May is prom month for many area high schools, including Fort Defiance in Augusta County, but that's not the only thing for which schools are getting ready.

In conjunction with buying the gowns and tuxes, students are learning about the prevalence of domestic violence and how to make sure they stay safe on prom night.

The auditorium at Fort Defiance High School was packed as students quietly listened to a one woman play in which she was the fictional victim of teen domestic violence.

Rebecca Ullrich, the Office on Youth, says, "It's more prevalent than most people think. It's not as spoken about, I guess. Not a lot of kids talk about it, unless it's with their best friend, and even then, they're afraid to say something about it."

The event is sponsored by the student-run Family Career and Community Leaders of America, or FCCLA. FCCLA President Danielle Frisk says the group is trying to help students in need.

She says, "In our school, we feel like we have a lot of kids who put up with a lot of crap from guys, girls especially, and we felt like it was a big problem, from what we saw, as students."

Representatives from the Office on Youth and health department also attended the play. They say some abuse victims just don't know when to say no, and they're trying to reach young people at an early age to teach them that domestic violence is wrong.

Ullrich says, "I think a lot of them have grown up with this and they find it acceptable and they're afraid to say something about it, but need to know that it's okay to speak up about domestic violence."

Frisk hopes the message is clear to her classmates.

She adds, "Relationship abuse is really something that you don't have to put up with and it's something that no one should have to put up with."