[ti:Starting Younger to Prevent Dating Abuse] [ar:Karen Leggett] [al:Health Report] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English Health Report. [00:04.45]Programs that teach young people [00:07.15]how to avoid abusive relationships [00:10.20]are generally for high school or college age. [00:14.65]But new programs are being created for younger students [00:18.79]because they too experience abusive dating relationships. [00:24.33]Earlier this year the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation [00:29.33]released a study done in the United States. [00:33.19]Fifteen percent of seventh graders in the study [00:36.88]said they had been the victim of physical violence [00:40.55]in a relationship with the opposite sex. [00:43.77]Seventh graders are about twelve years old. [00:47.41]Kelly Miller, a lawyer in the state of Idaho, [00:51.96]directs a program called Start Strong Idaho. [00:56.37]It started three and a half years ago. [00:59.37]The goal is to help eleven- to fourteen-year-olds [01:03.92]learn the skills to have healthy and safe relationships. [01:09.00]For example, she teaches them to "wait a second [01:13.35]and breathe" before they make a decision. [01:16.35]Ms. Miller says a big problem for young people [01:20.39]is that television programs, video games [01:24.48]and movies often show violent relationships. [01:29.18]Mobile phones and the Internet can also create problems. [01:34.23]KELLY MILLER: "Now young people have access to one another 24/7, [01:39.70]which I think really can complicate lives of young people [01:43.69]that don't have the skills or boundaries or that ability to say, [01:47.28]'No I can't text you at two in the morning' [01:49.53]or 'No, I really need to get to sleep by eleven [01:52.34]because I've got a test tomorrow morning." [01:54.15]Kelly Miller says young people need adults to teach them [01:58.24]what it means to have a healthy relationship. [02:01.29]Several American cities have received money from the CDC, [02:06.14]the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, [02:10.40]for programs to prevent abusive relationships. [02:14.40]A private organization called Men Can Stop Rape [02:19.71]has groups for boys between the ages of twelve and fourteen. [02:24.37]These Men of Strength, or MOST, groups teach boys [02:30.57]that being a strong man is not always about physical strength. [02:36.01]They learn that if they respect themselves and others, [02:40.57]they will be men of strength. [02:43.02]They are also taught that they can be allies of girls and women. [02:48.28]A CDC study showed that boys in these groups [02:52.98]are more likely help a young woman [02:55.48]who is being mistreated by another boy. [02:58.54]In Idaho, the state does a Youth Risk Behavior Survey each year. [03:05.94]Ms. Miller says the number of high school students [03:10.05]who say they have been physically hurt by a dating partner [03:13.62]has dropped by six percentage points in the past six years. [03:19.03]KELLY MILLER: "So we're hopeful if we continue this work [03:21.62]in really promoting healthy teen relationships [03:23.79]and teaching those skills, that we can continue [03:26.29]to impact the Youth Risk Behavior Survey question." [03:29.69]Next week, we look at some of the skills [03:32.44]needed to build healthy relationships. [03:35.29]And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, [03:39.59]available online at voa.com. [03:45.11]Read, listen and learn English with our programs [03:49.21]and activities. [03:50.41]You can also find links to the Start Strong Idaho [03:54.87]and Men Can Stop Rape websites. [03:58.27]I'm Karen Leggett.

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