The slaying of local teen, Lauren Astely, 18, that shocked the quiet Massachusetts town of Wayland over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, highlights a national problem of under-reported abuse and coercion in teenage romantic relationships, anti-violence experts say.
One in four adolescents is physically, emotionally, mentally or sexually abused by a significant other each year, according to national statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Likewise, 10 percent of adolescents reported physical violence by their significant other in the past 12 months, the CDC said.
In mid-June, the U.S. Department of Public Health and Human Services and the U.S. Surgeon General included a Violence Prevention Strategy for the first time in their annual National Health Policy Strategy, just about three weeks before Astley's death.
Astley's ex-boyfriend Nathaniel Fujita, 18, also of Wayland, was arrested and charged in her murder. He pleaded not guilty in Framingham District Court.
According to Vladimir Albin, Jr., a youth team coordinator for the Boston-based domestic violence advocacy support group Close To Home, the majority of teenage dating violence goes unreported or under-reported. The Community Advocacy Program in Boston states only 33 percent of teenage dating violence is reported.
Because there are so many different kinds of abuse and because teenagers have less experience in romantic relationships, a victim may not realize a relationship is abusive or abnormal.
"They're not always aware that what they're experiencing is teen dating violence," Albin said.
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By: Allison Pickens, http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/28464644/detail.html
