173: Guns, Teen Dating Violence, and the CDC

Like other forms of intimate partner violence, teen dating violence encompasses a wide range of abusive behavior, from physical violence to emotional abuse to sexual coercion. A 2019 study found that nearly 1.5 million young adults and teens in the US – that's one out of three young people – have experienced an abusive relationship before reaching adulthood. Access to firearms only increases the risk for teenagers, as intimate partner violence involving a firearm is twelve times more likely to result in a fatality than any other weapon.

But while we know that in domestic violence situations involving adults that when an abusive partner has access to a firearm a domestic violence victim is five times more likely to be killed, we don't have statistics on the risk to young people, due in large part to a 1995 provision called the Dickey Amendment, which prohibited the use of federal funds to advocate or promote "gun control."

To honor Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, and to bring attention to how we can all make one another safer, hosts Kelly and JJ are joined by Dr. Annah Bender, assistant professor at University of Missouri–St. Louis’, who is an expert on intimate partner violence, firearms access, and dealing with trauma.

To get help specifically targeted to teens, you can contact the national teen domestic violence support hotline at 1-866-331-9474 by texting LOVEIS to 22522 or by going online at https://www.loveisrespect.org/ .

You can also contact the national domestic violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233 by texting START to 88788 or by going online at https://www.thehotline.org/.

Mentioned in this podcast:
Teen Dating Violence Prevention Resources for 2022 (NSVRC)
Preventing Teen Dating Violence (CDC)
Guns and Intimate Partner Violence among Adolescents: a Scoping Review (Journal of Family Violence)
Teen Dating Violence Is an Indicator of Gun Violence (Teen Vogue)
What Are Extreme Risk Laws (Brady)