Designates February 2025 as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month to raise awareness, support prevention programs, and empower teens to develop healthy relationships. Encourages community involvement in promoting awareness and prevention through various programs and activities.
Gwen Moore
Representative
WI-4
This bill designates February 2025 as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month to raise awareness about the various forms and impacts of teen dating violence. It encourages communities to empower teens to develop healthy relationships and recognizes the significant public health impact of teen dating violence, particularly on young women. The bill calls for nationwide participation in programs and activities that promote awareness and prevention.
February 2025 Named National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month: Bill Focuses on Education and Community Action
This bill officially designates February 2025 as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. It's all about shining a light on a serious issue—teen dating violence—and pushing for more education and community involvement to help prevent it. The resolution directly acknowledges the problem's scope, noting that teen dating violence isn't just physical; it includes sexual and psychological abuse, stalking, and abuse facilitated through technology (Section 1).
Facing the Facts on Teen Dating Violence
The bill links experiencing dating violence with a higher risk of suicidal thoughts in teens (Section 1). It doesn't just focus on individual actions, though. It also points out how community factors like poverty and a lack of support systems can make young people more vulnerable to intimate partner violence. Conversely, it highlights that strong community coordination and readily available resources can actually reduce the risk (Section 1).
Prevention in Action
The resolution isn't just about raising awareness; it's a call to action. It specifically mentions the importance of primary prevention programs, like those that provide education in schools and outreach in communities. It even name-drops successful programs like 'Coaching Boys Into Men' (Section 1). It also connects to the Violence Against Women Act, which includes the SMART Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Act, designed to boost programs tackling abusive relationships among young people (Section 1).
What Happens Now?
This is a resolution, so it's not creating a new law, but it does a few important things. It calls on the House of Representatives to formally support the designation of February 2025 as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. It urges communities to step up and empower teens to build healthy relationships. It also recognizes the significant public health impact of teen dating violence, particularly on young women. Finally, it encourages everyone—youth, parents, schools, law enforcement, local and state officials, and nonprofits—to observe the month with programs and activities aimed at prevention and awareness (Section 2). Basically, it's a nationwide push to get people talking, learning, and taking action to stop teen dating violence before it starts.