21% of Teen Girls Report Dating Violence
More than 1 in 5 high school girls has been physically or sexually assaulted by someone she dated, a study finds. The study was based on a government survey that is repeated every 2 years. But in 2013, researchers added an extra question about dating violence. The new question dealt specifically with sexual violence. The result was that twice as many girls reported any type of dating violence — 21%, compared with 9% in 2011. About 10% of boys reported any assault. This was similar to the last survey. Among girls, 7% reported a physical assault and 8% reported a sexual assault by someone they dated. Among boys, 4% reported physical assault and 3% reported sexual assault. About 6% of girls and 3% of boys reported both types of assault. Most teens who had been assaulted said it happened more than once. Teens who were assaulted were more likely to do risky things.