Declaring and recognizing February 2013 as "Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month."

WHEREAS, Teen dating violence is a pattern of controlling and abusive behavior of one person over another within a romantic relationship including verbal, emotional, physical, sexual, and financial abuse; and

WHERERAS, Teen dating violence has become a prevalent problem in high schools, junior high schools and middle schools throughout the country, with one in three teens experiencing some kind of abuse in their romantic relationships; and

WHEREAS, Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year; one in three teens in the U.S. is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence. One in ten high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend; one quarter of high school girls have been victims of physical or sexual violence; and

WHEREAS, Girls and women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence and of the young murdered each year between the ages of 15 to 19, thirty percent are killed by their boyfriend or husband; and

WHEREAS, Recent studies have shown that teen dating violence is starting at an early age with 11 to 14 year olds able to identify aspects of teen dating abuse in their social lives; and

WHEREAS, Abuse and violence in intimate partner relationships not only causes great individual pain, but also breaks down families, communities and society at large; and

WHEREAS, Violent relationships in adolescence can have serious ramifications by putting the victims at higher risk for substance abuse, eating disorders, risky sexual behavior and further domestic violence; and

WHEREAS, Education is the best mechanism to stop teen dating violence and is crucial to create a culture of intolerance for teen abuse; and

WHEREAS, Organizations such as The Asia Adams - Save OUR Children Foundation, founded by Philadelphian Shelah Harper, after the tragic murder of her daughter Asia, seeks to raise the awareness of and educate young people about all aspects of teen dating violence, and which has since its founding in 2004, has supported almost 4,000 children and teens; now therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Recognizes February 2013 as “Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.”

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