Urge the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and President Obama to pass the Stop Abuse for Every Teen Act a.k.a. SAFE Teen Act (H.R.2689/S.1447)

What is the Stop Abuse for Every Teen Act a.k.a. SAFE Teen Act?

The Stop Abuse for Every Teen Act a.k.a. SAFE Teen Act (H.R.2689/S.1447), sponsored by U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI 4) and U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), is a bill that will boost education and awareness about teen dating violence in schools. It is part of a comprehensive, community-based approach that would allow schools to use existing federal funds for the express purpose of preventing and educating teens about dating violence.

The Problem

Overview

About 72% of 8th and 9th graders report dating; 1 in 4 adolescents reports emotional, physical, or sexual violence each year; One in 4 teens in a relationship say they have been called names, harassed or put down by their partner through cell phones and texting; and 1 in 10 adolescents reports being a victim of physical dating violence. Over 40% of young people who report they are victims of dating violence say that the incidents occurred in a school building or on school grounds.

Teens in same-sex relationships experience rates of violence and abuse similar to rates experienced by teens in heterosexual relationships.

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.

Bullying may be an indicator of future teen dating violence behavior; students who reported being physically abusive in romantic relationships were nearly 5 times more likely to report perpetrating physical peer violence.

Effects of Academic Performance

Witnessing violence has been associated with decreased school attendance and academic performance. The U.S. Department of Education analyzed the findings in the U.S. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance 2009 study and found that students who experience teen dating violence have lower grades than their peers. Students who experienced physical violence had lower grades; 20 percent of these students had mostly D's and F's and only 6 percent had mostly A's. Students who experienced sexual violence had lower grades; 18 percent had mostly D's and F's and only 5 percent had mostly A's.

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health found that teens and young adults in grades 7 through 12 who were exposed to violent crime (seeing someone shot or stabbed) were 32 percent more likely to be victims of physical dating abuse.

Effects on Health

Most adolescent risk behaviors, such as substance use, unsafe sex, and violence, occur in the context of relationships.

There are serious public health impacts from teen dating violence; teen victims of physical dating violence are more likely than their non-abused peers to smoke, use drugs, engage in unhealthy diet behaviors (taking diet pills or laxatives and vomiting to lose weight), engage in risky sexual behaviors, and attempt or consider suicide.

Teen girls who are physically and sexually abused are up to 6 times more likely to become pregnant, and more than 2 times as likely to report a sexually transmitted disease, than teen girls who are not abused.

The Solution

Teen dating violence is an important part of the violence in and around schools; an effective prevention program meets youth where they are in schools.'

Accordingly, school-based prevention programs can equip all students with skills and knowledge they need to build healthy relationships and to reduce violence and related risk behaviors.

The collaboration among community-based organizations and governmental agencies serving children and youth, providers of health and mental health services, schools, and local providers of dating violence victim services is necessary to prevent this violence and abuse.

At least 15 states have passed teen dating violence laws that urge or require school boards to develop curriculum on teen dating violence, most without additional funding or guidance. The federal legislation attempts to correct this problem by allowing schools to incorporate teen dating violence prevention into existing school safety programs. Schools are also encouraged to train school personnel on the issue and incorporate response mechanisms into school policies.

What will the Stop Abuse for Every Teen Act a.k.a. SAFE Teen Act do?

he Stop Abuse for Every Teen Act a.k.a. SAFE Teen Act (H.R.2689/S.1447), will amend title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include dating violence prevention among the drug and violence prevention efforts funded under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program.

This is not a mandated program and the cost is included in existing grant streams.

It will also;

-authorize schools to use existing grant funding for teen dating violence prevention.

-authorize local educational agencies (LEAs) to use program funds for peer support groups that provide an emotionally safe and confidential setting for youth to learn and practice healthy relationship skills under the supervision of school personnel or community organizations specializing in domestic and sexual violence prevention. Allows perpetrators of dating violence to participate in such groups, but not in the same groups as victims of such violence.

-authorize the Secretary of Education to use program funds to: (1) develop and disseminate innovative and high-quality healthy relationship skill-building programs as a way to reduce unhealthy or abusive teen relationships; and (2) disseminate information on dating violence education and prevention, and data on the incidence of dating violence in the school environment and relevant behavioral indicators of exposure to violence.

-direct the Secretary to collect and publicly disseminate among individuals aged 11-19 data on the incidence of dating violence, sexual violence, emotional abuse, and relevant behavioral indicators of exposure to such types of violence.

-require states to provide technical assistance to LEAs and schools in their efforts to prevent and appropriately respond to incidents of dating violence.

-direct the Secretary to establish the Innovation Fund to replicate, refine, and test model strategies and projects to prevent and respond to dating violence for youth.

-highlight teen dating violence prevention as part of the comprehensive, community prevention program, Safe Schools, Healthy Students, that already funds prevention activities.

-support better teen dating violence data to understand the scope of the problem as well as having a means of measuring the impact of prevention programs and policies.

-support promising practices to further replicate, refine and test prevention models.

What can you do to get the Stop Abuse for Every Teen Act a.k.a. SAFE Teen Act (H.R.2689/S.1447) passed?

Please write to and/or call your U.S. Representatives and Senators and President Obama tell them to pass the Stop Abuse for Every Teen Act a.k.a. SAFE Teen Act (H.R.2689/S.1447). Also ask your U.S. Representatives and Senators to co-sponsor the Stop Abuse for Every Teen Act a.k.a. SAFE Teen Act (H.R.2689/S.1447).