We Believe in Building Healthy Relationships Before Harm Begins

Domestic Violence Outreach (DVO) partners with middle schools to deliver HeaRT (formerly Dating Matters), an evidence-based prevention program designed for students ages 11–14.
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Prevention works best when we reach young people before they begin dating—helping them build healthy relationship skills before patterns of harm take hold.

Why HeaRT Works—and Why DVO Matters

HeaRT is more than a classroom curriculum. It is a comprehensive, evidence-based prevention model that supports students, families, schools, and communities in building healthy relationship skills early.

Since 2020, DVO has partnered with middle schools to implement HeaRT through a proven support model: 

• Interactive online training for teachers, counselors, and social workers
  
• Weekly coaching during initial implementation
  
• Ongoing support for future cohorts
  
• Collaboration with school leadership

Implementing staff may qualify for stipends, professional development hours, or CEUs.  
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DVO’s goal is to make healthy relationship education a lasting part of school communities across Illinois.

Help Us Reach More Students

DVO relies on community partners to bring prevention education to more schools. You can help:

• Connect us with middle schools in your community
• Support DVO through donations to keep HeaRT free for schools
• Share our mission with others

Together, we can stop violence before it begins. 

[email protected]

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HeaRT for Educators

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​Healthy Relationships Toolkit (HeaRT)

The free online course available to educators, school personnel,
youth members, and others dedicated to improving teen health.

Follow a school administrator throughout their day as they
                    highlight what teen dating violence is and how to prevent
it through graphic novel scenarios, interactive exercises, and
information gathered from leading experts. 

Learn More

HeaRT for Parents and Caregivers​


HeaRT also offers a free online parenting program to help caregivers
support healthy relationships, communication, and safety at home.
Designed to reinforce what students are learning, it provides practical
tools families can use together.

Learn More

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The Way Things are Today

Teen Dating Violence and Domestic Violence are forms of Intimate Partner Violence, and both may be part of the same continuum. They are often differentiated when addressing particular audiences.

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A survey of U.S. high school students suggests that 1 in 5 female students and 1 in 10 male students who date have experienced some form of physical and/or sexual teen dating violence during the past 12 months¹

female students

male students

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Among adult victims of rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner, 1 in 5 women and nearly 1 in 7 men first experienced some form of partner violence between 11 and 17 years of age¹​

women​

men​

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​Consequences for Victims¹

• Increased absenteeism
• Problems in non-dating relationships
• Decline in well-being
• Failure to participate in school activities
• Poor academic performance
• Thoughts of suicide
• Fear
• Depression and/or anxiety
• Drug, alcohol, and tobacco use
• Injury
• Delinquent behavior
• Experiencing violence in subsequent relationships

Consequences for Abusers

• Loss of friend’s respect
• Poor academic performance
• Alienation from friends and family
• Physical and health problems
• Juvenile or criminal record/confinement
• Loneliness
• Expulsion from school
• Loss of job

34+ Million

​The approximate number of women in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence and or stalking by an intimate partner.²

A recent study evaluated the relationship between dating violence and suicide attempts among urban teens aged 14 and older. According to this study, teen girls who experienced recent dating violence were 60% more likely to report at least one suicide attempt in the past year than those who did not experience recent dating violence.¹

​Survivor Accounts

Is it possible not to know that you are in an abusive dating relationship? Yes! See for yourself first-person video accounts of teen dating violence.

These videos are part of the Love Is Not Abuse Teen Dating Violence and Abuse Prevention Curriculum, High School Edition 2011. The updated high school edition was published in 2014.

​Sources

¹CDC, Dating Matters: Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/sites/vetoviolence.cdc.gov.apps.dating-matters-toolkit/themes/dmh_ng_bootstrap/assets/pdf/Educator-Training-Manual-Combined-PDF.pdf
²Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J., & Stevens, M.R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Summary Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (CDC). https://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf).

Prevention Resources

Teen Dating Violence
From Catholic Charities - Learn about the basics of Teen Dating Violence and how to help.

• Teen Dating Violence 101 (PDF)

Love Is Not Abuse provides two teen dating violence prevention curricula.

