IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 114 
Expressing support for designation of the month of February 2015 as 
‘‘National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 13, 2015 
Mr. LEWIS (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. SPEIER, and Mr. 
HASTINGS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for designation of the month of February 
2015 as ‘‘National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and 
Prevention Month’’. 
Whereas while dating violence, domestic violence, sexual vio-
lence, and stalking affect women regardless of age, teens 
and young women are especially vulnerable; 
Whereas, according to a National Intimate Partner and Sex-
ual Violence Survey of the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC), most rape and intimate partner 
violence is first experienced before age 24; 
Whereas, in 2008, the National Council on Crime and Delin-
quency reported that approximately 1 in 3 adolescent 
girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emo-
tional, or verbal abuse by a dating partner, a rate that 
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cide, and teens of both sexes who were in aggressive rela-
tionships were 2 to 3 times more likely to be in violent 
relationships as young adults; 
Whereas being physically and sexually abused leaves teen 
girls up to 6 times more likely to become pregnant and 
more than twice as likely to contract a sexually trans-
mitted disease; 
Whereas more than 3 times as many teens (20 percent) as 
parents of teens (6 percent) admit that parents know lit-
tle or nothing about the dating relationships of tweens; 
Whereas, according to the 2009 Parent/Teen Dating Violence 
Poll by Liz Claiborne Inc., although 82 percent of par-
ents are confident that they could recognize the signs if 
their child was experiencing dating abuse, 58 percent of 
parents could not correctly identify all the warning signs 
of abuse; 
Whereas 74 percent of teenage boys and 66 percent of teen-
age girls say that they have not had a conversation with 
a parent about dating abuse in the past year; 
Whereas 1 in 4 teens in a relationship say that they have 
been called names, harassed, or put down by their part-
ner 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 be-
haviors; 
Whereas 70 percent of college students who were in an abu-
sive 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; 
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•HRES 114 IH 
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; 
Whereas primary prevention programs are a key part of ad-
dressing teen dating violence, and many successful exam-
ples of such programs include education, community out-
reach, 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 2015 
as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Preven-
tion Month will benefit schools, communities, and families 
regardless of socioeconomic status, race, and sex: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Teen 
Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month’’; 
(2) supports communities in empowering teens 
to develop healthy relationships throughout their 
lives; and 
(3) calls on the people of the United States, in-
cluding youth, parents, schools, law enforcement, 
State and local officials, and interested groups to ob-
serve National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and 
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Prevention Month with appropriate programs and 
activities that promote awareness and prevention of 
teen dating violence in their communities. 
Æ 
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