[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 97 (Friday, July 22, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

  (Mr. MINETA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MINETA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to an issue 
that could not possibly hit closer to home--domestic violence. This 
problem does not discriminate by age, ethnicity, or economic status. It 
affects young and old, rich and poor, alike.
  Most of us have heard the ghastly statistics: 3 to 4 million women 
are battered each year by their husbands. Thirty percent of women who 
come into emergency rooms across the Nation are there as a result of 
domestic violence.
  But these women are not just statistics. They are our coworkers, our 
friends, mothers, and daughters. They are women from my district and 
from yours.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell you about one of these victims who 
happens to be from my district. Susan, a San Jose resident and mother 
of two, came into the emergency room in September 1990 with a smashed 
jaw. She said she slipped while mopping. She was treated, and left.
  In January 1991, the police received a 911 call from Susan's 
residence. When the police arrived, Susan's husband said it was a 
private matter and sent the police away, as Susan stood in the doorway 
watching with a split lip and bruised face.
  In November 1991, Susan became one of a growing number of domestic 
violence fatalities. She became one of the 30 percent of women in this 
Nation who are murdered each year by their husband or boyfriend.
  Later people said: ``If only the doctor had been trained to recognize 
a smashed jaw as a sign of domestic violence, maybe he could have 
helped Susan. If only the police had been taught to regard domestic 
violence not just as a private matter, maybe they could have helped 
Susan. If only Susan had a national domestic violence hotline to call 
or a battered women's shelter to go to, maybe Susan could have helped 
herself.''
  Under the Violence Against Women Act, all of these avenues of help 
would have been available. I urge the crime bill conferees to include 
the strongest form possible of this act into the crime bill.

                          ____________________