Technology Provides New Means for Teen Abuse

Category Health | Permalink | 11. February 2007

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A new study, conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited at the request of Liz Claiborne Inc., has unsettling conclusions which show the newly developed information technology is often used to abuse teens.

Such technology, popular among teenagers, includes cell phones, e-mail and Internet messaging. One in three teens reported being text messaged 10, 20 or 30 times an hour by a partner to find out where they are, who they are with and what they are doing. One in four teens reported being text messaged by a boyfriend or girlfriend at least hourly between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., said the study.

The telecommunications and information technology also exposes teens to dating abuse. Kendrick Sledge, a survivor of dating violence, told students about the importance of speaking out about such abuse. “I didn’t end it because of the physical abuse. I was tired of not being able to do anything without being berated,” said Sledge. “I’m one of the lucky ones,” said Sledge. “I have made something good out of a terrible situation.”

Victims may remain in abusive relationships for many reasons, including fear of the perpetrator, self-blame, loyalty, love for the perpetrator, social stigma, or lack of understanding.

“According to our experts, contacting someone that frequently with those kinds of questions is simply about control and intimidation,” said Jane Randel, vice president of corporate communications for Liz Claiborne Inc. “It’s not a casual conversation.”

According to Liz Claiborne Inc.’s study, conducted among 615 teenagers ages 13 to 18 and 414 parents with children that age, 63 percent of teenagers believe using common technological devices to threaten physical harm is a serious problem.

One fifth of teens in a relationship have been asked over a cell phone or the Internet to engage in sexual activity when they didn’t want to. Ten percent claim they have been threatened physically via e-mail, Instant Messenger, text message, chat or other technological means.

The study’s margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points for the teenage sample and 5 percentage points for the adults. Victims of abusive behavior were also reluctant to tell their parents. Seventy-two percent said they didn’t tell them about receiving a harassing number of e-mails or text messages, and 82 percent had not told them about being pressed to engage in sexual activity.

“They don’t recognize it as abuse because texting each other 30 times an hour … or all this Internet-based, blog bullying that’s going on is the way they’re growing up,” said psychologist and author Jill Murray. “It’s normal to them. They don’t know what a healthy relationship is.”

“These are really electronic leashes. This is a way for an abuser … to abuse, intimidate and threaten, immediately, all hours of the day and night and without even being there,” she said.

The Office on Violence Against Women is joining with Liz Claiborne Inc. and the Domestic Violence Hotline to launch the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline (NTDAH). The NTDAH is a 24-hour national Web-based and telephone hotline that has been created to help teens (ages 13-18) experiencing dating abuse. The hotline will be the only helpline in the country serving all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Teens and parents anywhere in the country can call toll-free, 866-331-9474 or log on to the interactive Web site, http://www.loveisrespect.org, and receive immediate and confidential assistance. playfuls.com

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