[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[S. Res. 710 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 710
Designating the week of February 2 through February 6, 2009, as
``National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 20, 2008
Mr. Crapo (for himself, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Lieberman, Ms. Murkowski, Mr.
Schumer, Mr. Bayh, and Mr. Reed) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
December 11 (legislative day, December 10), 2008
Committee discharged; considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Designating the week of February 2 through February 6, 2009, as
``National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week''.
Whereas 1 in 11 adolescents reports being a victim of physical dating violence;
Whereas dating violence occurs more frequently among black students (13.9
percent) than among Hispanic (9.3 percent) or white (7 percent)
students;
Whereas 1 in 5 teenagers in a serious relationship reports having been hit,
slapped, or pushed by a partner;
Whereas more than 1 in 4 teenagers have been in a relationship where a partner
is verbally abusive;
Whereas 30 percent of teenagers in a dating relationship have been text messaged
10, 20, or 30 times per hour by a partner attempting to find out where
they are, what they are doing, or who they are with;
Whereas 40 percent of the youngest ``tweens'', those between the ages of 11 and
12, report that their friends are victims of verbal abuse in dating
relationships;
Whereas nearly 3 in 4 tweens say that dating relationships usually begin at age
14 or younger;
Whereas 29 percent of girls who have been in a relationship said that they have
been pressured to have sex or to engage in sexual activities that they
did not want;
Whereas 69 percent of all teenagers who had sex by age 14 said they have
experienced 1 or more types of abuse in a dating relationship;
Whereas 1 in 5 teenagers (20 percent) between the ages of 13 and 14 say their
friends are victims of dating violence;
Whereas in 2003, in a national survey of over 14,000 high school students
conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just over 8
percent of boys and girls reported physical dating violence
victimization and were more likely to engage in risky behaviors
including sexual intercourse, attempted suicide, episodic heavy
drinking, and physical fighting;
Whereas Native American women experience higher rates of interpersonal violence
than any other population group;
Whereas violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications for
victims, putting them at higher risk for substance abuse, eating
disorders, risky sexual behavior, suicide, and adult revictimization;
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;
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 tweens'
dating relationships;
Whereas a majority of parents surveyed either believe dating violence is not an
issue or admit they do not know if it is an issue; and
Whereas the establishment of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and
Prevention Week will benefit schools, communities, and families
regardless of socio-economic status, race, or sex: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates the week of February 2 through February 6,
2009, as ``National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and
Prevention Week''; and
(2) calls upon the people of the United States, high
schools, law enforcement, State and local officials, and
interested groups to observe National Teen Dating Violence
Awareness and Prevention Week with appropriate programs and
activities that promote awareness and prevention of the crime
of teen dating violence in their communities.
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