[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

                                 ______


                          HON. MARTIN R. HOKE

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 6, 1994

  Mr. HOKE. Mr. Speaker, violence against women, and especially 
domestic violence, is an issue that should give us cause for great 
concern. Domestic violence is a stain upon our country's social fabric, 
one that shatters lives and inflicts much pain.
  The statistics on family violence are staggering: Every year, at 
least 572,000 women are victims of reported domestic violence. Over 
2,000 women are raped every week, with unreported rapes probably adding 
up to several times that number. And 30 percent of all female murder 
victims are killed by their husband or boyfriend.
  These facts are alarming. But the thousands of individual real-life 
tragedies that make up these numbers are even worse. I'd like to share 
with my colleagues the thoughts of one of my constituents, Charlotte 
Mann. Ms. Mann is president of the board of trustees of Templum, a 
private non-profit organization that offers emergency shelter and legal 
advocacy services to women in domestic crisis situations. In that 
capacity, Ms. Mann has encountered time and time again the terrible 
results of violence in the home. Her description ought to be required 
reading for all those who take this issue seriously.

                    The Tragedy of Domestic Violence

   (By Charlotte Mann, President of the Board of Trustees, Templum, 
                             Cleveland, OH)

       Right now, somewhere in this city a woman is in harm's way 
     behind the closed doors of her own home. She is being hit. 
     She is being kicked. She is being stomped and choked and even 
     threatened with guns and knives. She is cleaning her own 
     blood from the walls and floors of her own home, what should 
     be her safe place, her sanctuary. She is a crime victim of 
     domestic violence.
       Battering is the single largest cause of injury to women 
     nationally, occurring more often than car accidents, muggings 
     and rape combined. But it has been our dirty little secret 
     and only recently have we begun to put our attention to the 
     issue of domestic violence.
       Who is the perpetrator, the man who makes her wish she were 
     dead and finally safe--safe from him--her own husband or 
     boyfriend or significant other? He is a man who sees a woman 
     as a victim, someone to control. He is a man who believes in 
     his right to maintain that power and control by any means 
     necessary. He is a man who relishes the fear he sees in a 
     woman's blackened eyes. He is a man who batters because he 
     can get away with it. He isn't much of a man and he is a 
     criminal. Domestic violence is not a victimless crime. Up to 
     ten million children witness domestic violence each year. In 
     nine out of ten cases the mother is the victim. When she 
     leaves her violent partner she increases her risk of murder 
     by seventy five percent.
       For too long our society has tolerated violence against 
     women. Our institutions and our legal system have failed to 
     provide the badly needed understanding, equality, protection 
     and redress. Every fifteen seconds a woman is stalked, 
     threatened, beaten and terrorized by her partner. The 
     overwhelming need for social change and action is clear.

  Mr. Speaker, Charlotte Mann knows what she is talking about. 
Fortunately for the citizens of Cleveland, she's not just talking, but 
actually doing something about the scourge of domestic violence. In 
addition to shelter and legal aid, Templum also provides a hotline and 
conducts counseling and follow-up programs for victims of spousal abuse 
and their children. Templum's work serves as an example of the good 
that a handful of committed and dedicated individuals can do.
  I also want to commend the work of the House Republican Task Force on 
Women's Issues, which recently conducted field hearings on violence 
against women in Tarrant County, TX. The hearing, held in a county with 
a commendable track record in combatting violence against women, heard 
valuable testimony from law enforcement officials and victims' 
advocates as well as victims of abuse. It was an important way to 
expose Members of Congress more fully to this grave societal problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I bring this to the attention of my colleagues because I 
believe that this Nation will never get a handle on the problem of 
domestic violence and spousal abuse until more people take an interest 
and an active role in understanding why domestic abuse occurs and how 
we can combat it. There's no better way to do this than to listen to 
and learn from those in the front lines.

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