IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 230 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 
condemns all forms of violence against children globally and recognizes 
the harmful impacts of violence against children. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2019 
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. POCAN, Mr. COOK, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 
Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, and Mr. SENSEN-
BRENNER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the United States condemns all forms of violence against 
children globally and recognizes the harmful impacts of 
violence against children. 
Whereas violence against children can take many forms, in-
cluding sexual violence, physical violence, emotional vio-
lence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation; 
Whereas, each year, more than 1,000,000,000 children world-
wide are exposed to violence; 
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•HRES 230 IH 
Whereas, each year, the global economic impact of physical, 
psychological, and sexual violence against children is esti-
mated to be as high as $7,000,000,000,000, which is 8 
percent of global gross domestic product (‘‘global GDP’’); 
Whereas, around the world, an estimated 1 in 3 adolescent 
girls between 15 and 19 years of age, or 84,000,000 
girls, have been victims of emotional, physical, or sexual 
violence, which is often perpetrated by individuals the 
girls know; 
Whereas 1 in 5 girls in the developing world is said to be 
married before reaching 18 years of age and, of those 
girls, an estimated 1 in 9 is said to be married before 
reaching 15 years of age; 
Whereas, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund 
(‘‘UNICEF’’), if current child marriage rates continue, 
120,000,000 girls, an average of 12,000,000 girls a year, 
will be married before their 18th birthday over the next 
decade; 
Whereas 246,000,000 boys and girls experience school-re-
lated, gender-based violence each year; 
Whereas children with disabilities reportedly are 3 to 4 times 
more likely to experience physical or sexual violence; 
Whereas the tens of millions of children living outside of fam-
ily care, including those living on the streets, working 
away from home, or in residential care, are particularly 
vulnerable to violence and abuse; 
Whereas an estimated 152,000,000 children are involved in 
child labor and 4,300,000 children are subject to forced 
labor, including in situations of trafficking; 
Whereas nearly half of the 68,500,000 individuals who are 
currently displaced by conflict and war around the world 
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are children, and displacement exposes those children to 
increased risk of exploitation, violence, and abuse; 
Whereas, according to the United Nations, from 2016 to 
2017, verified cases of child recruitment, including forc-
ible recruitment, and child participation in armed con-
flict— 
(1) quadrupled in the Central African Republic; 
(2) doubled in the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo; and 
(3) persisted at alarming levels in Somalia, South 
Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Yemen; 
Whereas more than 10,000 children were killed or maimed in 
2017 in armed conflict; 
Whereas the risks of online abuse and exploitation of children 
is constantly growing, with the National Center for Miss-
ing and Exploited Children reviewing cases involving 
25,000,000 child sexual abuse images in 2015, up from 
450,000 in 2004; 
Whereas unaddressed exposure to violence disrupts the devel-
opment of critical brain architecture and other organ 
structures, leaving children at lifelong risk of disease and 
reduced potential; 
Whereas studies show toxic stress relating to exposure to vio-
lent or dangerous environments becomes damaging to 
learning, behavior, and health across a lifespan; 
Whereas violence against children can lead to negative health 
consequences, including injury, noncommunicable and 
communicable diseases, and poor maternal and child 
health outcomes; 
Whereas all forms of violence in childhood have a significant 
negative impact on educational outcomes, including by re-
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ducing school attendance and increasing dropout rates, 
and can further limit access to the physical, mental 
health, psychosocial, and cognitive protections that safe 
educational settings provide; 
Whereas decades of behavioral and social science research 
have demonstrated that building adaptive capacities, 
known as resilience, through stable and committed rela-
tionships with a supportive caregiver or other adult can 
lessen the harmful developmental effects of violence in 
children and youth; 
Whereas, according to the Organization for Economic Co-op-
eration and Development, the United States invests 0.5 
percent of official development assistance in programs 
that are designed to prevent and address violence against 
children and youth; 
Whereas the United States, in coordination with public-pri-
vate partnerships and other organizations, has endorsed 
the technical package called ‘‘INSPIRE: Seven Strategies 
for Ending Violence against Children’’ (referred to in this 
preamble as ‘‘INSPIRE’’) put forth by the World Health 
Organization with substantial technical input from the 
United States Government, including from the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention and United States 
Agency for International Development; 
Whereas INSPIRE contains 7 evidence-based strategies to 
end violence against children that include— 
(1) implementing and enforcing relevant laws; 
(2) addressing harmful gender and other social 
norms; 
(3) creating and sustaining safe communities; 
(4) supporting parents and caregivers; 
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