Title
To declare February 2019 as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month in the City of Columbus, and to thank the Center for Family Safety and Healing and other organizations for their services supporting the victims of dating violence.
Body
WHEREAS, Each year, approximately 1.5 million high school students experience physical abuse from a dating partner; moreover 3 in 4 parents have never talked to their children about domestic violence - 1 in 3 young people in the U.S. are affected by dating violence, 1 in 5 have been slapped, pushed, hit, threatened, or coerced by a partner; as a result February has been designated as a month for advocates to join together in efforts to raise awareness regarding dating violence, highlighting promising practices, and encouraging communities to become more involved; and
WHEREAS, Abuse occurs in all types of relationships and among people of all backgrounds, age, race, religion, financial status, sexual orientation and education - Teen dating abuse is any act that causes harm or threatens the risk of harm to a teen by an individual who is in a current or former dating relationship with that teen and may be physical, sexual, financial, verbal or emotional in nature, and includes behavior that threatens, intimidates, harasses, controls, isolates or monitors another person - and while abuse often occurs as a pattern of controlling behavior, a single episode of abuse is a cause for concern; and
WHEREAS, The Center for Family Safety and Healing (TCFSH) was founded in 2011 as a merger between, the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence, founded in 1998 and the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children's Hospital which was founded in 2002; and
WHEREAS, TCFSH is committed to addressing family violence - its integrated, multidisciplinary team approach has created an organization that is powerful enough to help break the cycle of family violence - its success is the result of its collaboration with its partners, including: LSS CHOICES for Victims of Domestic Violence, the Columbus Division of Police Special Victims Bureau, Franklin County Children Services, the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office, Big Lots Behavioral Health Services at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and others; and
WHEREAS, TCFSH provides training and resources that raise awareness regarding dating violence on topics like: Dating in a Digital World, How We Feel, How We Deal, Miss Representation, the Relationship Spectrum, Sound Relationships, and The Mask You Live In; and
WHEREAS, Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month provides an opportunity for residents to learn about preventing dating violence, and shows support for the numerous organizations and individuals who provide critical advocacy, services, and assistance to victims, now therefore;
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council does hereby declare February 2019 as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month in the City of Columbus, and thank the Center for Family Safety and Healing and other organizations for their services and support to the victims of dating violence - moreover this Council reaffirms the city’s commitment to empowering young people to develop healthy relationships and encourages young people to engage in activities that prevent teen dating violence.