Every February, teens and young adults nationwide share their stories of survival and raise awareness about domestic violence during Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. That’s why the Albuquerque Bar Association hosted a presentation to recognize and help spread the message.
The event, Domestic and Dating Violence: Special Issues Involving Teens and Young Adults/Title IX, was held at the State Bar of New Mexico on Feb. 18. It included five guest presenters, four from The University of New Mexico including:
- Lawrence Jones: UNM Political Science professor & former domestic violence judge and moderator
- MaryEllen Garcia: CEO, New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- Heather Jaramillo: UNM Office of Compliance, Ethics & Equal Opportunity
- Aimet Salinas: UNM student
- Violet Webb: UNM student
"It's important to be legally and socially cognizant of this issue, not only for February but really for the entire year, because dating violence is a cancer and needs to be remedied and addressed on an ongoing basis," Jones said.
More than 50% of New Mexico residents have been a victim of domestic or sexual violence, according to a 2024 NM Victimization Report.
"On a national basis, some statistics reflect that one in three U.S. teens will experience physical, sexual or emotional abuse from someone they're in a relationship with before they become adults, and 43% of U.S. college women report experiencing violent or abusive dating behaviors," Jones said.
While many attendees came from legal backgrounds, the panel's makeup was not, which brought many different vantage points to the presentation. Two UNM students were among the panelists who gave insight as young adults.
Webb, a Junior at UNM double majoring in Political Science and Strategic Communication, dreams of becoming an Investigative Journalist. Salinas, a Criminology major in her senior year at the university, plans to attend law school. Both students spoke on the panel, saying it was an honor to be a part of the important conversation they both have personal experiences with.
Salinas says she works as a paralegal doing domestic violence cases and has witnessed her loved ones go through toxic relationships. "It hit home, just doing more research on it, the psychological facts, something my own friends are going through," Salinas said. "Low-income, Spanish-speaking communities, unfortunately, go through this a lot, just like other communities, so it resonates with me a lot more."
"I think the topic in general is really stigmatized and I think having an open conversation and being able to give my thoughts and opinions about it was powerful," Webb said.
There are plenty of resources on campus for victims of domestic violence/sexual assault/mental health:
As well as off-campus, such as shelters/centers:
