A year ago, the media was saturated with details of domestic violence against singer Rihanna by her then-boyfriend, rapper Chris Brown. But what about the teen dating abuse that happens to noncelebrity teens, possibly even close to you?

The cold reality is that approximately one in three teenage women ages 13 to 18 will suffer from abuse each day, according to dosomething.org.

Dating abuse can occur from a variety of reasons, and many people hide the fact that it’s going on in their lives.

Ashley Hoyle, a National Teen Dating Abuse spokesperson, says the biggest reason that people hide the fact that they’re being abused is out of fear. This fear is based on the thought that their significant other will hurt them or people they love, and so they keep quiet to avoid that possibility.

Another reason Hoyle gives is that some people would find it shameful to themselves and society, and in order to avoid their own embarrassment, they don’t say anything because they believe they will be disowned by society and the people who are closest to them.

There are multiple known reasons pertaining as to why dating abuse happens. According to loveisrespect.org, a national Web site for teen dating abuse help, one in particular would be control issues. Sometimes a person in a relationship will want to control the other by not allowing them to go anywhere, choosing what clothes they wear and isolating the person from family. Another would be anger control, which can result in beating the significant other. About one in 11 teens reports being a victim of physical dating abuse each year, according to a study published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report in 2006.

So what about cases in Lawrence? Annie White, a social worker, says dating abuse happens here.

“I’ve worked with teens in Lawrence for over five years now, and it seems to be a consistent problem,” she says. “Lately I’ve noticed a jump in abuse towards boys from girls and same-sex couple abuse.”

When a few junior high and high school students were asked about their opinions of teen dating abuse and if it’s a consistent problem, their replies varied.

Lydia Longabach, a ninth-grader at Southwest Junior High School, says, “I don’t really hear about it happening a lot, and I don’t really know anyone who’s gone through it.”

However, Trey Beasley, a sophomore at Lawrence High School, says he sees teens abusing each other regularly.

“Well, the physical kind is what I’ve seen most of, considering that I see it at least five times in the hall every day,” he says.

“I don’t like it at all because if you walk around beating up your significant other just because they looked at someone you thought would try and take them away from you, or even someone you don’t even like talks to your significant other and you slap them or something, then it’s not right,” Beasley says. “Physical abuse in teen relationships is the worst kind, in my opinion, because you’re physically beating up your significant other. Verbal can be bad as well, but I think physical is worse.”