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2005 SESSION

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055410216
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 688 Offered January 12, 2005 Prefiled January 12, 2005 Designating Teenage Dating Abuse Awareness Week in Virginia. ---------- Patron-- Armstrong ---------- Referred to Committee on Rules ----------

WHEREAS, according to data compiled by the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition, one out of every three to four teenagers is involved in an abusive relationship during his or her adolescent years; and

WHEREAS, other data and studies show that 26 percent of girls in grades 9–12 have been the victim of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or date-forced sex, and 40 percent of girls ages 14–17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend; and

WHEREAS, in a national study of college students, more than one-fourth of the women surveyed reported that they had suffered rape or attempted rape at least once and that only five percent of these experiences were reported to police, giving rise to the term "hidden rape"; and

WHEREAS, the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center offers teenagers a resource for preventing abusive and violent relationships and a series of steps to get out of such a relationship; and

WHEREAS, the prevalence of teenage dating violence, when combined with the statistics on the under-reporting of violent relationships, provides persuasive evidence of the need for greater awareness of this nationwide problem; and

WHEREAS, Jordan Wood, Miss Martinsville-Henry County, has taken the lead with her efforts to increase awareness of teenage dating violence in the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby designate the first week in October, in 2005 and in each succeeding year, as Teenage Dating Abuse Awareness Week in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to Jordan Wood so that she may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates post the designation of this week on the General Assembly's website.