Dating violence isn’t an argument every once in a while, or a bad mood after a bad day. Dating violence (or relationship abuse) is a pattern of violent behavior that someone uses against a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Abuse can cause injury and even death, but it doesn’t have to be physical. It can include verbal and emotional abuse – constant insults, isolation from friends and family, name calling, controlling what someone wears – and it can also include sexual abuse. It can happen to any one at any age, no matter what race or religion they are, no matter what their level of education or economic background. Dating violence also occurs in same-sex relationships.
- When your friend and her boyfriend are together, he calls her names or puts her down in front of other people.
- He acts extremely jealous when she talks to other boys, even when it is completely innocent.
- She apologizes for his behavior and makes excuses for him.
- She frequently cancels plans at the last minute, for reasons that sound untrue.
- He’s always checking up on her, calling or paging her, and demanding to know where she has been and whom she has been with.
- You’ve seen him lose his temper, maybe even break or hit things, when he’s mad.
- She seems worried about upsetting him or making him angry.
- She is giving up things that used to be important to her, such as spending time with friends or other activities, and is becoming more and more isolated.
- Her weight, appearance or grades have changed dramatically. These could be signs of depression that could indicate abuse.
- She has injuries she can’t explain, or the explanations she gives don’t make sense.
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General Resources:
Denver Metro Area Resources:
The Conflict Center
(303) 433-4983
Colorado Anti-Violence
Program (GLBT)
(303) 839-5204
Gateway Shelter
(Aurora
battered woman’s shelter)
(303) 343-1856
Home Base
(303) 465-2033
Mi Casa Resource Center
Teen Parent Program
(303) 573-1302
Project Safeguard
(303) 863-7416
Domestic Violence Initiative
for Women with Disabilities
(303) 839-5510
DOVE (Advocacy for Abused
Deaf Women and Children)
(303) 831-7932 TTY
ECCCOS (Ethnic Counseling/Consultation)
(303) 259-0008
Adams Community
Mental Health Center
(303) 853-3500
Aurora Mental Health Center
(303) 617-2300
Boulder Mental Health Center
(303) 433-8500
Comitis Crisis Center (Aurora)
(303) 341-9160
Jefferson County
Center for Mental Health
(303) 425-0300
Jefferson County
Child Advocacy Center
(303) 987-4885
Mental Health Corporation
of Denver
(303) 377-4300
Servicios de la Raza
(mental health services in Spanish)
(303) 458-5851
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