According to the CDC, as of 2020, nearly 1 in 11 females and about 1 in 15 male high school students report having gone through physical dating violence in the last year (2019). On April 11 of 2019, Z-Club hosted an event on teen dating violence named ‘Silent No More’ in partnership with the City of Malden. At this event, there was a display, “The Silent Witness Project,” that showed life-size silhouettes that represented victims of different genders and ages. Each “Silent Witness” was given a name and story of their domestic violence. In addition to the “Silent Witnesses,” the event also included local domestic violence agencies who shared important information on teen dating violence. A few of the agencies that attended this event were representatives from Portal to Hope, Intimate Partner Violence and Response. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan also attended as a speaker to raise additional awareness to teen dating violence. A piece of information she shared included the hidden warning signs to look for in a relationship in which the average person might not notice. Additionally, another piece of information that stood out the most to us, Z-Club members, was an app called “Healthy Heart Matters”. Attorney Ryan worked on this app with local teenagers to help spread the importance of teen dating violence to the younger technology-based generations.  During Attorney Marian Ryan’s presentation, videos of different teen dating violence scenarios were shown, as well. The scenarios expressed obvious and disguised red flags of teen dating violence. With the help of “All Hands in,” an organization whose mission is to stop sex-trafficking, Z-Club included chapsticks which exhibited the teen dating violence hotline as potential support.

Download the Healthy Heart Matters App for iPhone Here