What You’ll Learn

1. What You’ll Learn 1. Discuss strategies of self-defense. 2. Explain hazing. 3. Discuss bullying. 4. Identify signs of child abuse and describe laws about mandatory reporting. 5. List six categories of mental and emotional abuse.

2. What You’ll Learn 6. List the phases of a violent relationship and things that victims need to know. 7. Identify warning signs of dating violence and discuss defensive measures. 8. Identify how victims and perpetrators can facilitate recovery.

3. Key Terms • protective order • victim recovery • unnecessary risk • self-defense strategies • random violence • awareness • hazing • bullying • teasing • battering

4. Self-defense • An unnecessary risk is a chance not worth taking. • Self-defense strategies are strategies that can protect people from violence. • Random violence is violence over which a person has no control.

5. What to Know About Self-Defense • Awareness • Awareness is your ability to “read” the people and situations around you. • Many acts of random violence can be avoided by being aware of your surroundings. • The sooner you become aware of a threat, the more options you have to respond to it.

6. What to Know About Self-Defense • Defend yourself • Successful self-defense is avoiding a fight rather than winning it. • If you are attacked, the only rule is that you must survive. • Do everything you can to end the threat or to have enough time to escape.

7. What to Know About Self-Defense • Tell an adult • A trusted adult needs to know if you suspect that a person or a situation is dangerous.

8. What to Know About Self-Defense • Self-defense strategies • Trust yourself if you have a gut feeling that a person or a situation might be dangerous. • Give up personal belongings rather than risk being harmed. • Know where you are going and have your keys ready. • Carry yourself with confidence. • Always carry a cell phone or enough change for a telephone call.

9. Self-Defense at Home • Members of your family must cooperate to keep your home safe from perpetrators. • A perpetrator of violence is a person who commits a violent act. • You can reduce the risk of being harmed in your home by practicing self-defense strategies.

10. Self-Defense Strategies for the Home • Doors and windows • Have your keys ready before going to your door and do not hide or give your house key to anyone other than a trusted friend. • Have good locks on doors and windows and keep them locked when you are home alone. • If you lose a set of keys, have your locks changed.

11. Self-Defense Strategies for the Home • Security • Consider having a home security alarm system installed. • Have lights at all entrances and, at night, leave one or more lights on. • Keep hedges and bushes trimmed so that doors are visible to neighbors and passers-by.

12. Self-Defense Strategies for the Home • When away • Have your mail, newspaper delivery, and other services suspended when you leave for an extended period of time. • Ask a trusted neighbor to check your home. • The phone • If you receive bothersomephone calls,hangup and report them to the telephone company and police. • Keepemergencyphonenumbersbythe phone.

13. Self-Defense Strategies for the Home • Strangers • If you find a stranger or a vehicle in your driveway or if there are signs that someone has entered your home, go to a safe place and call the police. • Never let a stranger into your home. • Ask to see photo identification before allowing a repair person to enter your home.

14. Self-Defense Strategies for the Home • Strangers • Always give the impression someone else is in the home with you when speaking on the phone or answering the door. • Report any stranger who does not have identification to the police. • Be cautious about giving out information about where you live.

15. Self-Defense in Public • Whenever you are in public places, other people might harm you. • You can reduce the risk of being harmed in public places by practicing self-defense strategies.

16. Self-Defense Strategies for Public Places • The basics • Tell someone where you will be and what time you expect to be home, especially if you will be with someone you don’t know well. • Be aware of your surroundings. • Be cautious when using ATMs and do so during the day whenever possible. • When using a pay telephone, ensure it is in a well-lighted place where there are many other people.

17. Self-Defense Strategies for Public Places • When walking • Wear shoes that allow you to run from trouble and walk facing oncoming traffic. • Walk briskly with your head up and move in a confident manner. • If you suspect a person may be following you, do whatever you feel is necessary . • Do not talk to strangers who approach you and keep your distance if someone stops to ask you for directions.

18. Self-Defense Strategies for Public Places • At night • Avoid walking alone at night or in high-risk areas. • Stay on well-lighted streets and avoid deserted areas, alleys, and staircases. • Carry a flashlight and use it as a weapon in an emergency. • Wait only in safe and well-lighted areas for public transportation.

