Beyond the Broken Bones and Knocked out Teeth: Listening Sessions as an Innovative Strategy towards assessing and addressing new trends and patterns in Adolescent Dating Violence

Professional conferences are under-utilized settings for engaging diverse stakeholders in formative research.  The Office on Women’s Health commissioned a study to engage stakeholders in structured discussions on addressing intimate partner violence (IPV) in educational settings.  Perspectives on IPV were gleaned from 180 participants in 12 listening sessions conducted during the 2013 Youth-at-Risk Conference.  This presentation summarizes findings on IPV, including implications for programs and policy to address IPV among young couples.  Preliminary analysis revealed these several cross-cutting themes:  (1) sources of information on IPV is are shifting  to “tweets, postings, and blogging” about personal opinions and experiences in ways that largely blame victims for their demise; (2) IPV awareness is not adequately addressed in peer bullying curricula; (3) schools are reluctant to sponsor discussions on IPV, primarily because they lack the proper resources for interventions, counseling, and referrals after such events; (4) IPV, as depicted on “reality TV”, casts violence as a normal part of romantic love; and (5) the need to engage adolescent males in discussions on healthy relationships from a male point of view.  Youth-serving professionals highlighted how social media and technology contributes to early onsets of control, domination, possession and jealousy among young high school couples though college students discussed substance abuse as a mitigating factor to acquaintance sexual assault.  The listening session format conducted during professional conferences serves as an effective framework for integrating the voices from the frontline in discussions on the feasibility of creating practical strategies for addressing IPV within the built educational environment.