Today we’re kicking off Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (Teen DV Month), a national effort to raise awareness about dating violence, which affects one in three adolescents in the U.S. At The Hotline, we believe that education is the key to preventing dating and domestic violence. You can help by talking to the young people in your life about what’s healthy and what’s not healthy in a relationship.

Our project for youth and young adults, loveisrespect, was the first national, 24-hour helpline for teens and young adults affected by dating violence. We are proud to be commemorating loveisrespect’s 10th anniversary this February! To help spread the message about healthy relationships, they’re getting back to basics with their Teen DV Month theme: Love is…Respect.

If you are a parent, student, educator or youth leader, we invite you to get involved and join loveisrespect during the month of February:

• Feb. 8: “Love is Respect, Online and Off!” Twitter chat at 6:30 p.m. CT. Cohosted by That’s Not Cool! Follow #teendvchat to join.
• Feb. 13-17: Respect Week! Download the Respect Week Guide on loveisrespect’s Teen DV Month page for event and activity ideas.
• Feb. 14: On Valentine’s Day, we wear #orange4love! Let everyone know you’ll be wearing orange on the Facebook event page, and be sure to share your picture on social media!
• Feb. 15: ”Let’s Talk About Respect + Sex, Baby” Twitter chat at 7 p.m. CT. Follow #teendvchat to join.
• Feb. 17: National Respect Announcement. Join the Thunderclap and help spread the message that everyone deserves a healthy relationship!
• Feb. 23: Join loveisrespect’s webinar, “Teens Helping Teens: Empowering Young People to Support Each Other” at 3:30 p.m. CT. During this webinar, aimed at adult allies (educators, parents, programs, organizations), they’ll be discussing tips and strategies for empowering young people to support one another. Register here.

And, don’t forget to follow loveisrespect on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr for updates and information to share with your friends and family!