Here's some good news on the sex education front. "A new law in Rhode Island called the Lindsay Ann Burke Act requires all
public middle and high schools to teach students about dating violence
in their health classes." Named for a young girl killed by her abusive boyfriend, the law mandates teaching the warning signs of an abusive relationship in the public high schools. But more than just signs of abuse, the classes also teach skills for building good romantic relationships as well as healthy friendships.
The National Association of Attorneys General has passed a resolution that the classes be offered at schools everywhere in the United States, and Liz Claiborne Inc. is helping to promote the idea across the country.
Having taught young adults in high school and college, I have seen many young girls confuse controlling behavior for love. It's not surprising, given the popular culture's tendancy to portray relationships that verge on the pathological as the heights of true love. (Just think of the "bad boy" archetype.) Though it's never easy to make someone see abuse for what it is when she's under the spell of romance (or fear, as the case so often is), maybe teaching kids the difference between healthy passion and dangerous obsession will help.
Image: Georgia Family Law Blog
