We teach people how to treat us.

This an undeniable fact.  What we need to start with is a healthy self-esteem.  That is hard to come by given the world we live in.  We get so many mixed messages while we are growing up.  We learn the lessons our parents are taught.  We have all tried to be the best parents we could be, but in a flawed world, it is difficult.  The good news now, is that we can, with some work, find a way to increase our feelings of self-worth so that WE CAN teach people how to treat us with the respect we deserve and not settle for anything less.  Just think of how that would change things!