Addressing the Complexities of Family and Relationship Violence
What’s Love Got to Do With It? Stemming Relationship Abuse among Street Youth
When research revealed that almost one-third of homeless and runaway youth in Hollywood, California, were or had been in an abusive intimate relationship, Lisa de Gyarfas knew that something had to be done.
As director of high-risk youth programs at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, de Gyarfas looked to the literature on domestic violence for hints on how to develop interventions to help her young clients avoid abuse. But after talking to young people, de Gyarfas and her colleagues quickly learned that relationship violence among street youth is very different from domestic violence – starting with the term itself.
“‘Domestic violence’ sounds like a married couple who have a place to live,” many young people told de Gyarfas.
“Dating violence” was equally problematic, since most homeless youth don’t really date. And “violence” sounded too limiting, since aggression on the street can also mean monetary abuse or pimping.
In the end, the young people decided that the term “intimate partner abuse” rang the most true.
In a small way, the naming exercise taught de Gyarfas and her colleagues that abuse among runaway and homeless youth is very different from dating violence among teens who have a permanent place to call home. Understanding these differences is key to developing relevant interventions for runaway and homeless youth.
What is relationship violence, and how is it different among street youth? >> |
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