Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- As soon as her boyfried walked up to her in Kennedy Plaza, the trouble began. First they yelled at each another. Then they started shoving.

"What are you going to do? Hit me in front of all of these people?" she screamed. "You need to calm down!"

It was Thursday afternoon and the downtown plaza was full of high school students on their way home from school. Quite a few stopped their conversations and turned their attention to the quarreling teens.

Then, all of a sudden, the boy and girl hugged, and she yelled out, "This ain't real. No teen dating violence!"

And volunteers began handing out buttons and baring black T-shirts publicizing hkupwithrespect.com.

The "guerilla theater," acted out by high school students Amber Johnson and Aaron Dorsey, was the launch of an initiative, "Start Strong Rhode Island," being undertaken by Sojourner House, a domestic violence prevent agency, in partnership with Young Voices, a youth-run advocacy and leadership agency. They were one of only 11 grant applicants to share in the $1 million the Robert Wood Johnson Founation awarded to address teen violence this year.

"The idea is to immerse them in a simulated environment," said Chace Baptista, co-director of Young Voices, who was narrating the fake fight videotaped by project director Kate Reilly.

In the most recent Rhode Island Youth risk behavior survey, 14 perent of high students reported having been "hit, slapped or physically hurt on purpose" by a boyfriend or girlfriend in the past year.

 Tags  Kennedy Plaza Providence RI Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Sojourner House teen dating violence Youth Voices

Comments

Michael tevyaw said:

As well intended as this is, it does not seem to be a good idea, this will result in a cry wolf metality, where someone may be in the act of an actual confrontation and noone intervenes thinking it may just be a hoax.

Link | October 22, 2009 5:55 PM
Report Abuse

---

bee said:

October is domestic violence awareness month!! i am so glad that this message is getting out to teens!!! No one, regardless of gender, has the right to put their hands on or act in a threatening manner to another. That is not not love- that is not healthy. This education is well needed and well overdue!! Bravo to Sojourner House and Young Voices to help stop domestic violence!

Link | October 23, 2009 10:54 AM
Report Abuse

---

Beaz said:

They had better exercise caution when staging these types of "guerilla theatres". Had I witnessed this young man push her or shove her, there would have a lot more than "awareness" happening in Kennedy plaza...

Link | October 23, 2009 12:48 PM
Report Abuse

---

Leave a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.