Jackson Free Press logo

This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

File Photo

The Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence is honoring National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention month by promoting healthy youth relationships to prevent teen dating violence.

The coalition reports that females ages 16 to 24 are more likely to be victims of dating violence than any other age group. Dating violence includes physical, emotional and verbal abuse. Abusive teens are also likely to continue their patterns of using violence and control in future relationships.

The organization encourages teens, their parents and the general public to call 601-981-9196 (toll free 1-800-898-3234) or visit http://www.mcadv.org to learn the signs of teen dating violence and strategies for prevention.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.