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State-By-State Teen Dating Violence Report Card 2008
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USA - New State Report Cards on Teen Dating Violence
February 8, 2008
Break the Cycle has issued the first-ever report cards
evaluating the level of legal protection each state offers young victims of
domestic and dating violence. Fifteen states received a grade of “F” while only
three – California, New Hampshire and Oklahoma – received grades of “A.”
States that do not allow minors to obtain protective or
restraining orders, and states where dating relationships are not specifically
recognized as valid relationships for obtaining restraining orders
automatically failed. Of the 15 states receiving grades of “F,” 12 are
automatic failures for one of those reasons.
The states receiving grades of “F” are Alabama, Arizona,
Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Positive trends include statutes or legislation that: includes
various lesser offenses within the definition of abuse, making it easier for a
victim to get a restraining or protective order; provides the victim with
various kinds of compensation; allows minors to file a restraining or
protective order without an adult’s involvement; recognizes extended family members
under the group that may get a restraining or protective order on behalf of a
minor; generally defines the length of a restraining or protective order for
one year or longer; and allows a victim to obtain a restraining or protective
order against another minor within a certain age limit.
One in three teens will experience some form of abuse in a
dating relationship, and teens face overwhelming obstacles to getting help
because of their limited access to money, shelter and transportation. Young women
between 16 and 24 experience the highest rates of abuse.
The report “recommends that states remove any and all barriers
that might prevent teens from accessing protection under the law,” and notes
that even in states that received an “A” there are ways to make laws more
accessible and protective of teens.
The report was issued in conjunction with “National Teen
Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week” in February. The State-by-State
Teen Dating Violence Report Card 2008 is available at www.breakthecycle.org/pdf/state-report-card-full-report.pdf.
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