YWCA stresses education during Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Salinas, Calif. (KION) February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and the Monterey County YWCA is educating students about abusive relationships. 

Experts at the YWCA say that one of the things teens—and their parents—should know is that every relationship is unique. So the way people interact with each other will vary. But, they say, it’s usually pretty safe to trust your gut when thinking about whether a relationship is abusive or not.

“Does it feel right?” YWCA outreach specialist Emanual Santillan asked. “Does it feel like they’re sharing the decisions that are being made? Does it feel like they get along well? Do they support each other?”

Santillan said these kinds of questions apply to a student’s own relationship as well as their friends’. 

The YWCA is working with students at several Monterey County schools on a weekly basis to teach them how to navigate these relationships. Santillan said the lack of resources for teenagers in general is a widespread issue.

“There’s not enough adults in these teenager’s lives who they can go to," Santillan said. "So the access to these individuals who can actually intervene in a situation are very limited.”