Consent, respect, honesty, communication, and trust. All of these are key factors in building healthy relationship skills and setting a foundation for  safe and healthy dating relationships for youth. While adult relationship violence has been treated as a major public health issue, increasing attention is being paid to similar patterns among teens. Research suggests over 25 per cent of Canadian youth have experienced violence related to dating, and the associated physical and psychological costs.

Drawing its name from Tina Turner’s mid-1980s chart topper, “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” was launched by the Canadian Red Cross in 1988 as an initiative to combat violence in youth relationships. Adult volunteers were recruited to lead school workshops where students were taught the types of relationship violence, how to recognize trouble signs, and where to seek help. The program was regularly updated, over time adding a strong emphasis on the ingredients for a healthy relationship. 

“This program helped me understand why it’s important to know yourself and how to understand others better to be in healthy relationships.”

During an extensive revamp in 2015, the program was rebranded as Healthy Youth Relationships. Youth facilitators and adult leaders lead sessions which help explore self-awareness, consent, and how to actively promote healthy relationships at school and in the community, while building healthy relationship skills including communication and conflict resolution. 

Partnering with mindyourmind, a group of youth worked to create awareness-raising tools for social media shared at redcross.ca/respect. A free online course for youth that complements the in-person sessions is also accessible at redcross.ca/respect. 

“This program helped me understand why it’s important to know yourself and how to understand others better to be in healthy relationships,” observed a youth from Kelowna, BC, who became a certified Youth Facilitator for the program. “The parts about gender and media were so important. This is a great, really wonderful, important and effective program for learning about healthy relationships.”