[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 112 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 112

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States condemns all 
forms of violence against children globally and recognizes the harmful 
                 impacts of violence against children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 14, 2019

  Mr. Boozman (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Merkley, Mr. 
  Inhofe, Mr. Coons, Ms. Collins, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Sullivan, and Mrs. 
Shaheen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States condemns all 
forms of violence against children globally and recognizes the harmful 
                 impacts of violence against children.

Whereas violence against children can take many forms, including sexual 
        violence, physical violence, emotional violence, abuse, neglect, and 
        exploitation;
Whereas, each year, more than 1,000,000,000 children worldwide are exposed to 
        violence;
Whereas, each year, the global economic impact of physical, psychological, and 
        sexual violence against children is estimated to be as high as 
        $7,000,000,000,000, which is 8 percent of global gross domestic product 
        (referred to in this preamble as ``global GDP'');
Whereas, around the world, an estimated 1 in 3 adolescent girls between 15 and 
        19 years of age, or 84,000,000 girls, have been victims of emotional, 
        physical, or sexual violence, which is often perpetrated by individuals 
        the girls know;
Whereas 1 in 5 girls in the developing world is said to be married before 
        reaching 18 years of age and, of those girls, an estimated 1 in 9 is 
        said to be married before reaching 15 years of age;
Whereas, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (commonly known as 
        ``UNICEF''), if current child marriage rates continue, 120,000,000 
        girls, an average of 12,000,000 girls a year, will be married before 
        their 18th birthday over the next decade;
Whereas 246,000,000 boys and girls experience school-related gender-based 
        violence each year;
Whereas children with disabilities reportedly are 3 to 4 times more likely to 
        experience physical or sexual violence;
Whereas tens of millions of children living outside of family care, including 
        those living on the streets, working away from home, and in residential 
        care, are particularly vulnerable to violence and abuse;
Whereas an estimated 152,000,000 children are involved in child labor and 
        4,300,000 children are subject to forced labor, including in situations 
        of trafficking;
Whereas nearly half of the 68,500,000 individuals who are currently displaced by 
        conflict and war around the world are children and displacement exposes 
        those children to increased risk of exploitation, violence, and abuse;
Whereas, according to the United Nations, from 2016 to 2017, verified cases of 
        child recruitment, including forcible recruitment, and participation in 
        armed conflict--

    (1) quadrupled in the Central African Republic;

    (2) doubled in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and

    (3) persisted at alarming levels in Somalia, South Sudan, the Syrian 
Arab Republic, and Yemen;

Whereas more than 10,000 children were killed or maimed in 2017 in armed 
        conflict;
Whereas the risks of online abuse and exploitation of children is constantly 
        growing, with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 
        reviewing cases involving 25,000,000 child sexual abuse images in 2015, 
        up from 450,000 in 2004;
Whereas unaddressed exposure to violence disrupts the development of critical 
        brain architecture and other organ structures, leaving children at 
        lifelong risk of disease and reduced potential;
Whereas studies show toxic stress relating to exposure to violent or dangerous 
        environments becomes damaging to learning, behavior, and health across a 
        lifespan;
Whereas violence against children can lead to negative health consequences, 
        including injury, noncommunicable and communicable diseases, and poor 
        maternal and child health outcomes;
Whereas all forms of violence in childhood have a significant negative impact on 
        educational outcomes, including school attendance and drop-out rates, 
        and can further limit access to the physical, mental health, 
        psychosocial and cognitive protections that safe educational settings 
        provide;
Whereas decades of behavioral and social science research have demonstrated that 
        building adaptive capacities, known as resilience, through stable and 
        committed relationships with a supportive caregiver or other adult can 
        lessen the harmful developmental effects of violence in children and 
        youth;
Whereas, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 
        Development, the United States invests 0.5 percent of official 
        development assistance in programs that are designed to prevent and 
        address violence against children and youth;
Whereas the United States, in coordination with public-private partnerships and 
        other organizations, has endorsed the technical package called 
        ``INSPIRE: Seven Strategies for Ending Violence against Children'' 
        (referred to in this preamble as ``INSPIRE'') put forth by the World 
        Health Organization, with substantial technical input from the United 
        States Government, including from the Centers for Disease Control and 
        United State Agency for International Development;
Whereas INSPIRE contains 7 evidence-based strategies to end violence against 
        children that include--

    (1) implementing and enforcing relevant laws;

    (2) addressing harmful gender and other social norms;

    (3) creating and sustaining safe communities;

    (4) supporting parents and caregivers;

    (5) improving household economic security to reduce violence in the 
home;

    (6) improving access to health services, social welfare, and criminal 
justice support; and

    (7) ensuring safe school environments that provide gender-equitable 
education and social-emotional learning and life skills trainings; and

Whereas the United States Agency for International Development, the Department 
        of State, the Department of Labor, the Department of Homeland Security, 
        and the Department of Health and Human Services each play a critical 
        role in preventing and responding to violence against children and 
        youth: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United 
States--
            (1) condemns all forms of violence against children and 
        youth globally, including physical, mental, and sexual 
        violence, neglect, abuse, maltreatment, and exploitation;
            (2) recognizes--
                    (A) the harmful impact that violence against 
                children and youth has on the healthy development of 
                children; and
                    (B) the harmful economic impact of violence against 
                children and youth; and
            (3) should--
                    (A) develop and implement a comprehensive and 
                coordinated strategy built on evidence-based practices, 
                including the technical package called ``INSPIRE: Seven 
                Strategies for Ending Violence against Children'' put 
                forth by the World Health Organization; and
                    (B) adopt common metrics and indicators to monitor 
                progress across Federal agencies to prevent, address, 
                and end violence against children and youth globally.
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