Indiana’s laws give teen dating violence victims more leverage than most states but fall short of putting minors on equal footing with adult victims, according to a national report.

The analysis by teen domestic violence prevention group Break the Cycle graded each state in terms of the legal protection it provides to young victims. Indiana got a B and fared better than 36 states and the District of Columbia.

But advocates with Break the Cycle and some local advocates say Indiana’s provisions should be stronger, allowing minors to petition for protection on their own behalf. Others say there’s also a need for more education and other resources to combat teen dating violence in Central Indiana.

“There needs to be a higher level of awareness,” said Julie Marsh, CEO of the Indianapolis-based Domestic Violence Network. “We lack direct services for youth when it comes to (domestic) abuse.”

About 12 percent of high school students in Indiana reported being hit, slapped or otherwise physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend, according to the most recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2007.

Indiana law allows protection orders to be filed against minors, but anyone younger than 18 must have a parent or guardian file for them. California, one of five states to receive an A on its report card, allows anyone 12 or older to file for a protection order without a parent or guardian’s permission.

Amy Willis, teen council director at Sheltering Wings in Danville, said Indiana should allow minors of at least 15 to follow a similar course. Willis said she’s worked with teens whose parents wouldn’t allow them to get a protective order because they think the abuse is the teenagers’ fault.

“Then that teen is completely unprotected,” she said. “Teens don’t want to share that information with parents a lot of times because they think they’re going to be judged.”

Other advocates say the state’s laws are important because they require parents to be involved in protecting their children.

“We need to say: ‘This is your child, and you need to be responsible,’ " said Bridgett Morales, communication director at the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

But Morales and others agree with the premise of Break the Cycle’s report: Teen dating violence must be taken more seriously.

Marsh said a few local programs provide services and education for teen victims, but there is a need for a more collective effort. For example, there are few, if any, resources to reach out to young people who are abusers, she said.

Deborah Norris thinks greater awareness could have saved her daughter, Heather. She died in 2007 at age 20 at the hand of her former boyfriend, Joshua Bean, who was convicted of fatally stabbing her and dismembering her body with a chainsaw after a two-year relationship fraught with domestic abuse.

“I don’t think we should wait for this to become another terrible tragedy,” Norris said, “before someone takes note.”