IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 87 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness 
and Prevention Month. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2011 
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. NOR-
TON, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. STARK, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, and Ms. 
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating 
Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. 
Whereas dating, domestic, and sexual violence affect women 
regardless of age, and teens and young women are espe-
cially 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 victim-
ization rates for other types of violence affecting youth; 
Whereas nationwide, 1 in 10 high school students (9.9 per-
cent) has been hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose 
by a boyfriend or girlfriend; 
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Whereas more than 1 in 4 teenagers have been in a relation-
ship 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 students who reported being physically abusive in 
romantic relationships were nearly 5 times more likely to 
report perpetrating physical peer violence, demonstrating 
that teen dating violence rates may have a connection 
with bullying; 
Whereas the Department of Education analyzed the findings 
of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System 2009 
surveys and found that students who experience teen dat-
ing violence have lower grades than their peers; 
Whereas violent relationships in adolescence can have serious 
ramifications for victims, including higher risk for sub-
stance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior, sui-
cide, and adult revictimization; 
Whereas teen girls who are physically and sexually abused 
are up to 6 times more likely to become pregnant, and 
more than 2 times as likely to report a sexually trans-
mitted disease, than teen girls who are not abused; 
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 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’’; 
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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 sur-
veyed 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 fron-
tiers 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 part-
ner through cellular phones and texting; 
Whereas 3 in 10 young people have sent or received nude pic-
tures 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 
such abuse (8 percent versus 3 percent), and targets of 
digital abuse are nearly 3 times more likely to have con-
sidered 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; 
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Whereas primary prevention programs are a key part of ad-
dressing teen dating violence, and many successful com-
munity examples include education, community outreach, 
and social marketing campaigns that account for the cul-
tural appropriateness of programs; 
Whereas, in addition to prevention programs, skilled assess-
ment 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 socio-
economic status; and 
Whereas the establishment of National Teen Dating Violence 
Awareness and Prevention Month in February will ben-
efit 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 
Month to raise awareness of teen dating violence in 
the United States; 
(2) supports and encourages communities to 
empower teens to develop healthy relationships; and 
(3) encourages the people of the United States, 
State and local officials, middle schools and high 
schools, law enforcement agencies, and other inter-
ested groups to observe National Teen Dating Vio-
lence Awareness and Prevention Month with appro-
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priate programs and activities that promote aware-
ness and prevention of the crime of teen dating vio-
lence. 
Æ 
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