[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 140 (Thursday, October 9, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10815-S10816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, October has been designated National 
Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and I rise today to speak briefly 
about our need to continue our struggle against this national problem.
  Mr. President, over the past several years, the Congress, the Clinton 
administration, our State and local governments, and our community-
based organizations have taken enormous steps toward eradicating the 
scourge of domestic violence--a scourge that for too long had been 
ignored as a family problem outside the scope of government 
responsbility. Congress' passage of the Violence Against Women Act 
[VAWA] as part of the 1994 crime bill, and the wide variety of 
enforcement and prevention grants available under that legislation, has 
ensured that our Federal, State, and local authorities have at their 
disposal the resources and legal authority needed to educate our 
citizens about domestic violence, and to prosecute those who have 
chosen to engage in such reprehensible conduct. The administration's 
development of informational initiatives, such as a toll-free 
nationwide domestic violence hotline and a Violence Against Women 
information homepage, have buttressed Congress' efforts, and provided 
law enforcement officials with a direct link to those who need 
assistance.
  My State of Maryland has been at the forefront of these national 
efforts to combat domestic violence. With the assistance of over 
$400,000 in grant funds made available under the 1994 crime bill, 
Maryland has formulated its Stop Violence Against Women plan, under 
which the State identifies cases of domestic abuse, safeguards victims, 
and coordinates and funds local community responses to incidents of 
domestic violence. To implement this plan, the Governor's office has 
established a statewide Family Violence Council, headed by Maryland's 
attorney general and Lieutenant Governor, which will continue to keep 
this issue in the public eye and to formulate additional initiatives in 
this area.
  The Federal authorities in Maryland have been no less vigilant in 
their efforts to combat domestic violence. Maryland's U.S. attorney's 
office has developed a specific training program for prosecutors on 
VAWA, has drafted a VAWA manual now available to local law enforcement 
and community groups, and is in the process of prosecuting only the 
second interstate stalking case brought under that law.
  In short, Federal, State, and local authorities in Maryland, as 
elsewhere, have embarked on a cooperative effort designed to educate 
our citizens about the plague of domestic violence, and to bring to 
justice those who violate our increasingly strict laws in this area.
  At the same time, Mr. President, we still have a long way to go 
before domestic violence is evicted from our homes and communities. 
Last year alone, almost 4 million women were physically abused by their 
husbands or boyfriends. Women continue to be the victims of domestic 
abuse more frequently than they are victims of burglary, muggings, and 
all other physical

[[Page S10816]]

crimes combined. The damage done by such abuse extends directly to the 
most vulnerable in our society--our children, who are subject to abuse 
in 75 percent of the cases in which their mothers are subject to abuse.
  Mr. President, I have long supported efforts to stamp out domestic 
violence in our communities. I once again urge my colleagues to 
continue on the path on which we embarked in 1994, and to ensure 
continued full funding for VAWA in future years. I also urge my 
colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to preserve the $10 million 
provided for community police to combat domestic violence in this 
year's Commerce, State, Justice Appropriations bill. This money, 
expressly authorized under the 1994 crime law, is essential if we are 
to address the domestic violence problem at its local, root level.
  While October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, no month 
should go by without our attention to this issue. Domestic violence is 
directly contrary to the community and family values we hold most dear, 
and its eradication should continue to be one of our most pressing 
national priorities.

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