Teens and abuse: how high school students are working against taboo conversations

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Two Alaska teenagers are part of a network of students looking to spread awareness and resources to their peers about safe, healthy relationships.

Madison Arreola of Eagle River High School and Maggie Cothron of Alaska Middle College and Polaris K-12 are members of Alaska Teens Against Abuse, a group spread across the state focused on dating violence and abuse prevention.

During April, which is both Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month, ATAB is running a month-long consent education campaign. Their public service announcements will air on multiple streaming and social media platforms.

Cothron said the conversations she’s had with her peers have been positively received. She believes having tough conversations with her peers has the potential to reduce stigma surrounding the subject.

“It’s just framing that narrative and that conversation that it’s OK to talk about,” Cothron said. “Yes, it is a serious thing and we recognize that, but it’s also something that is approachable, that doesn’t have to be something that is uncomfortable or taboo.”

Arreola, a founding member of the group, believes their young group members are part of the group’s power.

“As our generation starts to age, hopefully we will become the next leaders in this next generation in solving these issues,” Arreola said. “It would really help if our legislators further notice our efforts, because then that would mean that our laws right now could follow up with the change that we’re hoping to lead into the next generation.”

Arreola said their conversations regarding consent have been enlightening to many students.

Cothron and Arreola recently attended the CDVSA prevention summit in Juneau, where multiple organizations targeting domestic violence gathered for presentations.

“People [at the conference] had mentioned that they realized that there was a totally different definition of consent than they realized when we actually presented to them,” Arreola said. “And ever since we really heavily started advertising Alaska Teens Against Abuse, we have had over 20-plus students give interest into joining.”

However, Arreola points out teens aren’t oblivious to the dangers or reality of sexual assault and domestic violence.

“Kids and teenagers are aware of the problems in our state leading to sexual education, or rather, rates of sexual assault or rape,” she said. “We’re working to fix those solutions. Alaska Teens Against Abuse runs our campaigns and it isn’t just another video on social media. It’s not just another phrase or word. Consent is real, and consent needs to be talked about. And we do have real problems in our state.”

Abuse and violence statistics back up Arreola’s claims. According to the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, in 2020 — the most current state data — the rate of attempted or reported rape in Alaska was four times that of the rest of the country.

In the same report, they noted one in five adults in Alaska reported experiencing physical abuse in an intimate relationship.

Cothron said being at the conference in Juneau made her consider how important youth voices are while discussing prevention methods.

“I think the data is definitely representing like, our youth perspective,” Cothron said. “But I think there definitely is more room for youth involvement and youth perspective.”

Arreola said the same, addressing the issue of consent but also domestic violence as a whole.

“We need our legislators to hear our voices and hear us, even though we are teenagers, we still know that consent is important.”

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