[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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