19. Self-Defense Strategies for Public Places • Transportation • When dropping someone off, be sure they are safely inside before driving away. • Never accept a ride from a stranger or someone you do not trust. • Never pick up a hitchhiker. • Defending yourself • Yell, scream, or shout loudly for help and carry a loud whistle, pepper spray, or a buzzer.

20. Self-Defense in Social Situations • When you socialize, you do not expect to be harmed, especially when you socialize with people you know, but you still can be at risk. • You can reduce the risk of being harmed in social situations by practicing self-protection strategies.

21. Self-Defense Strategies for Social Situations • The basics • Trust your intuition. • Choose to be with other people when you socialize with someone for the first time. • Stay away from places where you will be alone with someone you do not know well or do not trust. • Do not go anywhere with a stranger, even if you are supposed to meet other people.

22. Self-Defense Strategies for Social Situations • Expressing affection • Set limits for expressing affection and clearly communicate these limits to others. • Do not pressure another person to drink alcohol or to express affection beyond their limits. • Be aware that some people consider sexual teasing or a seductive manner as an invitation for sexual activity, even when it is not.

23. Self-Defense Strategies for Social Situations • Expressing affection • Ask the other person to tell you clearly what his or her limits are when you are confused or feel you are getting mixed messages. • Do not assume you and another person want to express affection in the same ways or have the same limits. • Use physical force to get away if someone continues sexual behavior after you have set clear limits.

24. Self-Defense Strategies for Social Situations • Expressing affection • Pay attention to the warning signs that indicate a person might try to harm you. • These include a disrespectful attitude toward you, extreme jealousy, unnecessary physical roughness, and/or a history of violent and/or abusive behaviors.

25. Hazing • Being a part of a group helps form a sense of identity and fulfills needs for belonging and friendship. • Some groups require an initiation to become a member or to stay a part of a group.

26. Hazing • Hazing is the physical and/or emotional abuse a person endures while trying to become or stay part of a group, regardless of that person’s willingness to participate.

27. What to Know About Hazing • Hazing is about power and control over others, which sets up the climate for abuse to occur. • Hazing is dangerous and easily can get out of control because some teens might be willing to do just about anything in order to belong to a group—even dangerous or illegal behavior. • Some groups might force teens to steal, take drugs, or break other laws in order to belong to the group. • Other groups verbally and/or emotionally abuse teens during hazing.

28. What to Know About Hazing • Teens have died or been injured during hazing incidents. • If you are a member of a group, create ways to form bonds within your group that are not in any way humiliating, demeaning, or hurtful.

29. What to Know About Hazing • Anti-hazing rules • Many schools have strict anti-hazing rules and take strong disciplinary action against members of a group in the case of hazing. • Hazing is against the law in most states.

30. What to Know About Hazing How can you protect yourself against hazing?

31. Bullying • Most teens have experienced what it feels like to be bullied. • Three out of every four teens will be bullied during their school years. • According to the National Crime Prevention Council, 60 percent of teens witness bullying at least once a day.

32. What to Know About Bullying • Bullying is repeatedly doing or saying things to intimidate or dominate another person. • A bully is a person who hurts or frightens people who are perceived to be smaller or weaker. • Bullying may include verbal and physical abuse. • Teasing • Teasing is making fun of someone in a good-humored way. • Teasing can turn into bullying if it becomes cruel or causes someone distress.

33. What to Know About Bullying • Why bullying is harmful • The stress that results from being bullied can lead to many stress-relatedsymptoms. • Some victims of bullying retaliate for the abuse in violent ways, including suicide and murder. • Teens whobully are at risk of criminalbehavior. • Bullies are more likely to drop out of school, and may have difficulty keeping a job.

34. What to Know About Bullying • Why bullying is harmful • Peers of victims who are bullied also are affected by bullying. • Students may fear also being bullied or fear retaliation from bullies. • Some who witness bullying experience feelings of guilt. • Because of group pressure, some who witness bullying sometimes are drawn into the bullying behavior.

35. What to Know About Bullying • Who is bullied? • Teens who are bullied tend to be smaller and physically weaker than their peers, quiet or shy, and/or perceived as different. • They might lack friends and social support at school or not be confident in their physical abilities and strength. • They feel that nobody will help them or be able to stop the bullying, and they do not tell because they fear the bullying may become worse as a result.

