in four men and one in three teenagers have experienced domestic violence in the U.S.

Every year, approximately 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner.

Over the last 18 months, three Fresno County teenagers lost their lives to teen dating violence.

While we work to raise awareness and educate local youth about healthy relationships in Fresno County year round, TDVAM is a time when everyone can contribute to the cause to better the community. A few misconceptions that teenagers face:

• A healthy relationship means a “perfect” relationship.
• A healthy relationship means a “boring” relationship.

The prevention and education team at the Marjaree Mason Center works to teach that healthy relationships include moving at a comfortable pace, honesty, respect, healthy conflict, trust, independence, equality, taking responsibility, setting boundaries, and it should also be fun.

There’s a lot of pressure on teenagers to date or have a boyfriend/girlfriend when we should also be normalizing that it’s okay to just want to hang out with your friends or be single.

This is a conversation that needs to take place! So what can we, as a community, do?

Here's how you can be part of making meaningful change and join the Marjaree Mason Center's efforts to prevent teen dating violence and create a community free of domestic violence:

• Have conversations with the young people in their lives to encourage healthy relationships. Talk to your teens about what healthy relationships are, how to set boundaries, and what to do if they ever feel un-safe. Start an open conversation now. February is the perfect opportunity.
• Download and share our TDVAM Guide: This guide includes information you may not know surrounding the topic of Teen Dating Violence, guidance on how to start open conversations with the youth in your life, what to do when someone asks for help, and more. It's a meaningful tool to download and share. Click here to take a look and download the guide now.
• Download and share our TDVAM Calendar: There are 29 ways you can make an impact this February. From posting on social media to checking in with a friend... we challenge you to check-off all 29 activities! Click here to download the calendar now.
• Follow our kNOw MORE® Social Media Pages and Share Content: As part of ongoing prevention and education efforts, the Marjaree Mason Center continues to collaborate with Fresno County High Schools and Middle Schools to provide the kNOw MORE® Program, which initially began in 2009, to educate local youth on the long-lasting effects of abuse in teen relationships and provide a space for them to talk with peers about the topic of unhealthy relationships. These social media pages have a TON of useful resources and we'll be posting new content and resources all month long. Click here to visit the Facebook page or search @knowmoreteendv
• Share MMC's PSA about Teen Dating Violence. Have you been to the Marjaree Mason Center's YouTube channel? Click here to watch and share our PSA specifically tailored to educate the community about Teen Dating Violence.
• Talk to your child’s school: Ask if they have policies in place surrounding teen dating violence. Advocate to have the kNOw MORE® Program at your child’s school site, if it isn’t already.
• Write to your elected officials: Advocate for prevention funding at the State level.
• Donate to the Marjaree Mason Center: You can designate your gift towards prevention efforts. Click here to donate now and just click 'Prevention and Education.'