New York State raising awareness of teen dating violence during February
ALBANY - February is proclaimed “Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month” in New York State. Governor Andrew Cuomo encourages all New Yorkers to participate in the state’s new “Send a Candy Heart” social media campaign during February.
Coordinated by the state Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV), the campaign encourages people to let friends know they are concerned about teen dating violence by taking a photo of themselves holding oversized, paper versions of candy conversation hearts that feature the words, “I will…” followed by something they will commit to do, such as “talk to my children about healthy relationships.” Then they can share the photo on social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, along with the hash tag #tdvcandyhearts.
OPDV Executive Director Gwen Wright said, “The idea for this campaign was generated by our existing ‘This Isn’t Love’ poster, in which the traditional candy heart messages are turned upside down by showing messages of control and abuse instead of love and happiness. The poster has been popular for years and we thought it was time to go viral with a positive message that everyone can do something to bring awareness to this issue.”
Girls and young women ages 16-24 are at the highest risk of dating violence. The federal Centers for Disease Control calls dating violence a public health problem noting that a survey of adult victims of rape, intimate partner violence and stalking indicated that 15 percent of men and 22 percent of women had first been abused by a partner when they were between 11 and 17 years old.
http://www.empirestatenews.net/News2014/20140210-6.htm