H. Res. 1081 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

March 10, 2010. 

Whereas dating, domestic, and sexual violence affect women 

regardless of age, and teens and young women are especially vulnerable; 

Whereas approximately 1 in 3 adolescent girls in the United 

States is a victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse 

from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence affecting youth; 

Whereas nationwide, 1 in 10 high school students (9.9 percent) has been hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose 

by a boyfriend or girlfriend; 

Whereas more than 1 in 4 teenagers have been in a relationship where a partner is verbally abusive; 

Whereas 20 percent of teen girls exposed to physical dating 

violence did not attend school on 1 or more occasions 

during a 30-day period because they felt unsafe either at 

school, or on the way to or from school; 

Whereas violent relationships in adolescence can have serious 

ramifications for victims, including higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior, suicide, and adult revictimization; 

Whereas teen girls who are physically and sexually abused 

are up to 6 times more likely to become pregnant, and 
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more than 2 times as likely to report a sexually transmitted disease, than teen girls who are not abused; 

Whereas nearly 3 in 4 children, ages 11 to 14 (hereinafter 

referred to as ‘‘tweens’’), say that dating relationships 

usually begin at age 14 or younger, and approximately 72 

percent of 8th and 9th grade students report ‘‘dating’’; 

Whereas 1 in 5 tweens say their friends are victims of dating 

violence and nearly 1⁄2 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 one of the teens in the dating relationship; 

Whereas a majority of parents surveyed believe they have had 

a conversation with their teen about what it means to be 

in a healthy relationship, but the majority of teens surveyed said that they have not had a conversation about 

dating abuse with a parent in the past year; 

Whereas digital abuse and ‘‘sexting’’ are becoming new frontiers for teen dating abuse; 

Whereas 1 in 4 teens in a relationship say they have been 

called names, harassed, or put down by their dating partner through cellular phones and texting; 

Whereas 3 in 10 young people have sent or received nude pictures of other young people on their cellular phones or 

online, and 61 percent who have ‘‘sexted’’ report being 

pressured to do so at least once; 

Whereas targets of digital abuse are almost 3 times as likely 

to contemplate suicide as those who have not encountered 
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such abuse (8 percent versus 3 percent), and targets of 

digital abuse are nearly 3 times more likely to have considered dropping out of school; 

Whereas the severity of violence among intimate partners has 

been shown to be greater in cases where the pattern of 

violence has been established in adolescence; 

Whereas primary prevention programs are a key part of addressing teen dating violence, and many successful community examples include education, community outreach, 

and social marketing campaigns that account for the cultural appropriateness of programs; 

Whereas in addition to prevention programs, skilled assessment and intervention programs are necessary for youth 

victims and abusers; 

Whereas the alarming trend of unhealthy and abusive youth 

relationships exists in communities across the country, 

and affects youth of every race, culture, sex, and socioeconomic status; and 

Whereas the establishment of National Teen Dating Violence 

Awareness and Prevention Month in February will benefit schools, communities, families, and youth throughout 

the Nation: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) supports the goals and ideals of National Teen 

Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week to 

raise awareness of teen dating violence in the United 

States; 

(2) supports and encourages communities to empower teens to develop healthy relationships; and 
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(3) encourages the people of the United States, 

State and local officials, middle schools and high schools, 

law enforcement agencies, and other interested groups to 

observe National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and 

Prevention Week with appropriate programs and activities that promote awareness and prevention of the crime 

of teen dating violence. 

Attest: 

Clerk.