Title
To declare February 2021 as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month in the City of Columbus and thank Bumblebeez and other organizations for their services supporting the victims of domestic violence
Body
WHEREAS, Each year, approximately 1.5 million 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, ages, races, 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; this 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, Columbus City Council and the City of Columbus supports policies and programs that address the prevention, intervention, and elimination of bullying, as well as self-harming behaviors, suicide, maltreatment, and domestic violence; in this spirit, the city established The Commission on Black Girls COBG in July of 2018 to study and assess the quality of life of Black Girls in Columbus and Central Ohio - Recommendation 2.2 from the COBG report issued in July of 2020 expressed the need to, “provide resources that address bullying, self-harming behaviors, suicide, child m...
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