SHOULD I TAKE REVENGE ON MY CHEATING BOYFRIEND?

I have been seeing a boy who is in the year above me at school for about three months. He is 16 and has a reputation for not being loyal to his girlfriends. During the summer holiday, I discovered that he had slept with three other girls. When I challenged him on this, he told me that it was only one girl. He said he really likes me and wants to continue seeing me. I agreed to talk it through. Then a friend of his showed me a screen-shot of a text conversation in which he admitted to sleeping with ten other girls – many more than he revealed to me – and said I had just joined the list. His friend made me swear not to tell him. I am so angry and I want revenge, but how? I am sorry that you have been hurt so much. This boy sounds thoroughly nasty. He is only thinking of himself and is not to be trusted. However – and I know you won’t want to hear this – for your own safety, I would strongly advise you not to take revenge. If you were to shame him on Facebook, for instance, he could react badly. As he sounds self-centred and clearly ruthless, he could hit back and hurt you much more than you have hurt him. Worryingly, though, your letter raises other issues. You say that he is 16 and in the year above you, so I am assuming you are 15, which is below the legal age of consent for sex. Although teenagers under 16 are not usually prosecuted if it is by mutual agreement and they are of similar age, it is still against the law. I imagine that some of the other girls must have been under 16, too, and his behaviour is dangerous. It would help you – and might stop him – if you could tell someone. Ideally, talk in confidence to the school counsellor or the head of pastoral care. If you have a good relationship with your parents, talk to them, too. Or you could contact Childline (childline.org.uk, 0800 1111). Don’t be pressured into continuing a relationship with him. In future, it would be better to wait until you are in a relationship with a boy who really loves and cares about you before becoming sexually involved.