Title: Expressing support for designation of the month of February 2017 as "National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month".
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Expresses support for the designation of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.
Expresses support for communities in empowering teens to develop healthy relationships throughout their lives.
Calls on the people of the United States to observe National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month with programs and activities that promote awareness and prevention of teen dating violence in their communities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 155 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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;
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;
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;
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
    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, including 
        youth, parents, schools, law enforcement, State and local 
        officials, and interested groups to observe National Teen 
        Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month with appropriate 
        programs and activities that promote awareness and prevention 
        of teen dating violence in their communities.
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