NCFY Recommends: Apps Help Prevent Teen Dating Violence

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, a chance for youth workers to teach young people about healthy relationships and how to protect themselves from physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Research shows that teen dating violence not only affects young people while it's happening. It also can lead to health problems like eating disorders and suicidal thoughts later on in life.

We decided to test two smartphone applications designed to prevent dating violence and sexual abuse by quickly connecting youth to emergency help. The apps, Circle of 6 and OnWatch, were winners of the Apps Against Abuse technology challenge issued by the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services in 2011. Although both tools are primarily geared toward college students, we think they may be useful for high-school and out-of-school youth, too.

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