Press Releases

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representatives Gwen Moore (D-WI) and Dave Reichert (R-WA) joined together to introduce the “SAFE Teen Act,” legislation to help schools address the problem of teen dating violence.

U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the companion bill in the Senate.

“Young women aren’t immune to dating violence, and in fact, many will unfortunately experience it in one form or another. We need to make sure we’re talking to our children about dating violence so that they can identify signs to stop these patterns and hopefully prevent it altogether,” said Representative Gwen Moore.

“This nation’s greatest asset is our children.  Our shared future depends on their success and we can’t let dating violence limit their aspirations,” said Representative Dave Reichert.  “Teen dating violence, unfortunately, occurs in all of our communities and contributes to the increasing school drop-out rates nationwide.  To reverse this trend, I am proud to support the SAFE Teen Act, which will provide resources for comprehensive awareness, education, and prevention programs designed to combat teen dating violence.  By recognizing this problem and acting to address it, we can teach the next generation valuable lessons that will allow them to succeed in schools and beyond.”

“Our children’s safety and well-being is always our top priority, and this bill takes a proactive step in protecting our children from dangerous relationships—and their lifelong consequences,” said Senator Crapo.  “The SAFE Teen Act enables schools to tackle dating violence with awareness and prevention initiatives that will continue the steady progress that we have already made in combating teen dating violence within our schools and communities.”

“Teen dating violence is a growing threat to the safety of our children.  We must make sure that young people can recognize warning signs in their relationships and that our schools have the resources to help prevent dating violence.  This bipartisan legislation would provide schools with the resources needed to create effective prevention and awareness programs,” said Senator Whitehouse.

About 72 percent of 8th and 9th graders report dating; 1 in 4 adolescents reports emotional, physical, or sexual violence each year; and 1 in 10 adolescents reports being a victim of physical dating violence. Over 40 percent of young people who report they are victims of dating violence say that the incidents occurred in a school building or on school grounds.

The “Stop Abuse for Every Teen Act” or “SAFE Teen Act” would:

• Authorize schools to use existing grant funding for teen dating violence prevention
• Highlight teen dating violence prevention as part of the comprehensive, community prevention program, Safe Schools, Healthy Students, that already funds prevention activities
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  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
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  Support promising practices to further replicate, refine and test prevention models

The legislation does not include any mandates and is budget neutral without any additional funding.

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.

The legislation is supported by Futures Without Violence, and a coalition of domestic violence and education advocacy organizations that support the legislation, including the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, Love is Not Abuse Coalition, Jewish Women International, Girl Scouts of the USA, and RAINN.