The Nature of Abuse: GH

When the Kiefer/Kristina storyline began on GH, I praised the show for shedding some light on the subject of teenagers caught in abusive relationships because as a society this is something that is rarely ever talked about. Unfortunately these types of relationships are much more common than anyone would want to admit and talking about them is the only way that teenagers are ever going to learn how to protect themselves. I still feel like it was a smart and gutsy move for GH to be willing to tell this story, but I am a little concerned at how this storyline now seems to be unfolding. I am worried that not enough attention is being paid to the emotional and mental side of abusive relationships because Kiefer's worst outbursts seem to occur when Kristina refuses to sleep with him. Then the issue becomes more about Kristina not being ready to have sex, but deciding to do it anyway because she is being pressured by her boyfriend. I have no doubt that an abusive boyfriend would try to pressure his girlfriend to have sex with him. I just think this storyline needs to place more emphasis on the fact that Kiefer is abusive in more ways than one, and that this abuse is not simply triggered by Kristina's refusal to sleep with him, as this could send the wrong message. As a result, I think more attention needs to be paid to Kiefer's subtle abuse, the abuse that may be harder for teenagers to detect, like when he bought Kristina a cell phone so that he could always reach her. Fewer teenagers would see a warning sign in that than they would the physical abuse, and these are often the first warning signs before physical abuse begins.