[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 32 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 32
Designating the month of February 2011 as ``National Teen Dating
Violence Awareness and Prevention Month''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 27, 2011
Mr. Crapo (for himself and Mr. Lieberman) submitted the following
resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Designating the month of February 2011 as ``National Teen Dating
Violence Awareness and Prevention Month''.
Whereas while dating, domestic, and sexual violence and stalking affect women
regardless of age, teens and young women are especially vulnerable;
Whereas according to Liz Claiborne's 2009 Parent/Teen Dating Violence Poll,
approximately 1 in 3 adolescent girls in the United States is a victim
of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a rate
that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence
affecting youth;
Whereas according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 10
percent of high school students have been hit, slapped, or physically
hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend in the past year;
Whereas according to the American Journal of Public Health, more than 1 in 4
teenagers have been in a relationship where a partner is verbally
abusive;
Whereas according to a Youth Risk Behavioral Survey, almost 20 percent of teen
girls who were exposed to physical dating violence did not attend school
on 1 or more occasions during the past 30 days due to feeling unsafe at
school or on the way to or from school;
Whereas violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications for
victims, putting such 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 twice as likely to contract
a sexually transmitted disease;
Whereas nearly 3 in 4 ``tweens'', individuals who are between the ages of 11 and
14, report 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 that their friends are victims of dating violence, and
nearly half 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 according to Liz Claiborne's 2009 Parent/Teen Dating Violence Poll,
although 82 percent of parents are confident that they could recognize
the signs if their child was experiencing dating abuse, a majority of
parents (58 percent) could not correctly identify all the warning signs
of abuse;
Whereas 74 percent of teenage boys and 66 percent of teenage girls say that they
have not had a conversation with a parent about dating abuse in the past
year;
Whereas digital abuse and ``sexting'', or sending or receiving nude pictures of
other young people on a cellphone or on the Internet, is becoming a new
frontier for teen dating abuse;
Whereas according to a National Crime Prevention Council survey, 43 percent of
middle and high school students reported experiencing cyberbullying in
the past year;
Whereas 1 in 4 teens in a relationship say that they have been called names,
harassed, or put down by their partner through cellphones and texting;
Whereas according to a survey by The National Campaign, more than half of teen
girls say pressure from a boy is a reason girls send suggestive messages
or images, while only 18 percent of teen boys say pressure from a girl
is a reason for such behavior, and 12 percent of teen girls who have
sent suggestive messages or images say they felt ``pressured'' to do so;
Whereas according to a 2009 survey by Cox Communications, 19 percent of teens
revealed that they had been harassed, embarrassed, or threatened online
or by text message;
Whereas 3 in 10 young people have ``sexted'', and 61 percent of young people who
have ``sexted'' report being pressured to do so at least once;
Whereas targets of digital abuse are almost 3 times more likely to contemplate
suicide as those who have not encountered digital abuse, and targets of
digital abuse are nearly 3 times more likely to have considered dropping
out of school;
Whereas according to Liz Claiborne's 2010 College Dating Violence and Abuse
Poll, 63 percent of college students report having a college friend who
experienced violent and abusive dating behavior;
Whereas according to Liz Claiborne's 2010 College Dating Violence and Abuse
Poll, 41 percent of dating college students report experiencing violent
and abusive dating behaviors;
Whereas 65 percent of college students who were in an abusive relationship
failed to realize that they were in an abusive relationship, and 53
percent of such students said that no one helped them;
Whereas the severity of violence among intimate partners has been shown to be
greater in cases where the pattern of violence was established in
adolescence;
Whereas primary prevention programs are a key part of addressing teen dating
violence, and many successful examples of such programs include
education, community outreach, and social marketing campaigns that are
culturally appropriate;
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 2011 as ``National
Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month'';
(2) supports communities in empowering teens to develop
healthier relationships throughout their lives; and
(3) calls upon the people of the United States, including
youth, 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 teen dating violence in their communities.
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