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 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 25; 
Whereas according to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly 
Report of the CDC nearly 1.5 million high school stu-
dents experienced physical dating violence; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:15 Feb 28, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR155.IH
HR155
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 155 IH 
Whereas Public Law 113–4, the Violence Against Women Re-
authorization 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 Surveil-
lance 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 re-
porting physical dating violence; 
Whereas according to data from the YRBSS, almost 20 per-
cent 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; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:15 Feb 28, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR155.IH
HR155
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 155 IH 
Whereas girls victimized by a teen boyfriend reported more 
heavy drinking, smoking, depression, and thoughts of sui-
cide, and teens of both sexes who were in aggressive rela-
tionships were two to three times more likely to be in vio-
lent 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 trans-
mitted 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 teen-
age 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 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; 
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; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:15 Feb 28, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR155.IH
HR155
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 155 IH 
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 2017 
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 
Prevention Month with appropriate programs and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:15 Feb 28, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR155.IH
HR155
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 155 IH 
activities that promote awareness and prevention of 
teen dating violence in their communities. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:15 Feb 28, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR155.IH
HR155
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS