Teen Dating Violence Action Month 2022 – Recap

YWCA’s Prevention Team

Teen dating abuse is a year-round focus for YWCA Spokane’s Prevention Team. Our work to end cycles of abuse expands beyond the month of February. We invite you to get involved with our efforts if you work with youth! Spokane is fortunate to have a variety of youth-centered agencies, connecting resources and support can let the youth in our community know they are a priority.  We work to engage and empower youth in building up lives and communities free from dating violence by offering safety tools, resources, and education around healthy relationships and behaviors.

To learn more about how the Prevention Team could engage with your organization, please contact preventionteam@ywcaspokane.org.

As February wraps up, let’s look back at our month-long campaign to ignite conversation and increase awareness on Teen Dating Violence!

View the photos!

TDVAM Kickoff – 2/02/22

YWCA Spokane Prevention Team planned and prepared a virtual event to raise awareness of teen dating violence to kickoff Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM) 2022. As designated by loveisrespect.org, the theme was “Talk About It,” so the purpose of the event was to build connection with teens and community partners by hosting trivia, resource referrals, raffles, and simply talk about it. The Prevention Team looks forward to continuing this conversation well beyond February!

Wear Orange Day – 2/08/22

The second event, Wear Orange Day, had a high amount of staff and community involvement. The purpose of this event was to raise awareness around teen dating abuse and show solidarity with survivors by wearing the color orange. YWCA Spokane staff and the Spokane community showed their commitment to TDVAM and to talking about dating violence in all their vibrant shades of orange.

View other photos from Wear Orange Day! Or-ange you glad we’re talking about it?

IG Live – 2/15/22

To continue with the TDVAM theme “Talk About It,” members of the Prevention Team set out to do just that. Tiffany Yamase (Legal Advocacy Manager and Prevention Specialist) moderated a live discussion between Lizbeth Reyes (Lead Prevention Specialist) and Caroline Mark (Prevention Specialist), on YWCA Spokane’s Instagram. Topics included boundaries, self-care, and harmful stereotypes surrounding teen dating and teen dating abuse. We also discussed how to help a friend who is either being abused or being abusive and we identified common red flags. Tiffany brought up manipulation and gaslighting; Lizbeth mentioned mind games, possessiveness, digital dating abuse, and jealousy to justify abuse; and Caroline added isolation and boundaries being slowly pushed.

This event was the most popular of the month with over 55 accounts engaged in our discussion!

Virtual Jeopardy – 2/22/22

Our final event was a virtual Jeopardy, which included educational material surrounding the Teen Dating Power and Control Wheel. The Prevention Team was able to gather scenarios that revolved around different power and control dynamics, boundaries, and safe communication. Virtual Jeopardy was a chance for folks to analyze the power imbalances that can occur in unhealthy or abusive relationships while also relating the scenarios to their own lives.

Follow us on Instagram for more educational material and information about upcoming events!