Teens
When you enter middle school or high school, bullying may be similar to what younger students are experiencing. You may experience:
- Rumors and gossip
- Hitting / kicking / punching
- Intimidating / threatening
- Maliciously teasing or taunting
- Spreading rumors and gossip
- Stealing or forcing people to give their money or belongings
- Racist or sexist jokes or slurs
- Putting someone down or making fun of them because of differences
However, it may begin to look a little different. You may experience:
- Sexual remarks
- Textual harassment
- Cyberbullying
- Sexual harassment
- Violence in your dating relationship
Bullying and violence is all about having power and control over a person.
Did you know that:
- 1 in 5 teens who have been in a serious relationship report being hit, slapped or pushed by a partner.
- 1 in 3 girls who have been in a serious relationship say they’ve been concerned about being physically hurt by their partner.
- 1 in 4 teens who have been in a serious relationship say their boyfriend or girlfriend has tried to prevent them from spending time with friends or family ; the same number have been pressured to only spend time with their partner.
- 1 in 3 girls between the ages of 16 and 18 say sex is expected for people their age if they’re in a relationship; half of teen girls who have experienced sexual pressure report they are afraid the relationship would break up if they did not give in.
- Nearly 1 in 4 girls who have been in a relationship (23%) reported going further sexually than they wanted as a result of pressure.
(Liz Claiborne Inc. commissioned Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), March 2006)
If you think you may be in an abusive relationship there are people you can talk to:
- Locally, in Mariposa County, you can call Mountain Crisis Services at 209.742.5865.
- You can also call the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline at 1.866.331.9474 (1.866.331.8453 TTY)
- www.loveisrespect.org will allow you to chat with someone about your concerns.