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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Rosita Youngblood |
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Youngblood supports bill that would educate teens on dating violence
HARRISBURG, Dec. 3 – State Rep. Rosita C. Youngblood, D-Phila., said today she is backing a bill to require teen dating violence education in public schools.
Youngblood said the bill is particularly timely because today is Liz Claiborne Inc.'s sixth annual "It's Time to Talk Day," which raises awareness of domestic violence.
The legislation (H.B. 2026) was introduced by Centre County legislator Scott Conklin and would integrate teen dating violence education into middle and high school curriculums, as well as require school districts to develop an anti-dating violence policy.
"Women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest per capita rates of intimate violence and it affects girls from all social, economic and racial backgrounds," Youngblood said. "Young women need to be educated about the warning signs and ways to remove themselves from violent situations. This legislation would accomplish that."
Under the bill, school faculty and administrators would be taught about dating violence and how to recognize its warning signs. Schools would provide age-appropriate education in the classroom, including warning signs about dating violence and characteristics of healthy relationships.
Statistics show teen girls are three times more likely to experience relationship violence than adult women, and one in five high school girls reports being physically or sexually assaulted by a dating partner.
Youngblood said similar legislation has been adopted in other states.
The bill currently awaits review by the House Education Committee.
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