[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 758 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 758
Expressing support for designation of the month of February 2018 as
``National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2018
Mr. Lewis of Georgia (for himself, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Hastings, Mrs.
Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Speier, and
Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire) submitted the following resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for designation of the month of February 2018 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 according to a 2014 study from the University of Illinois, 66 percent of
dating youth from early to late adolescence reported various forms of
dating violence, including cyber abuse, physical violence, psychological
abuse, and sexual coercion;
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 28 percent of parents are reluctant about discussing dating violence
with teens they feel are too young and 8.5 percent of parents feeling
their children will learn from experience;
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 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 2018 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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