[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 12 (Thursday, January 27, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S346-S347]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      NATIONAL TEEN DATING VIOLENCE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that we turn to the consideration 
of S. Res. 32.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 32) designating the month of February 
     2011 as ``National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and 
     Prevention Month.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, 
the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid on the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 32) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 32

       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

[[Page S347]]

       (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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