Why is this topic so important that it needs a special month to increase awareness? Dating violence among teens and young adults is not a rarity. A recent social media post from the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault states, “One in three U.S. teens will experience physical, sexual or emotional abuse from someone who they’re in a relationship with before becoming adults. This is an issue that impacts everyone — not just teens.”

Other statistics are equally sobering. On average, 1 in 10 high school students experienced physical abuse from their dating partner at some point within the past year. Nearly half of U.S. college women report experiencing violent or abusive dating behaviors.

This year’s theme is “Respect That!” This theme is all about treating partners with dignity and respect. So, it’s a good time to teach and remind teens about the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Being with a partner who is controlling, disrespectful or abusive in any way is not healthy.

Healthy relationships mean that both partners are communicative, respectful, trusting, honest and equal and that they enjoy personal time away from each other, make mutual choices and are financial partners with each other.

Abusive relationships are not always easy to spot, especially when they involve teens or young adults. Some signs to watch for are communicating in hurtful ways, mistreatment of a partner, untrue accusations about cheating, controlling behavior, isolating a partner from others and denial that actions are abuse.

So, what can adults to do to help educate and protect teens and younger adults from teen dating violence and abuse? Here are some tips:

• Establish open habits of communication.
• Show positive relationship examples.
• Watch for signs of abuse.
• Talk about the issue with sons as well as daughters.
• Set aside private time to talk with teens.
• Don’t be afraid to have awkward conversations.
• Empathize with them about the difficulty of relationships and stress that you want what is best for them.

Watching for signs of unhealthy relationships can help parents and other loved ones to know when to step in and help. A few signs that could be causes for concern include:

• Losing interest in things that used to be important.
• Receiving excessive texts and other communications from their boyfriend or girlfriend.
• Isolating from family and friends.
• Getting worried or scared about how a dating partner will react.
• Feeling pressured to do things a certain way.
• Making excuses about a dating partner’s behaviors.
• Friends of the teen do not like the teen’s partner.
• Partner demands location tracking or passwords.

For more information, go to loveisrespect.org or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center website at nsvrc.org.