Teenagers are now fastest-growing group involved in domestic abuse Suffolk charity warns
They're seeking to educate young people early to prevent issues and abuse later in life
Teenage relationships are now the fastest-growing demographic linked to domestic abuse, according to a Suffolk-based charity working with young people.
David Watley, co-founder of Red Flag Awareness, said the organisation was created in response to what he described as a growing problem among young people.
He said: “From the work that we’ve already done over the many tens of years within the domestic abuse sector, we saw that young people, teenage relationships, are the fastest growing demographic when it comes to domestic abuse.”
Red Flag Awareness is a community interest company that focuses on educating young people about healthy relationships, domestic abuse and misogyny.
Watley said adolescence was a critical time to intervene, adding: “It’s a really crucial age for young people to learn about relationships and obviously that message isn’t quite getting home as well as we might think it is.”
The charity aims to give young people the confidence to recognise and challenge unhealthy behaviour.
Watley said: “We’d like children to have access to the right information… to help build that confidence, to challenge things that they’re not happy with, when they feel uncomfortable, and to recognise the signs of disrespectful behaviour and misogynistic language.”
Natalie McCarthy, co-founder and director of Red Flag Awareness, said early intervention was essential to prevent long-term harm.
She said: “Early intervention and getting in there early… is under a better chance of creating positive change in their lives as well as the future of everyone really.”
The organisation is currently focusing its work in Suffolk, with the long-term aim of making relationship education more widely available to young people.