February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. While the conversation often focuses on physical signs of abuse, a newer, more pervasive dynamic is taking center stage: technology

Andrea Kocher with Willow Tree Missions in Piatt County says today’s youth operate under the constant assumption that a camera is always on or that they are being watched. This digital reality has bled into the dating scene, where constant tracking by a partner has become a normalized, yet dangerous, tool for abuse.

According to Kocher, the Illinois Youth Survey data shows as early as tenth grade, youth in every Illinois County report being a victim of teen dating violence. In her work within Piatt County, technology is increasingly the primary weapon used for harassment

A crucial lesson for many teens is that the "internet-verse" is forever. Kocher warns that once private images or information are shared, they often become "ammo" used by an abuser to maintain power through threats of digital exposure.

One in three U.S. teens will experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from someone they’re in a relationship with before becoming adults, and nearly half - 43% - of U.S. college women report experiencing violent or abusive dating behaviors. One in ten high school students has experienced physical violence from a dating partner. One in ten teens experienced sexual dating violence. Over 70 % of women and 60% of men first experienced intimate partner violence under the age of 25. And one in four women first experienced intimate partner violence before the age of 18.

If you or someone you know needs help, visit willowtreemissions.org, find them on Facebook, or call the agency in Monticello at 217-762-2350.