Friday, January 16, 2009

Are girls still being held responsible for dating violence?

That’s a hard question to ask—because it speaks to both our tendency to re-victimize victims of violent crime and to our ongoing struggle to develop healthy concepts of masculinity.

Thanks to my friends at Hardy Girls Healthy Women in Maine, I learned about a commentary in American Prospect by Courtney E. Martin, a young writer I’ve known for many years. Martin makes a pretty compelling case for rethinking our efforts are ending dating violence.

She cites the example of Boston, where The Boston TenPoint Coalition and Boston School Police put on a program that tells girls “you must prevent your boyfriends from becoming violent”

What is your take on dating violence and its prevention? Share your thoughts below.

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