Bill Text: NY J00378 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim February 2019, as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-02-12 - ADOPTED [J00378 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-J00378-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 378

BY: Senator PARKER

        MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
        February 2019, as Teen Dating Violence Awareness and
        Prevention Month in the State of New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  custom  of this Legislative Body to recognize
official months that are set aside  to  increase  awareness  of  serious
issues  that  affect  the  lives  of our teens and young adults from the
State of New York; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and fully  in  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  it  is the sense of this Legislative Body to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim February 2019, as  Teen
Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month in the State of New York,
in   conjunction  with  National  Teen  Dating  Violence  Awareness  and
Prevention Month; and

  WHEREAS, Domestic violence is a serious problem,  and  not  just  an
adult  problem;  teens  also experience abuse in their relationships; in
fact, according to a report in 2006 by the Center  for  Disease  Control
and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide
experience physical abuse from a dating partner every year; and

  WHEREAS, Dating violence refers to a pattern of actual or threatened
acts  of  physical  and/or  emotional abuse perpetrated by an adolescent
against a current or former dating partner; and

  WHEREAS, Abuse  may  include  insults,  coercion,  social  sabotage,
threats,  and/or  acts  of  physical  abuse;  the abusive teen uses this
pattern of violent and coercive behavior in  order  to  gain  power  and
maintain control over the dating partner; and

  WHEREAS,  The  National  Resource  Center on Domestic Violence found
that girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience  the
highest  rate  of  intimate partner violence, almost triple the national
average; and

  WHEREAS, Nearly 1.5 million  high  school  students  in  the  United
States are physically abused by dating partners every year; and

  WHEREAS,  Females  are  more  likely to be the victims; 1 in 4 women
have been assaulted by a partner; men are also at  risk:  1  in  14  men
report being victims; and

  WHEREAS,  Regardless of sex, it is likely that abusive relationships
are underreported due to the nature of the problem; and

  WHEREAS, 1 in 3 female teenagers in a dating relationship has feared
for her physical safety; and

  WHEREAS, 1 in 2 teenagers in a serious relationship has  compromised
personal beliefs to please a partner; and

  WHEREAS,  1  in 5 teenagers in a serious relationship reports having
been hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner; and

  WHEREAS,  27  percent of teenagers have been in dating relationships
in which their partners called them names or put them down; and

  WHEREAS, Approximately 70% of college students say  they  have  been
sexually coerced; and

  WHEREAS,  Unfortunately, only 33% of teenagers who were in a violent
relationship ever told anyone about the abuse; and

  WHEREAS, Technologies such as cell phones and the Internet have made
dating abuse both more pervasive and more hidden; and

  WHEREAS,  30  percent  of  teenagers  who  have  been  in  a  dating
relationship  say  they  have been text-messaged between 10 and 30 times
per hour by a partner seeking to find out where they are, what they  are
doing, or who they are with; and

  WHEREAS,  72 percent of teenagers who reported they had been checked
up on by a boyfriend or girlfriend 10 times per hour by  email  or  text
messaging did not tell their parents; and

  WHEREAS,  Parents are largely unaware of the cell phone and Internet
harassment experienced by teenagers; and

  WHEREAS, Violent  relationships  in  adolescence  can  have  serious
ramifications  for  victims,  putting  them at higher risk for substance
abuse, eating disorders, suicide, and adult revictimization; and

  WHEREAS, The severity of violence among  dating  partners  has  been
shown  to  be  greater  in  cases where the pattern of violence has been
established in adolescence; and

  WHEREAS, The establishment of Teen  Dating  Violence  Awareness  and
Prevention   Month  will  benefit  schools,  communities,  and  families
regardless of socio-economic status, race, or gender; and

  WHEREAS, This Legislative Body recognizes the efforts of  all  those
who  raise  awareness  and educate others about the very real dangers of
teen dating violence, thereby improving the  quality  of  life  for  our
youth, our most precious resource; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim February 2019, as  Teen
Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month in the State of New York;
and be it further

  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the  State  of
New York.