HCR246 SD1.DOC

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

WHEREAS, lack of dating experience makes teens more vulnerable to dating violence and less likely to recognize the abuse; and

WHEREAS, teen dating violence has become an increasingly prevalent problem in high schools, junior high schools, and middle schools throughout our country, with one in three teens experiencing some kind of abuse in their romantic relationships; and

WHEREAS, girls and women between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence; and

WHEREAS, between 1993 and 1999, twenty-two per cent of all homicides against young women ages sixteen to nineteen were committed by an intimate partner; and

WHEREAS, recent studies have shown that teen dating violence begins at an early age, with eleven to fourteen year olds able to identify aspects of teen dating abuse in their social lives; and

WHEREAS, early sexual experiences can be a precursor to dating violence and abuse among older teens and can normalize this type of behavior, leading to unquestioned acceptance; 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, when a student is a victim of dating violence, the student's academic life suffers and the student's safety at school is jeopardized; and

WHEREAS, education is the best mechanism to prevent teen dating violence and is crucial to creating a culture of intolerance for teen dating abuse; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Human Services is requested to establish a task force to develop a comprehensive policy to address teen dating violence and abuse; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall consist of 15 members as follows:

(1) A senator selected by the Senate President;

(2) A member of the House of Representatives selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(3) The Superintendent of Education or the Superintendent's designee;

(4) A member of the Board of Education selected by the Governor;

(5) The Director of Human Services or the Director's designee;

(6) The Director of Health or the Director's designee;

(7) A representative from Catholic Charities Hawaii;

(8) A representative from the Domestic Violence Action Center;

(9) A representative from the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence;

(10) A representative from the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center;

(11) Three representatives from various service providers to be selected jointly by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

(12) Two representatives from families of domestic violence victims, one selected by the Senate President and one selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the task force shall serve without compensation and reimbursement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall cease to exist on June 30, 2010; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human Services, Superintendent of Education, Chairperson of the Hawaii Board of Education, and all Hawaii public school administrators and principals.

Report Title:

Teen Dating Violence; Education; Task Force; Policy

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	246
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1