As high school hallways and the entertainment press are abuzz about the alleged beating of pop star Rihanna at the hands of her pop star boyfriend, Chris Brown, some state lawmakers plan to send a message that dating violence is never acceptable.
Wednesday, a committee of senators approved a bill requiring the state Department of Education to train school personnel and students to recognize the signs of abusive relationships.
“A lot of young people have no idea what is the appropriate response to dating violence,” said Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, who is the chief sponsor of the Senate bill. “They sure wouldn’t be able to figure it out by the media and what they see on television.”
All the grownups quoted in the piece are convinced that, with just some clear advice, a good instruction manual, people will fly right. The only dissenter was a boy in high school who observed:
“… some people think they’re in love, and they won’t listen no matter how many people tell them it’s a bad relationship.â€
Romans 7 speaks!
Why don’t we just pass a law that you can’t hit anyone?. This is just so silly. 1. Laws can only do so much. and 2. there are many things that government can’t do.
I think we should go waaaay further. All forms of psychological and physical bullying in school and out of it by underage persons ought to be criminalized in such a way that the bullied person has appropriate recourse. NO adult would/should tolerate psychological or physical violence against them, so why should we tolerate it against underage persons by people their own age?
I feel faint! Is that actionable?
It depends on the circumstances, Br.
Actually, any harmful or offensive contact, is a tort and can result in a civil action and may arise to a criminal battery. It’s already against the law.
I’m kind of surprised that the department of education wasn’t ALREADY teaching school personnel to recognize the signs of abusive relationships. But beyond that – what good is recognition without meaningful response? I’m curious what schools are expected to (or intending to) DO after they recognize it. Knowing I am broken does not make me whole.
Br. wrote in #6 “Actually, any harmful or offensive contact, is a tort and can result in a civil action and may arise to a criminal battery. It’s already against the law.” You are quite correct. How unfortunate that when it comes to the commission of torts by one minor against another, even at school, generally the tort in question is winked at, overlooked, ignored, minimized, even if complaints are made by the student. And battery isn’t just a civil matter, it’s a crime in most jurisdictions.