From Girl Scouts with L.O.V.E. (Learning to Overcome Violence Everywhere) is a Delmarva Peninsula-wide community service project for Girl Scouts, their families, and communities to learn about violence in its many forms and learn how to overcome violence through age specific activities.

Need Resources?
We have put together resources that are not gender specific and can be helpful to both youth and adults.

Study - Feeling Safe: What Girls Say
Recently, the Girl Scout Research Institute released Feeling Safe: What Girls Say. The study examines feelings and perceptions about safety of girls 8-17, both Girl Scouts and non-Girl Scouts. Girls are equally concerned about their emotional and physical safety, but threats to emotional safety are of top concern in their everyday lives.

Fear of being teased, judged and betrayed are among their top concerns. Threats to feeling of safety diminish the quality of a girl's life. Girls who lack positive relationships, and therefore may not feel safe, feel sad; have trouble paying attention in school; experience trouble making decisions; and are less likely to form friendships than girls who feel safe.

The girl-adult partnership fostered in Girl Scouting is essential in the lives of tweens and teens, especially since the study reveals that almost one-quarter have fewer than three adults they can go to when they are in trouble or need help. (Review the Executive Summary)


Top 5 Tips for Adults:
Helping Girls Cope with Feeling Unsafe
1. Be proactive about asking how girls feel, even if they are reluctant to talk.  Don’t assume to know what they consider important, and don’t expect them to automatically share their concerns with parents or other adults.

2. Encourage working together to establish guidelines for responsible behavior.  Do not judge, threaten, lecture, issue orders, or try to “teach girls a lesson” by withholding help.

3. Realize that a safe location is not enough. Trusted relationships, in which girls feel valued and supported, are what make girls feel emotionally safe.

4. Take emotional harm seriously. Typical environments, such as classrooms, sports fields, or group meetings often create situations that cause anxiety in girls. Hurtful teasing, gossiping and name-calling should be addressed by both adults and girls together.

5. Make safety a shared goal- one girls don't have to deal with alone. For example, adults in Girl Scouting, including STUDIO 2B_sm, need to partner with girls and encourage them to share their real-life concerns.

Child Abuse:
What you can do to prevent it.
(read more)

When Dating Turns Dangerous:
What You Need to Know about Dating Violence
(read more)

Sticks & Stones, Bullies are No Fun:
Dealing with Bullying
(read more)

Tis the Season for Stress:
Understanding & Overcoming Stress.
(read more)

An Interview with Rosalind Wiseman, author of
Queen Bees & Wannabes
(read more)


Helpful Website & Numbers
Please note that we will be adding more resources on a regular basis.

General
America's Promise Parent Checklist
http://www.americaspromise.org/howhelp/checklist/

Girl Scouts of the USA
www.studio2b.org | www.girlscouts.org

National Institutes of Health
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/safety.html

National Suicide Hotline  800-784-2433

Talking with Kids about Tough Issues
www.talkingwithkids.org
 

Delaware
Act-Now Crisis Line for Suicide  800-969-4357

Child Abuse Neglect & Reporting  800-292-9582

Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence http://www.dcadv.org/  | 800-701-0456

Delaware Commission for Women  800-464-4357
www.delawareworks.com/divisions/dcw/welcome.htm

Delaware State Attorney General
http://www.state.de.us/attgen/main_page/kids/kids_page.htm

Suicide Hotline 800-652-2929


Eastern Shore of Maryland
Cecil County Violence & Rape Hotline
410-996-0333

Family Service of Cecil County
410-398-4060 or 1-800-735-2258

Worchester County Health Department
Crisis Response Team
410-632-1100 x 3049


Eastern Shore of Virginia
Child Abuse Hotline
800-552-7096