DA Leone seeks teenagers' help in campaign against dating violence

By Globe Staff

Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. is enlisting teenagers' help in educating their peers about the dangers of date violence.

In a letter distributed today to school superintendents in the 54 communities of Middlesex County, Leone announced a competition in which teens will be invited to make videos speaking out against this particular type of abuse. The winning video will be distributed to Boston television stations, Leone's office said in a statement.

"The time is now to spark a new dialogue about teen dating violence," Leone said. "We believe the most effective communicators about this issue are young people themselves. The goal is for students to use these [videos] as a forum to communicate a direct, positive message to other teens to help prevent teen dating violence."

The topic of teen dating violence was highlighted recently by the case of singer Chris Brown, who is accused of a violent assault on his girlfriend, the young pop star Rihanna. An informal poll had found that nearly half of 200 Boston teenagers surveyed said Rihanna was responsible for the alleged beating, and 44 percent said that fighting is a normal part of a relationship. Local health workers, startled by those responses, said they are concerned that youths seem to have grown accustomed to domestic violence and even insensitive to the issue.

"Leadership from peers is critical to changing how teens define their dating relationships," said Laura Van Zandt, executive director of REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, which worked with the district attorney's office on the video contest project, along with Middlesex Partnerships for Youth Inc.

Van Zandt said the project will allow teens to "set the tone for the conversation and make it clear that they will not ignore unhealthy relationships. Instead, they will step up and speak out."

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