If you work to stop violence in your school or society, the NYAB is a place for you! Come connect and work with like-minded people nationwide — apply online.

Requirements include attending an annual conference and monthly conference calls. In addition, NYAB members are expected to complete at least 20 community-service hours a year on preventing dating abuse. You can organize your own event, lead the ones the board comes up with or participate with a local group addressing the issue. In addition, there are also action items after the monthly calls.

But don’t take our word for it. Here are some quotes from current NYAB leadership:

Being on the NYAB has been such an amazing experience. Since we have started this board, we have grown and learned so much. Being from Wyoming, there wasn’t much involvement with this issue around here and being on the NYAB has allowed me to connect with others that are doing the same thing. I have also learned a lot of information, different things to do in my community and have had the chance to represent Loveisrespect. Not only does the NYAB strive to stop such a big issue, but you also get to meet new people and work with people from everywhere. It is a cool experience working with other people from across the country and seeing how many people that it can reach. I have found being on the NYAB very helpful for me to expand and keep working against teen dating abuse.

-Haylee Reay, NYAB Advocacy Committee Co-lead & Executive Committee Member

Being a Youth Advisory Board Member for Loveisrespect has given me the great resource of the website to introduce through my advocacy work in my own community, but even more than that it has given me connection with a couple dozen other activists who are actively working toward a world free of dating violence. I have had an amazing experience in my past year as a board member and I cannot wait to see the amazing things we will do in the next year and the years to come.

-Melissa Siegel, NYAB Chair, Advocacy Committee Co-lead & Executive Committee Member

The Board is a place for young people with the drive to catalyze positive change. If you have been touched by domestic violence at any point in your life and have the passion to do the work, the Board will give you the opportunity and the resources to create widespread positive change. I went from local community outreach to national influence when I got involved with the Board. You meet incredible individuals each of whom work tirelessly as advocates in their hometowns. They at first are strangers, but you find the members are all united behind the same cause and same desire to be a voice for victims who feel silenced. Our bond will only strengthen when we meet for our next annual conference. We are all thrilled to welcome new voices to the Board. I started at age sixteen and now, almost two years later, I co-lead the Interactive Committee. Here you are only limited by the degree of your ambition to be involved.

-Nicole DeSario, NYAB Interactive Committee Co-lead & Executive Committee Member

Sign the petition

In The Boyfriend Trainer, you create the “ideal” man by hitting, slapping or even strangling him when he does something “wrong.” According to the game, punishable mistakes include dropping a shirt on the ground or checking out another girl.

In the chatter online (on Jezebel and Buzzfeed), people are talking about what would happen if the tables were turned and this game were about a guy ‘training’ his girlfriend by hitting or strangling her. The fact is though, it doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female, gay or straight, when someone slaps, hits or strangles their partner, it’s abuse.

We don’t need to imagine the game from another perspective — physical violence is abuse and it’s always unacceptable.

There are arguments in healthy relationships and partners do things like drop a shirt on the floor. But if you want to resolve these issues, try to communicate — hurting your partner will not “train” them to be perfect. The route to happy, healthy relationships is through equality and respect, not power and control.

Take a stand, sign the petition and tell Apple that abuse is not a game!

Wear Orange February 11

Wear something (shirts, nail polish, jewelry, shoes, ribbons, hair ties, braces or anything else you can think of) orange in honor of teenDVmonth. And don’t just wear it, talk about it! Tell everyone why you are wearing orange. Try saying something like: “I’m wearing orange today to promote respect and healthy relationships!”

Have an orange outfit in mind? Next, help us spread the word by telling everyone and posting pictures of you and your friends wearing orange on facebook.com/loveisrespect and @loveisrespect.

National Announcement February 14

What better way to say Happy Valentine’s Day than helping your entire school learn about healthy relationships? On February 14, you can sign up to read the 3rd Annual National Announcement to Promote Healthy Relationships over your school’s intercom or throughout the day before each of your classes.

Host a Respect Week Event

Take the lead on educating your community by hosting your own event. The NYAB prepared tip sheets on staffing an info table and organizing a candlelight vigil to get you started.

Ready to take action? Post your event on the official website for the month teendvmonth.org and tweet us @loveisrespect with hashtag #RespectWeek.

She should know. Jordyn is an Olympic gold medalist and the reigning national women’s gymnastics champion. Today, she’s sharing her insight into healthy dating with teens at the Green Dot Ánimo Oscar De La Hoya High School. This special visit is a part of Mary Kay’s “Don’t Look Away” campaign to prevent and end domestic violence.

