Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

This month is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, a good opportunity for professionals in sexual health, public health and across local government and the NHS to reflect on how we identify, prevent and respond to abuse in young people’s relationships.

Teen dating violence can include physical, emotional, sexual and digital abuse within intimate relationships. It can include coercive control, image-based abuse, harassment via social media, sexual pressure and exploitation. The evidence shows that relationship abuse often begins in adolescence, making early intervention critical. The impact is far-reaching: poor mental health outcomes, increased risk of sexual ill health, unplanned pregnancy, substance misuse, and vulnerability to future experiences of domestic abuse.

For sexual health services in particular, young people experiencing abuse may present with sexually transmitted infections, requests for emergency contraception, safeguarding concerns, or mental health needs. Services must be equipped to recognise subtle indicators of coercion or control, create safe opportunities for disclosure, and work with clear and understood safeguarding practices. Trauma-informed practice, confidentiality protocols, and partnership working with education, youth services and specialist domestic abuse providers are essential.

The London Sexual Health Programme plays a vital role in supporting and coordinating high-quality, open-access sexual health services across the capital, including SHL.UK, the largest online STI testing platform in Europe. As part of our wider commitment to reducing inequalities and improving sexual and reproductive health outcomes, LSHP has signed the pledges in support of the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) agenda. This shows our clear commitment to embedding prevention, early identification and survivor-centred approaches within commissioned services.

Signing the VAWG pledges is not symbolic; it signals an expectation that providers prioritise safeguarding, training and collaborative working. It also reinforces the importance of data collection and service evaluation to understand the scale and nature of relationship abuse among young Londoners.

So, Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month reminds us that preventing abuse is a shared responsibility. By strengthening relationships and sex education, investing in youth-informed service design, and ensuring that frontline professionals are confident in responding to disclosures, we can intervene earlier and more effectively.

This month, we want to reaffirm our collective commitment to ensuring that every young person in London can experience safe, respectful and healthy relationships.