'Teach in schools about domestic violence' call from local charity

Aurora New Dawn says kids must learn about healthy relationships

A growing number of 16 to 25 year olds are becoming victims of abusive relationships
Author: Matt HewittPublished 25th Feb 2024

A Hampshire charity claims schools are falling short on teaching important subjects such as domestic and sexual abuse, and stalking.

It's because a growing number of 16 to 25 year olds are becoming victims of abusive relationships.

A lack of education along with social media influence means many don't know what a healthy relationship looks like.

Role Models

Brianne Atkins from Aurora New Dawn told us, if teachers don't help, children may not have any other way to learn:

"They might not have great role models at home, they might have grown up in abusive households, they might not have those influences at home and school. Given the amount of time that children spend at school, there is absolutely more that can be done."

Ms Atkins also feels that portrayals of domestic abusers on TV and in films don't always help either:

"There's still very much an era of 'Oh they're doing that because they love you', rather than what the actual behaviour is, so I still think that's such a massive influence for young people, and it feels like there's no-one really saying 'that's not normal'".

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