On Thursday, February 7, 2008
Lieutenant Governor Paterson
held a press conference at Nottingham High School in Syracuse to announce
a state-wide anti-violence campaign
aimed at
preventing teen dating violence.

Amy Barasch, Exec. Director
of the NYS Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV), announced that more than 7,000 public awareness posters have been distributed to high schools, middle schools & libraries throughout New York State to educate teens
about dating violence.

see sample poster below

To reach as many teens as possible the posters are available in 6 languages:
English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Chinese, Russian and French.

Lt. Governor Paterson spoke passionately about the need for adults to advise teens about the danger of violence in dating relationships. “The first step in solving a problem is admitting
one exists. Teens need to understand that they do not have to accept abuse, and our parents and teachers need to be more aware that teenage dating
can become violent.”

In a statement released by the by the Lt. Governor’s Office, it is reported that
24% of 14 to 17 year olds know at least one fellow student
who has been physically abused by a dating partner.

Vera House Exec. Director
Randi Bregman was invited to speak at the press conference about local initiatives aimed at reducing teen dating violence. Randi reported that Vera House educators presented to 3,800
high school students from
sixteen high schools across
the county last year.

Randi also shared that Nottingham High School won the 2007 White Ribbon Campaign High School Challenge (City Division) distributing over
1,100 wristbands to raise awareness about relationship violence.

Many local officials were
on hand to show their support
for the Lieutenant Governor’s platform on teen dating
violence awareness.

To learn more, visit these sites: