Gahanna Lincoln High School S-Club Continues
to Takes the Topic of Teen Dating Vilence to
Their Classmates and Community

Submitted by SI-NESFC President Michelle Castle

More than 300 Gahanna Lincoln High School Girls
Learn  Johanna Orozco's First-Hand Story of Teen Violence
as GLHS's S-Club Hosts Speaker

On Tuesday March 8, 2011, the girls from Gahanna Lincoln High School were invited to attend a special guest
speaker session about teen dating violence. The speaker was Ms. Johanna Orozco, who shared her story of
survival after enduring an abusive, violent relationship as a teen.

Cleveland high school seniors Johanna Orozco and Juan Ruiz, Jr. seemed like the perfect couple, until Juan’s
actions turned violent and possessive. Johanna tried breaking up with Juan several times but he would not leave her
alone. Juan began  stalking and threatening her, and even raped Johanna at knifepoint.

Then on March 5, 2007, Juan fired a shotgun in Johanna’s face, sending her through a medical marathon of
reconstructive surgery and recovery. Her doctors said it  is a miracle that she even survived.

Since that horrific day, Johanna has dedicated her life to educating teens about dating violence. She
currently works for the Cleveland Domestic Violence Center as a teen educator.

Johanna has also helped pass two Ohio laws, House Bill 19, which requires teachers in health classes
to educate students in grades 7 to 12 about teen dating violence; and House Bill 10, which allows teens
ages 13 to 18 to get protection orders against other teens, something she was not able to do.

Johanna has told her story on “Oprah,” “20/20” and was featured in an eight-day series in The Cleveland
Plain Dealer in 2007.

More than 300 girls attended the event to hear Johanna's story firsthand and learned how to better
recognize the signs of an abusive relationship.  Johanna said that she shares her story with teens because
she doen't want anyone to go through her experience.  Ex-boyfriend Ruiz is serving a 27-year prison
sentence.

Gahanna Lincoln High School Health Fair Spring 2011

On April 20th, S Club members set up a booth  at the high school's annual health fair.  They provided
stickers,  bookmarks, and information about teen dating violence.  The girls also had a tri-fold they
designed that featured information about teen dating violence and had students write their names on
strips of paper which S Club members linked together to hang in the hallways of Gahanna Lincoln
High School.  Students at the high school had an opportunity to take a quiz to see how much they
knew about teen dating violence and then were entered into a drawing or gift certificates donated
by Coldstone Creamery.

Information is Power
What Statistical Research Reveals about Teen Dating Violence

• About one in three high school students have been or will be involved in an
  abusive relationship.Forty percent of teenage girls ages 14 to 17 say they know someone
  their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.
  
  
• About one in three high school students have been or will be involved in an abusive
  relationship. Forty percent of teenage girls ages 14 to 17 say they know someone their age
  who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.
  
  
• One in five or 20 percent of dating couples report some type of violence in their
  relationship. One of five college females will experience some form of dating violence.
  
  
• One study found that 38 percent of date rape victims were young women from
  14 to 17years of age.
  
  
• More than half young women raped (68 percent) knew their rapist either as a boyfriend,
  friend or casual acquaintance. Six out of 10 rapes of young women occur in their own home or a friend
  or relative's home, not in a dark alley. More than 4 in every 10 incidents of domestic violence involves non-married
  persons (Bureau of Justice Special Report:
  Intimate Partner Violence, May 2000)

Please revisit this page soon.