III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 606 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 15, 2018 

Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

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. 

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 can 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’’); 


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•SRES 606 IS 

Whereas the economic costs of— 

(1) child labor amount to between 2.4 and 6.6 percent of global gross national income annually; and 

(2) child abuse amount to 4 percent of global GDP 

annually; 

Whereas, around the world, nearly 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 3 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 there is no reduction in the practice of child marriage, the global number 

of women married in childhood will reach 1,200,000,000 

by 2050, which will have devastating global consequences; 

Whereas 246,000,000 boys and girls experience gender-based 

violence in schools each year; 

Whereas children with disabilities are 3 to 4 times more likely 

to experience physical or sexual violence; 

Whereas 168,000,000 children are involved in child labor and 

5,500,000 children are subject to forced labor, including 

in situations of trafficking; 

Whereas nearly 1⁄2 of the 65,000,000 individuals who, as of 

the date on which this resolution is adopted, are displaced by conflict and war around the world are children 

and displacement exposes those children to increased risk 

of exploitation, violence, and abuse; 


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•SRES 606 IS 

Whereas, according to the United Nations, from 2016 to 

2017, verified cases of child 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 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, 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; 


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•SRES 606 IS 

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) strengthening economic programs relating to reducing violence against children; 

(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 play a critical role in preventing and responding to violence against 

children and youth: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 

2 United States— 

3 (1) condemns all forms of violence against chil4 dren and youth globally, including physical, mental, 

5 and sexual violence, neglect, abuse, maltreatment, 

6 and exploitation; 

7 (2) recognizes— 

8 (A) the harmful impact that violence 

9 against children and youth has on the healthy 

10 development of children; and 


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•SRES 606 IS 

1 (B) the harmful economic impact of vio2 lence against children and youth; and 

3 (3) should— 

4 (A) develop and implement a comprehen5 sive and coordinated strategy built on evidence6 based practices, including the technical package 

7 called ‘‘INSPIRE: Seven Strategies for Ending 

8 Violence against Children’’ put forth by the 

9 World Health Organization; and 

10 (B) adopt common metrics and indicators 

11 to monitor progress across Federal agencies to 

12 prevent, address, and end violence against chil13 dren and youth globally. 

Æ 


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