It’s a common theme nowadays, a teenage couple walking hand in hand down the hallways in so-called “love.” They do everything together, they call each other names like “baby” and seem to have the perfect relationship to outsiders. Don’t be fooled, it’s not ALWAYS so perfect. It happens all the time: girlfriend talks to another boy, boyfriend becomes steamed with jealousy, big argument results, boyfriend slaps girl or even worse.

   Teen dating violence is an uprising problem in society that is unfortunately sometimes overlooked. As if being a teenager wasn’t hard enough with school, sports, peer pressure, and parents, many teens are silently suffering in the lonely, secretive world of abuse. Some may be experiencing the physical or emotional abuse firsthand within their own relationship or witnessing the terror at home. Both experiences leave the victim affected and scarred.

   “Any guy that abuses a girl is a coward. If a woman abuses a man, (which isn’t very common) she is probably not mentally stable. Either way, it is a bad relationship that you should immediately get out of,” senior Lamar Virgin said.

   A survey was done by Teenage Research Unlimited to dig deeper into the awareness of the issue and the results were alarming. According to the survey, one in five girls who has been in a serious relationship has been hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner. One in three girls who has been in a serious relationship has been concerned about getting hurt. Instead of worrying about mid-terms or ACT tests like average high school students, these young girls have to be concerned about their safety. These numbers should not be acceptable in such a modern society. Even the concern of being abused by your boyfriend should be a good enough reason to ultimately end the relationship.

   “You shouldn’t go back (to them) because if they really “loved” you, they wouldn’t be hurting you physically or emotionally,” junior Dana Petty said.

   The problem of domestic violence and dating violence is shown in the spot light with stars such as Rihanna. As a role model for teenagers in abusive relationships everywhere, Rihanna is reaching out to young girls who have been in similar situations as she has. After being in an infamous, abusive relationship with fellow superstar Chris Brown, Rihanna made the ultimate decision to protect herself and end the relationship. Young girls can take this as an example that it doesn’t matter how “cute” or “popular” he is, (even if he is Chris Brown), he is not worth your safety. In the words of Oprah Winfrey, “If he hits you once, he will hit you again.”