[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 373 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 373

   Designating the month of February 2010 as ``National Teen Dating 
               Violence Awareness and Prevention Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 9, 2009

   Mr. Crapo (for himself and Mr. Lieberman) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Designating the month of February 2010 as ``National Teen Dating 
               Violence Awareness and Prevention Month''.

Whereas dating, domestic, and sexual violence affect women regardless of their 
        age, and teens and young women are especially vulnerable;
Whereas, approximately 1 in 3 adolescent girls in the United States is a victim 
        of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure 
        that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence 
        affecting youth;
Whereas nationwide, 1 in 10 high school students (9.9 percent) has been hit, 
        slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend;
Whereas more than 1 in 4 teenagers have been in a relationship where a partner 
        is verbally abusive;
Whereas 20 percent of teen girls exposed to physical dating violence did not 
        attend school because the teen girls felt unsafe either at school, or on 
        the way to or from school, on 1 or more occasions in a 30-day period;
Whereas violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications for 
        victims by putting the victims at higher risk for substance abuse, 
        eating disorders, risky sexual behavior, suicide, and adult 
        revictimization;
Whereas being physically and sexually abused leaves teen girls up to 6 times 
        more likely to become pregnant and more than 2 times as likely to report 
        a sexually transmitted disease;
Whereas nearly 3 in 4 children ages 11 to 14 (referred to in this preamble as 
        ``tweens''), say that dating relationships usually begin at age 14 or 
        younger and about 72 percent of eighth and ninth graders report 
        ``dating'';
Whereas 1 in 5 tweens say their friends are victims of dating violence and 
        nearly \1/2\ of tweens who are in relationships know friends who are 
        verbally abused;
Whereas more than 3 times as many tweens (20 percent) as parents of tweens (6 
        percent) admit that parents know little or nothing about the dating 
        relationships of tweens;
Whereas teen dating abuse most often takes place in the home of 1 of the 
        partners;
Whereas a majority of parents surveyed believe they have had a conversation with 
        their teen about what it means to be in a healthy relationship, but the 
        majority of teens surveyed said that they have not had a conversation 
        about dating abuse with a parent in the past year;
Whereas digital abuse and ``sexting'' is becoming a new frontier for teen dating 
        abuse;
Whereas 1 in 4 teens in a relationship say they have been called names, 
        harassed, or put down by their partner through cellphones and texting;
Whereas 3 in 10 young people have sent or received nude pictures of other young 
        people on their cell or online, and 61 percent who have ``sexted'' 
        report being pressured to do so at least once;
Whereas targets of digital abuse are almost 3 times as likely to contemplate 
        suicide as those who haven not encountered such abuse (8 percent vs. 3 
        percent), and targets of digital abuse are nearly 3 times more likely to 
        have considered dropping out of school;
Whereas the severity of violence among intimate partners has been shown to be 
        greater in cases where the pattern of violence has been established in 
        adolescence;
Whereas primary prevention programs are a key part of addressing teen dating 
        violence and many successful community examples include education, 
        community outreach, and social marketing campaigns that also understand 
        the cultural appropriateness of programs;
Whereas skilled assessment and intervention programs are also necessary for 
        youth victims and abusers; and
Whereas the establishment of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and 
        Prevention Month will benefit schools, communities, and families 
        regardless of socioeconomic status, race, or sex: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates the month of February 2010, as ``National 
        Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month'';
            (2) supports communities to empower teens to develop 
        healthier relationships; and
            (3) calls upon the people of the United States, including 
        youth and parents, schools, law enforcement, State and local 
        officials, and interested groups to observe National Teen 
        Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month with appropriate 
        programs and activities that promote awareness and prevention 
        of the crime of teen dating violence in their communities.
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