According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016, 31 percent of high school students experienced violence in their relationships. A Laurens County group called Women in Need of God's Shelter is educating teens about preventing those problems.
"Love is respect" is the message on the wall at Dublin High School, raising awareness of teenage domestic violence and showing students are united against domestic violence.
"I learned that abuse is not something you want to experience while you are young," Dajia Parker said, who is a student at Dublin High School.
Parker and students at Dublin High learned women between the age of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of partner violence, according to information given to us from Women In Need of Gods Shelter. It's a sign Cameron Carter said gives him a new approach to relationship issues in his own life.
"About, you know, letting it go, walking away from the situations, I don't wanna keep going through it, basically being the bigger person," Carter said.
Barb Johns has become the bigger person after being in an abusive relationship. Johns now has a new role teaching students about relationship violence.
"With that in mind, we would like to think we can prevent having it escalate into violence and abuse for their relationships because it's not healthy, that's not a healthy relationship. Somebody can end up being dead," Barb said.
Johns also said among some of the things they talk about at Dublin High School is social media and the violence it can contribute to a relationship.
"On Facebook or whatever the case may be, I do not wanna just mention that one thing, but people can be very, very mean in many forms," Johns said.
Barb is also educating students about stalking, emotional, physical abuse, and making sure they know love should never hurt.
If you or somebody you know needs help from an abusive relationship, you can contact the Women In Need of Gods Shelter 24-Hour Crisis line at 478-272-8000.