By BaLeigh Harper
CCN Student Reporter

Did you know 80 percent of teens feel that verbal abuse is a serious problem in their generation? Or that teens 16 to 19 years old are three and a half times more likely to be victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault than any other age group? One hundred and thirty students from six county schools learned these statistics and many more as they poured into the Joliet High School Gym on Wednesday, April 1, for the Fourth Annual Carbon County Teen Dating Violence Prevention Summit.

The Summit is a unique teen-led workshop on healthy relationships that was started in 2005 after a group of Carbon County students attended a workshop in Helena and saw a great opportunity to make a difference in their own county. This year there were fourteen student steering committee members who, along with staff from Domestic and Sexual Violence Service (DSVS) of Carbon County, worked to plan the event.

The day started at 8:30 a.m. when the steering committee laid out the ground rules, cited statistics about violence and abuse, explained the day and turned the time over to their three guest speakers from the University of Minnesota’s Aurora Center. Jill, Katia and Tyler spoke to the teens on sexual assault, inequality and homophobia. Next, the teens split into five groups, which then went to different break-out sessions designed by the steering committee. These sessions allowed students to talk about healthy relationships and violence in the media. Teens also were able to attend a self-defense presentation by Bonnie Martinell and participate in the popular “fish bowl” activity which allows students to anonymously ask questions to their peers and answer them as a group. Many seniors got excited about a special break-out session led by the University of Minnesota speakers which was aimed specifically at those leaving home to go to college or join the workforce.

The Carbon County Summit ended with one last group activity called Cross the Line. During Cross the Line, students are told basic statements and are asked to silently walk across the room and turn to face their peers if the statement applies to them. Many students commented on how surprised they were at the diversity they saw in our county.

On April 2, Carbon County’s steering committee packed up and hit the road for a second teen summit, this time in Yellowstone County. DSVS recently received funding to expand their education program and asked Carbon County students to present to Yellowstone students in order to encourage them to build their own teen-led steering committee. The second summit was held at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center; it ran almost the same as the first summit except for some minor adjustments made because of the smaller size of the Yellowstone Group.

The steering committee was pleased with the student response they received at both summits and plans to grow and improve the program next year. This special program is made possible through the generous support of donors around the county who have contributed to the summit over the past years. For more information about DSVS or the teen summit, visit the DSVS website at www.dsvsmontana.org/teen/home/teenhome.html