[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 46 (Thursday, March 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S1907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 112--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
UNITED STATES CONDEMNS ALL FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN GLOBALLY 
    AND RECOGNIZES THE HARMFUL IMPACTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN

  Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Merkley, Mr. 
Inhofe, Mr. Coons, Ms. Collins, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Sullivan, and Mrs. 
Shaheen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 112

       Whereas violence against children can take many forms, 
     including sexual violence, physical violence, emotional 
     violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation;
       Whereas, each year, more than 1,000,000,000 children 
     worldwide are exposed to violence;
       Whereas, each year, the global economic impact of physical, 
     psychological, and sexual violence against children is 
     estimated to be as high as $7,000,000,000,000, which is 8 
     percent of global gross domestic product (referred to in this 
     preamble as ``global GDP'');
       Whereas, around the world, an estimated 1 in 3 adolescent 
     girls between 15 and 19 years of age, or 84,000,000 girls, 
     have been victims of emotional, physical, or sexual violence, 
     which is often perpetrated by individuals the girls know;
       Whereas 1 in 5 girls in the developing world is said to be 
     married before reaching 18 years of age and, of those girls, 
     an estimated 1 in 9 is said to be married before reaching 15 
     years of age;
       Whereas, according to the United Nations Children's Fund 
     (commonly known as ``UNICEF''), if current child marriage 
     rates continue, 120,000,000 girls, an average of 12,000,000 
     girls a year, will be married before their 18th birthday over 
     the next decade;
       Whereas 246,000,000 boys and girls experience school-
     related gender-based violence each year;
       Whereas children with disabilities reportedly are 3 to 4 
     times more likely to experience physical or sexual violence;
       Whereas tens of millions of children living outside of 
     family care, including those living on the streets, working 
     away from home, and in residential care, are particularly 
     vulnerable to violence and abuse;
       Whereas an estimated 152,000,000 children are involved in 
     child labor and 4,300,000 children are subject to forced 
     labor, including in situations of trafficking;
       Whereas nearly half of the 68,500,000 individuals who are 
     currently displaced by conflict and war around the world are 
     children and displacement exposes those children to increased 
     risk of exploitation, violence, and abuse;
       Whereas, according to the United Nations, from 2016 to 
     2017, verified cases of child recruitment, including forcible 
     recruitment, and participation in armed conflict--
       (1) quadrupled in the Central African Republic;
       (2) doubled in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and
       (3) persisted at alarming levels in Somalia, South Sudan, 
     the Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen;

       Whereas more than 10,000 children were killed or maimed in 
     2017 in armed conflict;
       Whereas the risks of online abuse and exploitation of 
     children is constantly growing, with the National Center for 
     Missing and Exploited Children reviewing cases involving 
     25,000,000 child sexual abuse images in 2015, up from 450,000 
     in 2004;
       Whereas unaddressed exposure to violence disrupts the 
     development of critical brain architecture and other organ 
     structures, leaving children at lifelong risk of disease and 
     reduced potential;
       Whereas studies show toxic stress relating to exposure to 
     violent or dangerous environments becomes damaging to 
     learning, behavior, and health across a lifespan;
       Whereas violence against children can lead to negative 
     health consequences, including injury, noncommunicable and 
     communicable diseases, and poor maternal and child health 
     outcomes;
       Whereas all forms of violence in childhood have a 
     significant negative impact on educational outcomes, 
     including school attendance and drop-out rates, and can 
     further limit access to the physical, mental health, 
     psychosocial and cognitive protections that safe educational 
     settings provide;
       Whereas decades of behavioral and social science research 
     have demonstrated that building adaptive capacities, known as 
     resilience, through stable and committed relationships with a 
     supportive caregiver or other adult can lessen the harmful 
     developmental effects of violence in children and youth;
       Whereas, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-
     operation and Development, the United States invests 0.5 
     percent of official development assistance in programs that 
     are designed to prevent and address violence against children 
     and youth;
       Whereas the United States, in coordination with public-
     private partnerships and other organizations, has endorsed 
     the technical package called ``INSPIRE: Seven Strategies for 
     Ending Violence against Children'' (referred to in this 
     preamble as ``INSPIRE'') put forth by the World Health 
     Organization, with substantial technical input from the 
     United States Government, including from the Centers for 
     Disease Control and United State Agency for International 
     Development;
       Whereas INSPIRE contains 7 evidence-based strategies to end 
     violence against children that include--
       (1) implementing and enforcing relevant laws;
       (2) addressing harmful gender and other social norms;
       (3) creating and sustaining safe communities;
       (4) supporting parents and caregivers;
       (5) improving household economic security to reduce 
     violence in the home;
       (6) improving access to health services, social welfare, 
     and criminal justice support; and
       (7) ensuring safe school environments that provide gender-
     equitable education and social-emotional learning and life 
     skills trainings; and

       Whereas the United States Agency for International 
     Development, the Department of State, the Department of 
     Labor, the Department of Homeland Security, and the 
     Department of Health and Human Services each play a critical 
     role in preventing and responding to violence against 
     children and youth: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 
     United States--
       (1) condemns all forms of violence against children and 
     youth globally, including physical, mental, and sexual 
     violence, neglect, abuse, maltreatment, and exploitation;
       (2) recognizes--
       (A) the harmful impact that violence against children and 
     youth has on the healthy development of children; and
       (B) the harmful economic impact of violence against 
     children and youth; and
       (3) should--
       (A) develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated 
     strategy built on evidence-based practices, including the 
     technical package called ``INSPIRE: Seven Strategies for 
     Ending Violence against Children'' put forth by the World 
     Health Organization; and
       (B) adopt common metrics and indicators to monitor progress 
     across Federal agencies to prevent, address, and end violence 
     against children and youth globally.

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