• Love is Not Abuse, A Teen Dating Violence and Abuse Prevention Curriculum – High School Edition 2014 (PDF)
• Love is Not Abuse, A Teen Dating Violence and Abuse Prevention Curriculum – College Edition, 2011 (PDF)

​Sexual Assault Prevention

• The National Sexual Assault Hotline is sponsored by Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN). Help is available 24/7, phone or chat rainn.org. Call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider. 
• RAINN offers useful information relating to Rape and Sexual Assault on College Campuses. Please see selected articles below. (Link)
  • Staying Safe on Campus (Link)
  • Alcohol Safety (Link)
  • Warning Signs for College-Age Adults (Link)
  • How to Respond if Someone is Pressuring You (Link)
  • Steps You Can Take to Prevent Sexual Assault (Link)
  • Steps You Can Take After Sexual Assault (Link)
  • How to Respond to a Survivor (Link)
  • Reporting to Law Enforcement (Link)

Pre-Cana

Pre-Cana Domestic Violence Awareness Module for Marriage Preparation: Thank you for your ministry of preparing couples for marriage. To assist you, find a brief module to raise awareness of an often-unrecognized reality that domestic violence exists in Catholic marriages. Pre-Cana may be the last best chance to avoid the pain of domestic violence in marriage.
(English | Spanish | French)

​Studies

• The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) & Trends Report: 2013-2023, August 2024.                                                                 The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) & Trends Report: 2013–2023 provides the most recent surveillance data, as well as 10-year trends and 2-year changes in health behaviors and experiences of high school students in the United States (U.S.). The report focuses on adolescents’ sexual behavior, substance use, experiences of violence, mental health, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It also includes data on topics, such as social media use and reported experiences of racism in school, that are important for understanding and improving young people’s health and well-being. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2013–2023. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2024 (PDF)
• Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) 2021, Published April 2023.                                                                                               The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) is the largest public health surveillance system in the United States, monitoring a broad range of health-related behaviors among high school students. The system includes a nationally representative Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) and separate school based YRBSs conducted by states, tribes, territories, and local school districts. In 2021, these surveys were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic underscored the importance of data in understanding changes in youth risk behaviors and addressing the multifaceted public health needs of youths. (PDF)
• Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) 2011-2021, Published February 2023.
  The Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report: 2011–2021 provides the most recent surveillance data, as well as 10-year trends, on health behaviors and experiences among high school students in the United States (U.S.) related to adolescent health and well-being. These include sexual behaviors, substance use, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, experiences such as violence and poor mental health, social determinants of health such as unstable housing, and protective factors such as school connectedness and parental monitoring. We also highlight disparities in these important outcomes by sex, race and ethnicity, sexual identity, and sex of sexual contacts. (PDF)
• The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2016/2017 Report on Stalking, Published 2022. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Stalking is an important public health problem experienced by both women and men. It typically includes being followed, spied upon, repeatedly contacted, and often threats of violence. It can even lead to homicide in severe cases. Although stalking has historically received less attention in the scientific literature than sexual violence and intimate partner violence, stalking victimization is associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms, feelings of hopelessness, fear, safety concerns, depression, and anxiety. Stalking can happen in the context of intimate partner violence, especially for female victims and has been associated with sexual violence victimization. (PDF)
• Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) 2019, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Health risk behaviors practiced during adolescence often persist into adulthood and contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Youth health behavior data at the national, state, territorial, tribal, and local levels help monitor the effectiveness of public health interventions designed to promote adolescent health. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) is the largest public health surveillance system in the United States, monitoring a broad range of health-related behaviors among high school students. (PDF)
• Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) 2017, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (PDF)
• The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2015 Data Brief – Updated Release 2018, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are serious public health problems affecting millions of people in the United States each year. These forms of violence are associated with chronic physical and psychological adverse health conditions. Violence experienced as a child or adolescent is a risk factor for repeated victimization as an adult. (PDF)
• The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), 2010, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). First launched in 2010, this study is an ongoing, nationally representative survey that assesses sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization among adult women and men in the United States. This is a baseline study and is updated in part by the survey list above, document 5.1.1. (PDF)
• The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation, 2013, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Based on NISVS, 2010 data, this document reports on intimate partner and sexual assault by sexual orientation in 2013 (PDF).
• The Sexual Victimization of College Women (PDF), 2000 (NCWSV), National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. With qualifications, the findings of this survey estimate victimization between 20% and 25% over a five-year college career. (See page 10 of NCWSV).) In comparison, Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, Special Report, (NCVS), 1995-2013, Department of Justice, see the study below, estimates sexual victimization at 1% during the course of a single year. Why? NCWSV used a different questioning methodology. It determined assault by, “Measuring sexual victimization using a two-stage process starting with ‘behaviorally specific’ screen questions that attempted to cue respondents to recall and report to the interviewer different types of sexual victimization experiences they may have had. Those who reported a victimization were then asked a series of questions, called an incident report, to verify what type of sexual victimization, if any, had occurred.” (See page 8 of the NCWSV). A study’s questioning techniques and purpose can produce dramatically different results.
• Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females (Special Report) 1995-2013 (PDF), Department of Justice – Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014. The findings are taken from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