Jordyn decided to support Mary Kay’s “Don’t Look Away” campaign and loveisrespect because of the alarmingly high rates of dating abuse.

“After learning about the warning signs and shocking statistics of teen dating abuse, it is clear this kind of program is needed,” she said.

For Jordyn, the issue of dating abuse is personal. “The thought of my family, friends, teammates or fans becoming part of these statistics terrifies me. That alone motivates me to share the warning signs and the text-for-help program with as many people as possible.”

Jordyn plans on sharing what she’s learned on and off the beams about teamwork and good communication. She said it wasn’t hard to see the similarities between her favorite sport and building a healthy, respectful relationship.

“Just like gymnastics, balance and boundaries are key to healthy dating relationships,” said Jordyn.

Do you have questions about how to set boundaries? Does something in your relationship or a friend’s seem out of balance? Check in with one of our advocates by texting “loveis” to 77054. And send a quick thanks to Mary Kay for sponsoring our texting service!

Here’s how it works:

We identified many different types of behaviors that happen in relationships and asked our National Youth Advisory Board to rank how healthy or unhealthy they feel that behavior is. Now it’s your turn.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

In healthy relationships, partners have an open line of communication and talk freely about their problems. They are respectful of what each other has to say and value each other for who they are. They are honest and can develop and maintain trust, but they are able to keep personal things to themselves. Both partners have a say in how things go in the relationship and make decisions together, especially those regarding sex. Healthy couples spend time together, but also enjoy spending time apart.

In unhealthy relationships, partners have trouble communicating and often fight when they try to talk about problems. They may just avoid talking about problems completely. Partners are disrespectful to each other, untrusting of each other and often tell lies. Couples sometimes feel crowded or notice that they are spending all of their time with each other and little time with their friends. In unhealthy relationships, partners may pressure each other into having sex. An important note — unhealthy relationships are NOT necessarily abusive.

In abusive relationships, the abusive partner communicates in a way that is hurtful or insulting. They aim to have power and control over their partner. Signs of abusive relationships include if one person denies abusive behaviors, intimidates them or isolates them. Abusive partners may force their partner to engage in sexual behaviors.

If you have any questions about the relationship spectrum, this quiz or your relationship in general, please call loveisrespect at 1-866-331-9474 or TTY at 1-866-331-8453, text “loveis” to 77054 or chat us through our website.

We care a lot about your safety. We place a lot of importance on creating a safety plan for each of our callers/texters/chatters. A safety plan is a personalized, step-by-step plan that can help you know how to react when you are in a dangerous situation. These plans include ways you can stay safe, both physically and emotionally. Safety plans can be used by anyone — people who are in abusive relationships, dating abuse survivors, parents/friends, etc.

When anyone calls, chats or texts, we stress making a safety plan. We safety plan with anyone who is concerned about their own safety, or the safety of another person. Although some of the things in safety plans may seem obvious, they are important to cover because when you’re stressed out your brain doesn’t work the way it usually does. When adrenaline is racing through your body it can be hard to think clearly about your safety. Safety plans can help you to make decisions about your well being, even under pressure.

Safety plans look different for different types of abuse and different people. Your safety plan should fit you and your specific situation.

We are proud to unveil a new, interactive safety planning app here on loveisrespect.org which you can use to create a personalized plan. However, you can also call us at 1-866-331-9474 or TTY 1- 866-331-8453, text “loveis” to 77054 or chat us through our website to have an advocate help you develop a safety plan.

Now we have the opportunity to change all that. We’re talking prime time. Red carpet. Hollywood. Joel McHale hosting. Award show. Help get healthy relationships on the main stage — vote for Break the Cycle to win an American Giving Award. As you know, Break the Cycle is half the force behind loveisrespect. We’re nominated in the Youth Developer category and have the chance to win $1 million.

But this is really about the chance to spark conversations on couches across America. Let’s raise awareness about abuse and get everyone who watches NBC on December 8 to know about loveisrespect and what they can do to promote healthy relationships.

So vote and ask your Facebook friends to do the same.

