[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 141 (Thursday, October 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S12341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about domestic 
violence. This subject has quite literally been brought more clearly 
into focus in recent days by photographs exhibited in the Russell 
Senate Building rotunda. As we begin the observance of October as 
Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the photographs of three Connecticut 
women who have lived through--and perhaps still endure--the pain of 
domestic violence are on display in the Russell rotunda, along with the 
names of many individuals from every state who have died as a result of 
domestic violence.
  Mr. President, the statistics on domestic violence are horrifying. 
While the victims are not only women, women are significantly more 
likely to be victims of domestic violence than are men. Once every 15 
seconds, a woman is beaten by her husband or boyfriend, according to 
the FBI's crime statistics. Four women a day are killed at the hands of 
their attackers, according to the National Clearinghouse for the 
Defense of Battered Women. And last year's National Crime Victimization 
Survey, conducted by the Department of Justice, showed that 29 percent 
of all violence against women by a single offender is committed by an 
intimate--a husband, ex-husband, boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend.
  In Connecticut in 1994, there were 18,768 incidents of family 
violence that resulted in at least one arrest, according to the 
Connecticut State Department of Public Safety. And 29 people were 
killed by family violence in Connecticut in 1994 according to the same 
source.
  But in the photographs displayed in the Russell rotunda, photographer 
Annie Liebovitz captures more than just the grim statistics. She brings 
into focus both the physical pain and emotional anguish suffered by 
victims of domestic violence. One can see the hurt and the horror, the 
shame and the solitude, and the fighting and the fear.
  And while this pain, hopefully, will diminish one day, it will never 
completely go away. The battered individuals, Mr. President, are not 
the only victims. Domestic violence leaves scars on all those who live 
with it--especially the children.
  Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a time when we can step up the 
effort to prevent domestic violence. We must educate Americans about 
this terrible problem and reach out to victims to let them know that 
help is available and that, sadly, they are not alone.
  Mr. President, I am proud to support Domestic Violence Awareness 
Month and other measures to combat domestic violence, including a 
provision in the omnibus bill recently passed by Congress and signed by 
the President to prevent anyone convicted of any kind of domestic 
violence from owning a gun. I look forward to the day when we will no 
longer need to designate a Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but until 
then, I remain committed to preventing and healing the wounds of 
domestic violence.

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