36. What to Know About Bullying • How to handle bullying • Many bullies will stop if they know they do not threaten their victims. • Strategies to avoid becoming a victim of bullying include having confidence that you can deal with the bully in a peaceful way. • When bullying is persistent, get help from an adult.

37. What to Know About Bullying How can you protect yourself against bullying?

38. What to Know About Bullying Characteristics of Bullies Teens who bully others: • need to feel powerful and in control. They enjoy the power that aggression brings. They feel entitled to recognition, privilege and special treatment. • may have an inflated self-image. Those who bully often believe that they are superior to others and brag about it. • receive satisfaction from inflicting injury and suffering on others. Bullies find pleasure in taunting or dominating another person, even if it is obvious that the victim is distressed.

39. What to Know About Bullying Characteristics of Bullies Teens who bully others: • lack empathy or feeling of concern for their victims. • often lie about their actions, saying that their victims provoked them in some way. Bullies often blame the victim for the abuse. • often believe it is OK to bully others. It is common for them to rationalize their actions by thinking that the victim did something to deserve this treatment. • often are popular and well-liked by their peers and teachers.

40. What to Know About Bullying Characteristics of Bullies Teens who bully others: • often come from a home in which physical punishment is used. Some bullies have been abused at home or were bullied themselves. • often are defiant toward adults and are likely to break school rules. • can be boys or girls. Girls are more likely to bully with words while boys are more likely to resort to physical attacks. For this reason, bullying by girls often is ignored or not taken as seriously as bullying by boys. However, both types of bullying are harmful and serious.

41. Child Abuse • Child abuse is the harmful treatment of a minor that can cause injury or psychological damage. • Child abuse may involve physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect. • Approximately 879,000 children were found to have been victims of abuse or neglect in the year 2000.

42. What to Know About Child Abuse • Most cases of child abuse occur behind closed doors and are not reported. • The most common type of child abuse is neglect, which is followed by physical abuse and emotional abuse.

43. What to Know About Child Abuse • Physical abuse • Physical abuse is maltreatment that harms the body. • Signs of physical abuse include bites, burns, bruises, internal injuries, fractures, and abrasions on different body parts.

44. What to Know About Child Abuse • Neglect • Neglect is maltreatment that involves the lack of proper care and guidance. • Neglect includes not providing adequate supervision, food, shelter, clothing, or medical care. • Emotional abuse • Emotional abuse is maltreatment that involves nonphysical assault, such as constant criticism, threats, rejection, and withholding love or guidance.

45. What to Know About Child Abuse • Sexual abuse • Sexual abuse is maltreatment that involves an adult, an adolescent, or an older child using power to involve a minor in inappropriate sexual activity. • There are no age limits for victims of sexual abuse. • Sexual abuse includes fondling, intercourse, exhibitionism, and commercial exploitation through prostitution or the production of pornographic materials.

46. What to Know About Child Abuse • Child abuse laws • A mandatory reporter is a person who is required by law to report suspected child abuse. • Mandatory reporters usually include professionals who work with children. • Any person may report incidents of child abuse orneglect.

47. Mental and Emotional Abuse • Maltreatment that involves nonphysical assault is called mental and emotional abuse. • This type of abuse is the most difficult to identify because the effects are not as obvious as those of physical abuse.

48. What to Know About Mental and Emotional Abuse • Mental and emotional abuse are dangerous to victims, resulting in low self-esteem or even suicide. • Mental and emotional abuse are about power and control. • Mental and emotional abuse can be found in any type of relationship, including parent-child, dating, marriage, employer-employee, peers, and teacher-student.

49. What to Know About Mental and Emotional Abuse • Rejection • Rejection is refusing to acknowledge a person’s presence, making a person feel inferior, or devaluing a person’s thoughts and feelings. • Degradation • Degradation is insulting, ridiculing, imitating, or diminishing the identity, dignity and self-worth of a person.

50. What to Know About Mental and Emotional Abuse • Terrorization • Terrorization is inducing fear, or threatening to or placing a person in a dangerous environment. • Isolation • Isolation is restricting social contact, contact with family members, or limiting freedom within a person’s environment.