Get the Facts about Healthy Relationships
In a healthy relationship:
- Consent for sexual behavior is always verbally given
- Your partner is a good listener. You feel free to say anything you want, and your thoughts are respected.
- Relationships are never perfect. Feeling angry, hurt and upset is normal, but feeling scared, humiliated or controlled isn't. You should feel loved and respected.
- You and your partner are equals.
- If you and your partner have a misunderstanding, both of you are able to work it out together. Communication is important.
- For more info, check out PCAR's teen site.
Study Guide
Warning signs of abusive relationships:
- Blame you for how they treat you or anything bad that happens.
- Excessive jealousy.
- Abuse others.
- Put you or others down and call others names.
- Always angry.
- Tries to isolate you from friends and family.
- Pressure you to be sexual.
- Physically rough with you.
- Ignore you, give silent treatment, hang up on you.
- Always checking where you are, who you’re with, where you’re going.
- Don’t listen or care about your opinions and feelings.
(adapted from domestic abuse project (http://www.domesticabuseproject.)
Do your homework:
- Are you afraid to break up with your partner?
- Do you feel tied down, like you have to always check-in?
- Are you afraid to make decisions or bring up certain topics?
- Do you tell yourself if you just try harder everything will be fine?
- Are you depressed, unhappy or cry a lot?
- Is the emotional or physical abuse getting worse?
Test Time
Healthy for you?
- My partner criticizes how I look.
- My partner has insulted me in front of others.
- My partner has said I’m nothing without him/her.
- My partner says I am fat/ugly/stupid.
- My partner often walks out during a disagreement.
- My partner often refuses to show affection for me until I do what he/she wants.
- My partner pressures me to engage in sexual activity even if I don’t want to.
- My partner becomes angry often.
- My partner doesn’t like my friends and tells me not to go out with them.
- My partner says that my family doesn’t like him/her.
- My partner says that no one else would want me.
- My partner blames me for his/her violent behavior.
- My partner abuses alcohol and/or drugs.
- My partner threatens me.
- My partner often threatens to leave me.
- My partner threatens to kill me or him/herself if I leave.
- My partner tries to convince me that I’m crazy.
- My partner swears at me.
Healthy for your partner?
- I criticize how my partner looks.
- I insult my partner in front of others.
- I tell my partner he/she is nothing without me.
- I tell my partner he/she is fat/ugly/stupid.
- I often leave during disagreements.
- I withhold affection from my partner until he/she does what I want.
- I pressure my partner to engage in sexual activity.
- I become angry often.
- I don’t like my partner’s friends and tell him/her not to go out with them.
- I tell my partner that my family doesn’t like him/her.
- I tell my partner that no one else would want him/her.
- I blame my partner for my violent behavior.
- I abuse alcohol and/or drugs.
- I threaten my partner.
- I often threaten to leave my partner.
- I threaten to kill myself or my partner if he/she leaves.
- I tell my partner he/she is crazy.
- I swear at my partner.