College of Public Health

News Story

CPH Professor testifies on dating violence bill

Posted 11/02/2009

Kenny Steinman, clinical assistant professor in the college's Division of Health Behavior and Health Promotion, testified Tuesday (10/27/2009) before the Ohio Senate's Education Committee on House Bill 19.

Steinman directs the Ohio Family Prevention Project, a collaboration between Ohio State's College of Public Health and the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.

House Bill 19 would require school districts to adopt a dating violence prevention policy and to include dating violence prevention education within the health education curriculum. The bill was passed by the Ohio House of Representatives on May 13, 2009. If enacted, the bill will be known as the "Tina Croucher Act," named for an 18-year-old girl who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend four days before Christmas in 1992.

In his testimony, Steinman outlined the threat of teen dating violence and the development of effective prevention programs. Steinman indicates that conservative estimates are that 20,000 young women in Ohio ages 15- to 19-year-old experienced teen dating violence last year.

Steinman pointed out that teen dating violence is more prevalent than other threats, like injuries from suicide and motor vehicle accidents.

He also highlighted that some promising programs already exist, Rather than wait years for studies from other states, he noted that mandating school-based programs will encourage schools "to work with agencies and universities to develop and evaluate teen dating violence programs and build a cumulative knowledge base about prevention."

See Steinman's complete comments here.

 

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The Ohio State University's College Public Health is an integral part of the most comprehensive health sciences campus in the nation. The college was created in February 2007 by the University Board of Trustees. First established in 1995 as part of the College of Medicine, we are the first and only accredited school of public health in the state of Ohio. Specializations within the college include biostatistics, epidemiology, health behavior and health promotion, environmental health sciences, health services management and policy, veterinary public health and clinical investigations. The college is currently ranked 21st in public health graduate schools by US News & World Report. Its Master of Health Administration program is ranked 12th.