Rosalind Wiseman

For almost two decades, Liz Claiborne’s Love Is Not Abuse campaign has fought a constant battle against domestic violence, conducting research, helping victims report abuse, and creating powerful preventative programs based on their data. This past Tuesday, @katiecouric featured the Vice President of Liz Claiborne, Jane Randel, along with the Deputy Director of the Justice Department’s Office of Violence Against Women, Catherine Pierce. The segment not only told stories of teen violence, but also highlighted Liz Claiborne’s research and preventative efforts, including its educational website loveisnotabuse.com, and its national teen dating abuse hotline loveisrespect.org.

I’m a huge fan of Liz Claiborne’s efforts, largely because it is so rare to find such year in and year out long-term commitment to this issue. Sadly, teen relationship abuse is one of those important issues that tends to drop off the radar. But Liz Claiborne not only commits itself to updating their research, but also adjusts its preventative programs according to its findings. Case in point: a recent study found that teens are uncomfortable telling parents and teachers about violence, so Liz Claiborne focused on educating young people about recognizing and confronting violence among their peers.

Also, I’d like to point out that Loveisrespect.org is a great positive made possible by technology. Yes, there has been a rise in abuse reports over the last decade. But, as an educator, I’ve always encountered abuse in schools. These heightened reports are, in part, a great indicator that young people are becoming more educated about teen violence, and know how to recognize it and report it.

Watch The Interview with Katie Couric

Watch CBS News Videos Online