IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 155 

Expressing support for designation of the month of February 2017 as 

‘‘National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2017 

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for designation of the month of February 

2017 as ‘‘National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and 

Prevention Month’’. 

Whereas while dating violence, domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking affect women regardless of age, teens, 

and young women are especially vulnerable; 

Whereas according to a National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey of the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention (CDC), most rape and intimate partner 

violence is first experienced before age 25; 

Whereas according to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly 

Report of the CDC nearly 1.5 million high school students experienced physical dating violence; 


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Whereas Public Law 113–4, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, includes the SMART Teen 

Dating Violence Act, a bill to improve the coordination 

and effectiveness of existing programs to address abusive 

youth relationships; 

Whereas according to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) of the CDC, nearly 10 percent of 

high school students have been hit, slapped, or physically 

hurt by a dating partner in the past year; 

Whereas a 2012 study as part of an independent evaluation 

of Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships, an 

initiative aimed at building healthy relationships among 

middle school youth, finds teen dating violence common 

even among 7th grade students, with nearly 1 in 6 reporting physical dating violence; 

Whereas according to data from the YRBSS, almost 20 percent of teen girls, who were exposed to physical dating 

violence, did not attend school on one or more occasions 

during the past 30 days due to feeling unsafe at school 

or on the way to or from school; 

Whereas a recent Ball State University Study recent study 

found that 81 percent of school counselors reported that 

they did not have a school protocol on how to respond to 

an incident of teen dating violence, but 61 percent of 

school counselors reported that they had assisted victims 

of teen dating violence in the past two years; 

Whereas a study published in Pediatrics suggests that teen 

dating violence is a substantial public health problem as 

victims of teen dating violence are at increased risk of 

mood and behavioral problems as young adults, and at 

increased risk of future violence in relationships; 


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Whereas girls victimized by a teen boyfriend reported more 

heavy drinking, smoking, depression, and thoughts of suicide, and teens of both sexes who were in aggressive relationships were two to three times more likely to be in violent relationships as young adults; 

Whereas being physically and sexually abused leaves teen 

girls up to six times more likely to become pregnant and 

more than twice as likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease; 

Whereas more than three times as many teens (20 percent) 

as parents of teens (6 percent) admit that parents know 

little or nothing about the dating relationships of tweens; 

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 one in four teens in a relationship say that they 

have been called names, harassed, or put down by their 

partner through phone calls and texting; 

Whereas according to the 2010 College Dating Violence and 

Abuse Poll by Liz Claiborne Inc., 43 percent of college 

women who date report experiencing abusive dating behaviors; 

Whereas 70 percent of college students who were in an abusive relationship failed to realize that they were in an 

abusive relationship, and 60 percent of such students 

said that no one stepped in to help them when they were 

in an abusive relationship; 

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; 


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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 educating middle school students and their parents 

about the importance of building healthy relationships 

and preventing teen dating violence is key to deterring 

abuse before it begins; 

Whereas skilled assessment and intervention programs are 

necessary for youth victims and abusers; and 

Whereas the establishment of the month of February 2017 

as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month will benefit schools, communities, and families 

regardless of socioeconomic status, race, and sex: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Teen 

3 Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month’’; 

4 (2) supports communities in empowering teens 

5 to develop healthy relationships throughout their 

6 lives; and 

7 (3) calls on the people of the United States, in8 cluding youth, parents, schools, law enforcement, 

9 State and local officials, and interested groups to ob10 serve National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and 

11 Prevention Month with appropriate programs and 


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1 activities that promote awareness and prevention of 

2 teen dating violence in their communities. 

Æ 


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