Teenage years can be a chaotic time - you're faced with opportunities and challenges, feelings and experiences that you've never faced before. You're also making decisions that will affect the rest of your life.

Some of those decisions will probably involve dating and relationships. While relationships can be exciting, rewarding and emotionally nourishing, the "relationship road" can also be a bumpy, confusing ride.
 
Often you can end up in a situation that makes you uncomfortable, that you didn't see coming, or that you're just not sure how to get out of. Like when someone pressures you to have sex when you're not ready. Or touches you when you don't want them to.

Maybe some of these experiences even happened when you were a kid and are now holding you back from doing well in school, pursuing your interests, or letting anyone get too close to you.

Abuse can take many forms - it can be physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, financial. Unfortunately statistics show that teens are far more likely to experience sexual assault.

It's not so easy to talk about. People seem to get scared and uncomfortable when the topic is raised. But the truth is, the more we talk about it, and the more we educate ourselves, the easier talking will get.

Definitions of violence

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