**Girl Scouts of the USA Proudly Co-Sponsors**
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**National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week**

For further information contact:

Marion F. Swan

Communications & Marketing

GSUSA

\(212\) 852-8012 -- Mswan@girlscouts.org

Girl Scouts of the USA is proud to be one of the co-sponsors of National
Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week. We commend Idaho
Senator Mike Crapo and California Representative Juanita
Millender-McDonald for introducing a resolution designating February
6-10 as National Teen Dating Violence Prevention week and we are pleased
to join with the U.S. Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services,
and Education; the American Bar Association and our colleagues in other
youth advocacy and domestic violence organizations to raise awareness
about this serious issue.

As recent studies by the Girl Scout Research Institute have revealed,
girls believe that both physical and emotional health are important. In
"Feeling Safe -- What Girls Say", approximately 35% of teen girls say
they are most concerned about "being attacked with a weapon" and "being
forced to do something sexual". A 16-year-old says she feels unsafe
when: "someone I trust shows me that I was mistaken about them." More
recently, in our report, "The New Normal -- What Girls Say About Healthy
Living", 60% of girls say that emotional health is as important as
physical health. Feeling that they fit in, that they get along with
family and friends, and that they are doing well in school...these are
the issues that make girls feel well-adjusted and healthy.

Girl Scouts believes all girls have a right to a life free from
violence, whether in their relationships, homes, schools or communities.
This includes safety for girls in their interactions on the Internet and
through other technologies. Girl Scouts has developed and implemented
strong violence prevention initiatives for girls. In addition to the
numerous badges and patches girls can earn around safety and violence
prevention, Girl Scouts of the USA also sponsors the P.A.V.E. the Way
(Project Anti-Violence Education) initiative that has helped Girl Scouts
educate girls about preventing violence in their lives through violence
prevention and intervention projects. The initiative includes a series
of age-appropriate books designed to help girls learn ways to better
ensure their personal safety. Topics range from learning about
situations that have potential dangers to addressing sensitive issues
for older girls such as sexual harassment and dating violence. Two books
in the series are written for adults and include topics such as
state-mandated reporting laws, recognizing signs of physical abuse and
mistreatment, and suggestions on leading activities for girls on the
topic of staying safe.

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We also are excited to spread the word about the new toolkit developed
by youth involved in the American Bar Association\'s (ABA) Teen Dating
Violence Awareness and Prevention Initiative last year that provides
resources for teachers, administrators, students, parents and law
enforcement to raise awareness about a problem that effects one out of
three teenagers.

By addressing issues such as teen dating violence, we not only
contribute to girls' emotional well-being and their ability to feel
safe, we also support the Girl Scout mission of building girls of
courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place.

***For more information on the Girl Scout Research Institute and Girl
Scout programming around this issue, log on to
[www.girlscouts.org](http://www.girlscouts.org/).***