Yet abuse within teen relationships remains largely unrecognized. It doesn't make any sense given that young people are just as capable of hurting one another. In high school, dating violence usually takes the form of emotional abuse. According to abuse studies done in Ontario, it's especially difficult to gain insight as to the extent of emotional abuse because it's largely unreported, difficult to detect and assess, hard to define, and its effects are only just being recognized. To combat the increasing incidences of abuse within teen relationships one must understand what dating violence is and how to respond to it.
Studies show that abuse within teen relationships is increasingly prevalent.
Wilde emphasizes that control is always the goal behind abusive tactics. Usually the categories overlap and coexist within a relationship. Physical abuse controls a victim through pinching, slapping, hitting, shoving, punching, restraining or grabbing. Like sexual abuse, it quickly controls the victim, and denies the victim power over their own body. Because of differences in strength and size, women are usually the targets of physical abuse.