Teens Can Win Cash Prizes for Choose Respect PSA

There is still time to enter the 2018 Choose Respect PSA contest. Teens are asked to create an original Public Service Announcement (PSA) video to promote awareness of dating violence among teens. Participants are encouraged to be creative! The contest is open to all 6th - 12th grade students in Montgomery County. All submissions must be uploaded to Google Drive, Dropbox, YouTube, or similar program. Submission form is available at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/fjc/chooserespect.html.

Popular radio host Toby Knapp will emcee the opening session of the Choose Respect conference in Montgomery County. The forum is scheduled for Sunday, April 15 from 12 PM – 4:00 PM at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville. The free event is co-sponsored by the Montgomery County Public Schools. Parents, teens, youth service providers, educators and others will discuss teen dating and ways to establish healthy relationships. Register is open here: https://chooserespect2018.eventbrite.com

Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year. One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence. One in 10 high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend. One quarter of high school girls have been victims of physical or sexual abuse.

Students in sixth grade through high school are urged to attend. They will be in tracks according to age. One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence. A special track for parents is also available. Pizza will be served following the event.