​Technical Packages

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Technical Packages. A technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential.

• Preventing Intimate Partner Violence Across the Life Span, 2017, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2017. This technical package focuses on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) – Domestic Violence and Teen Dating Violence (TDV) – and its consequences across the lifespan (PDF)
• Prevention of Youth Violence and Associated Risk Behaviors, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2016. This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent youth violence and its consequences (PDF)
• Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2016. This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help prevent child abuse and neglect. These strategies include strengthening economic supports to families; changing social norms to support parents and positive parenting; providing quality care and education early in life; enhancing parenting skills to promote healthy child development; and intervening to lessen harms and prevent future risk. (PDF)
• STOP SV: A Technical Package to Prevent Sexual Violence, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2016. This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to reduce sexual violence (SV) and its consequences. These strategies focus on promoting social norms that protect against violence; teaching skills to prevent SV; providing opportunities, both economic and social, to empower and support girls and women; creating protective environments; and supporting victims/survivors to lessen harms. (PDF)
• Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2017. This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent suicide. These strategies include strengthening economic supports; strengthening access and delivery of suicide care; creating protective environments; promoting connectedness; teaching coping and problem-solving skills; identifying and supporting people at risk; and lessening harms and preventing future risk. (PDF)

​Articles

• Frequently Asked Questions NISVS: Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation Report, The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (PDF). This is a useful article as it explains how the NISVS study differs from crime data on sexual violence, stalking and intimate partner violence. “NISVS examines sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence as public health issues, not as crime issues. To determine how these different contexts affect the reporting of sexual assault, the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics conducted the National College Women Sexual Victimization (NCWSV) Study in 2000, comparing the methodologies of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS), which used a health and behavior-based methodology similar to that used in NISVS. The NCWSV study demonstrated that health-based, behaviorally specific questions, like those asked in NISVS, substantially increase disclosure of violence. People may not identify their experiences with sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence as crime, especially when it involves someone they know or love.” See page 6 of NCWSV for examples of behavior-based questions. See Bureau of Justice Statistics website to examine questionnaires – NCVS1, Basic Screen Questionnaire, and NCVS2, Incident Report – that are employed in NCVS. Please see The Sexual Victimization of College Women, 2000, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) above.
• Understanding Evidence (PDF), Best Available Research Evidence, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This document provides guidance evidence-informed strategies and evidence-based decision making. Not all research is good research.
• Communications Toolkit (PDF), The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS),2010, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This document was designed to provide a step-by-step approach for creating a communication plan to help launch the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey report. Moreover, it is a great tool for communicating on any subject.

​Books

• Leslie Morgan Steiner, Crazy Love: St. Martin’s Griffin, New York, 2009.
• Joanna V. Hunter, But He’ll Change: Ending the Thinking That Keeps You in an Abusive Relationship: Hazelden, Center City Minnesota, 2010.
• K.J. Wilson, When Violence Begins at Home (Second Edition): Hunter House, Berkeley, California, 2006, 1997.
• Sandra A. Graham-Bermann and Alytia A. Levendosky, editors, How Intimate Partner Violence Affects Children: American Psychological Association, Washington D.C., 2001.
• Susan Weitzman, Ph.D., “Not to People Like Us”: Hidden Abuse in Upscale Marriages: Basic Books, New York, N.Y., 2000.