[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 87 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 87
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence
Awareness and Prevention Month.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 11, 2011
Mr. Lewis of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. McGovern, Ms.
Norton, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Stark, Mr. Hastings of Florida, and Ms.
Wasserman Schultz) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence
Awareness and Prevention Month.
Whereas dating, domestic, and sexual violence affect women regardless of 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 on 1 or more occasions during a 30-day period because they
felt unsafe either at school, or on the way to or from school;
Whereas students who reported being physically abusive in romantic relationships
were nearly 5 times more likely to report perpetrating physical peer
violence, demonstrating that teen dating violence rates may have a
connection with bullying;
Whereas the Department of Education analyzed the findings of the Youth Risk
Behavior Surveillance System 2009 surveys and found that students who
experience teen dating violence have lower grades than their peers;
Whereas violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications for
victims, including higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders,
risky sexual behavior, suicide, and adult revictimization;
Whereas teen girls who are physically and sexually abused are up to 6 times more
likely to become pregnant, and more than 2 times as likely to report a
sexually transmitted disease, than teen girls who are not abused;
Whereas educating middle school students and their parents about the importance
of building healthy relationships and preventing teen dating violence is
key to deterring abuse before it begins;
Whereas nearly 3 in 4 children, ages 11 to 14 (hereinafter referred to as
``tweens''), say that dating relationships usually begin at age 14 or
younger, and approximately 72 percent of 8th and 9th grade students
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 one of the teens
in the dating relationship;
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'' are becoming new frontiers for teen dating
abuse;
Whereas 1 in 4 teens in a relationship say they have been called names,
harassed, or put down by their dating partner through cellular phones
and texting;
Whereas 3 in 10 young people have sent or received nude pictures of other young
people on their cellular phones 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 have not encountered such abuse (8 percent versus 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 account for the
cultural appropriateness of programs;
Whereas, in addition to prevention programs, skilled assessment and intervention
programs are necessary for youth victims and abusers;
Whereas the alarming trend of unhealthy and abusive youth relationships exists
in communities across the country, and affects youth of every race,
culture, sex, and socioeconomic status; and
Whereas the establishment of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and
Prevention Month in February will benefit schools, communities,
families, and youth throughout the Nation: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating
Violence Awareness and Prevention Month to raise awareness of
teen dating violence in the United States;
(2) supports and encourages communities to empower teens to
develop healthy relationships; and
(3) encourages the people of the United States, State and
local officials, middle schools and high schools, law
enforcement agencies, and other 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.
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