Today, Break the Cycle issued the first-ever state-by-state report card evaluating the level of legal protection each state offers young victims of domestic and dating violence. The report was issued in conjunction with National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week.
The report card is designed to draw attention to the discrepancies between the protections afforded to adult victims of violence as compared to teen victims. States were graded on an A through F scale. Those states that do not allow minors to obtain restraining orders were given an automatic failure.
Fifteen states received an “F” while only three – California, New Hampshire and Oklahoma — received “A’s.” Along with the grades, Break the Cycle released recommendations for improvement of state domestic violence laws.
For more information, view the report
-Published on February 3, 2008