Video project
WAYNESBURG – Greene County teens could win cash for making a video that says “no more” to dating violence.
Cheryl McCready, Greene County office coordinator for Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania, is holding the video contest for the second year in a row to promote her office’s campaign of “No More Dating Violence.”
“We get calls from the parents and sometimes teachers will call us because they see dating violence in the schools,” McCready said Friday.
“The difficult thing is with all of the media, TV shows, celebrities and music videos, there’s so much violence out there that the students seem to think it’s an acceptable behavior. Some of them see it at home, too.”
McCready said her office started holding the contest last year in February because it is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.
Last year, several local high schools and youth groups submitted videos, she said. The videos, made by individuals or groups, must be between two and five minutes and state why the author, or authors, are saying “No more” to dating violence. Family, friends and teachers can participate in making the videos, although the contest is geared toward teens and teen dating violence prevention.
Statistics show that one in eight high school girls is a victim of teen dating violence and half of the reported incidents happen on school grounds, McCready said.
“Teens that are in that type of relationship are also more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, drugs and alcohol and cutting themselves,” she said. “It can be very dangerous.”
In Greene County, her office helps issue about 100 protection from abuse orders a year and about 20 individuals per month that seek help from abuse, McCready said.
“A small number of those are youth and sometimes it’s a dating relationship, but other times it’s an older family member or relative,” she said. “Statistics seem to have stayed the same over the past five years.”
McCready said she suspects there are many more cases of abuse happening in the community that never get reported.
“That’s why our awareness campaigns are so important,” she said. “We have to let kids know that this is not OK and they can get help.”
McCready said that when victims call her office hotline, 724-852-2463, the staff at her office will talk to the victims about what happened and safety planning. That’s because the abusers are usually trying to have constant control over the victims, she said, and her staff does not tell the victims what to do.
“We are not going to tell them what to do,” she said. “We give them option for what to do to stay safe.”
If a crime like an assault or rape is reported to her office, her staff will refer the caller to the police.
“It is up to the victim if the police get involved,” she said. “If the teen isn’t willing to stop seeing their abuser, they don’t typically get a PFA, Which would need to be done through a parent or guardian.”
Anyone who wants to submit a video should post it on the Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern PA Facebook page by 4 p.m. March 11. The first-place cash prize is $200, the second is $100 and third is $50. The prize money, which was donated by First Federal Savings and Loan, will be awarded in April.