| 1 | House Resolution |
| 2 | A resolution encouraging the education of parents and |
| 3 | children regarding the dangers of sexual solicitation and |
| 4 | the abuse of youth. |
| 5 |
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| 6 | WHEREAS, nationwide, one in three girls and one in six boys |
| 7 | experience some form of sexual abuse before age 18, and |
| 8 | WHEREAS, sexual assaults comprise 67 percent of the crimes |
| 9 | against juvenile victims, and |
| 10 | WHEREAS, by the end of 1998, more than 40 percent of all |
| 11 | American homes had computers and 25 percent had Internet access, |
| 12 | and children and teenagers constitute one of the fastest-growing |
| 13 | groups of Internet users, with an estimated 77 million children |
| 14 | having online access in 2005, and |
| 15 | WHEREAS, educating parents and children concerning the |
| 16 | risks that are associated with the Internet is of paramount |
| 17 | importance to the safety of children, and |
| 18 | WHEREAS, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children |
| 19 | reports that only one-third of the households having Internet |
| 20 | access are proactively protecting their children by using |
| 21 | filtering or blocking software, and |
| 22 | WHEREAS, 75 percent of children are willing to share |
| 23 | personal information online about themselves and their family in |
| 24 | exchange for goods and services, and |
| 25 | WHEREAS, the website of the Department of Law Enforcement |
| 26 | reports that only about 25 percent of the youth who have |
| 27 | encountered a sexual approach or solicitation while using the |
| 28 | Internet told a parent, and |
| 29 | WHEREAS, the Crimes Against Children Research Center |
| 30 | reports that one in five teenagers in the United States |
| 31 | regularly logging on to the Internet reports that he or she has |
| 32 | received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Internet, and |
| 33 | WHEREAS, research indicates that 69 percent of parents and |
| 34 | 76 percent of youth do not know where or how to report incidents |
| 35 | of sexual solicitation on the Internet, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 36 |
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| 37 | Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of |
| 38 | Florida: |
| 39 |
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| 40 | That the House of Representatives encourages parents and |
| 41 | children to learn about the incidence of sexual abuse and the |
| 42 | risks associated with online communication and urges parents to |
| 43 | learn how to protect their children while they are online and |
| 44 | how and where to report cases of sexual solicitation and |
| 45 | exploitation which occur over the Internet. |