Love is not abuse!

We have joined forces with Staffordshire Women's Aid again to launch phase 2 of this campaign, which raises awareness of dating abuse and challenges abusive behaviour.

Statistics show that dating abuse is taking place across the District amongst young people in teenage relationships; however it is extremely under reported. Types of dating abuse include: psychological, emotional, sexual, physical and controlling behaviour.

This campaign aims to address this by raising awareness of what dating abuse is; encouraging victims to report their abuse and highlighting local support agencies.

It provides young people with the opportunity to discuss issues with their friends and gain a better understandiong of healthy relationships. Throughout the campaign, young people are encouraged to identify warning signs of dating abuse and to challenge abusive behaviour.

This campaign was extremely successful in 2013. As a result, 37 young people were referred to Staffordshire Women's Aid for support. In a survey of over 600 people, 95% reported an increase in their understanding of dating abuse, with knowledge of local support services rising 20%.

The Chase Community Partnership has now provided additional funding through the PCC's Locality Deal Fund to develop the campaign further, with a second phase launching in October 2014. Resource packs have been developed to help practitioners and the wider community gain a wider understanding of dating abuse.

As part of this, local schools have been provided with a campaign pack consisting of posters, helpcards, wristbands and resource packs.

In 2013, a local theatre company - 'Actionhaus' (made up of students from Cannock Chase High School) delivered a piece of musical theatre to secondary schools across the District highlighting key messages. This has also been provided as an additional resource.

Watch the performance of 'Drug Love'