• We are thankful for unifying campaigns, like NO MORE, that allow us to work with our comrades against domestic violence and sexual assault under a common theme. We joined the NO MORE campaign during Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) to stand up against dating abuse. Campaigns like this bring everyone who is working to end domestic violence together and inspire collaboration.
• We are thankful for artists, like Jasmine V, who are bold and speak on behalf of victims. Jasmine has been brave enough to use her platform as a recording artist to speak out against dating abuse. She released a song about dating abuse inspired by a past relationship, participated in interviews educating her peers about unhealthy relationships and even wrote a blog post for our NO MORE campaign during DVAM. Artists who use their popularity to raise awareness of domestic violence can make a huge difference in the lives of their fans by educating them and leading them to resources.
• We are thankful for friends like Mary Kay who know that beauty and healing come from the inside out. Mary Kay has been a supporter of our efforts to end dating abuse for a very long time. This year, they took that support one step further by becoming the primary sponsor of our text service. Mary Kay’s involvement has helped us change lives and we are so appreciative of the chance they’ve given us.
• We are also so thankful for our friends at HCSC, Verizon, AVON Foundation for Women and Fifth and Pacific. Their support means the world to us and empowers our work. Corporations that realize the importance of education and healing help lead the way to ending dating abuse.
• We are thankful for our staff and peer advocates who work so hard to make sure that we are able to help callers/texters/chatters. Without their dedication we would be unable to provide all of these services.
• We are thankful for friends and family members who have supported a loved one who was struggling. Whether you gave them information about healthy relationships, shared our contact information or just let them know that you love and support them, you made a difference in the life of your loved one.
• We are thankful for all of our texters/callers/chatters for having the courage to reach out for support when you feel that something isn’t right in your relationship. Thank you for giving us the chance to talk to you.
• We are thankful for you. Thank you for visiting this site to get information. By learning about healthy relationships and dating practices you have the opportunity to make a difference in your life or in someone else’s.

Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you. We would love it if you shared something that you’re thankful for with us in the comment field below.

And just a reminder, we’ll be here during the holiday. So please give us a call at 1-866-331-9474 or TTY 1-866-331-8453, text “loveis” to 77054 or send us a chat if you need to talk.

Today, Ashley was featured in Glamour supporting domestic violence and dating abuse organizations. The article even featured a picture of her with our Youth Advisory Board members!

As a brand ambassador for Avon’s mark brand’s m.powerment campaign, Ashley has spoken out against dating abuse all across the nation. To those working to end violence, VAWA is key. Since it was signed into effect in 1994, domestic violence related deaths in women have decreased by 34 percent and by 57 percent for men. Also, the number of people who report domestic violence incidents has increased by 51 percent.

“I was just seven years old when the first Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed. So growing up, I only knew a government that took domestic violence and sexual assault seriously,” said Ashley in the article published in Glamour magazine.

It is very important that the version of VAWA that gets approved supports young adults. Young people have the highest rate of intimate partner violence, but they weren’t protected under VAWA until its reauthorization in 2000. In 2005, VAWA was reauthorized again, this time including four specific programs to address dating abuse. We need this protection for our callers, chatters and texters.

Right now VAWA is up for reauthorization again, but things are at a stand-still. The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have both passed versions of VAWA, but they are very different.

We are asking you to join us and Ashley Green in support of the bi-partisan Senate bill to reauthorize VAWA.

Today, November 14, 2012, is the VAWA National Day of Action. Here are a few ways that you can join us and Ashley in this movement:

• Find out who represents you in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate by visiting www.house.gov or www.senate.gov
• Call your representatives and ask them to support VAWA
• Tweet at your representative using the hash tag #PassVAWA2012
• Post a Facebook status about VAWA and why you support its reauthorization
• Take a picture of you and your friends holding a sign that says why you support VAWA and submit it to the #PassVAWA2012 Facebook page

Thank you for your help in this. We would love to hear about how you are encouraging your representatives to support VAWA, so don’t forget to share your efforts with us.

Help get a strong VAWA enacted! You’ll help hundreds of thousands of Americans live safer, better lives.

Here’s what’s happened with VAWA so far:

• The first VAWA passed in 1994. Since then, it’s been reauthorized every few years to keep up with the times (like everyone having a cell phone now and TLC being off the charts).

• The most recent version of VAWA expired nearly two years, 681 days to be precise. That’s leaving a lot of people without the cutting edge programs they need.

• The House and the Senate both passed a reauthorization of VAWA this year, but the two bills are pretty different. The House version leaves out key protections for college students, LGBTQ folks, immigrants and tribal women.

• Now that the election’s over, Congress has a chance to figure out their differences and send an inclusive VAWA to the President, who just has to sign it for it to become law. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid even listed VAWA as one of his priorities for the lame duck session.

Which leads us to now and your part. You can help make sure our federal government protects all victims. Whether you have five seconds or five days, we have everything you need to support VAWA and make a big difference.