[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 149 (Thursday, October 28, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H11128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 
but it is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This is the issue I 
want to briefly address.
  It was 35 years ago when Congress passed the landmark Violence 
Against Women Act, and it has changed the way that we as a Nation 
address the crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault.
  Today, there are more investigations and prosecutions and stiffer 
penalties, including life sentences for those who cross State lines to 
commit domestic violence. Millions of dollars in Federal funds have 
been provided to States to help them reshape the way police officers 
respond to domestic violence.
  For example, the COPS program, that is the Community Oriented 
Policing Services, helps local police departments apply the principles 
of community policing methods to domestic violence. There is increased 
funding for shelter and a national domestic violence hotline, which 
receives an estimated 11,000 calls per month. America's dirty little 
secret is a secret no longer.
  But the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA I, as we called it, 
could not and did not cover every issue with violence against women. 
With the response to the domestic violence outreach programs including 
hotlines and shelters, we have seen an increase in the number of 
victims who come forward and seek help.
  This increase necessitates further action on our part. The programs 
under the Violence Against Women Act just begin our fight against 
domestic violence, and the programs funded under that act lead the way.
  This epidemic crosses all racial and socio-economic barriers. The 
National Domestic Violence hotline reports that 90 percent of the 
callers were female and 57 percent were white. Every State and every 
district has some domestic violence, unfortunately, with victims in 
cities and on farms across the country.
  In my State of Maryland, reports have shown an estimated 26,000 cases 
of domestic violence crimes in 1997. This number is said to reflect 
only about 10 percent of the actual attacks. And last year the Crime in 
Maryland Uniform Report stated that 72 individuals died from domestic 
violence attacks. That is approximately one person every 5 days who 
dies as a result of domestic violence in one small State, Maryland, 
alone.
  The Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence has demonstrated how 
VAWA funds have made a critical difference in the lives of victims and 
their children in the State of Maryland.
  For instance, in areas of prosecution, nine jurisdictions in Maryland 
use VAWA funds to increase staffing and to designate domestic violence 
units. Others offer legal assistance through court advocates who 
accompany victims to trial and who assist with private legal fees to 
establish protective orders.
  Also funded is the Pro-prosecution Project. It trains law enforcement 
officers, court commissioners, and State's attorneys on pro-arrest 
policies when violent situations cannot be overcome inside the home.
  It also funds parole and probation advocates who act as liaisons 
between the department agents and victims. This program has had 
tremendous success in shortening the length of time between a violation 
and a violation hearing.
  Four local police departments are using funds to implement programs 
that focus on both prevention and intervention and with regard to 
victims services. One jurisdiction uses the VAWA money to support their 
local hotline. Others use this area to fund a program that addresses 
victims who also have a mental illness or addiction.
  In Maryland, VAWA funds are also used for the Maryland Coalition 
Against Sexual Assault and 10 local coalitions that bring together 
educators, program providers, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, 
health care professionals, clergy and community groups, all of that 
coalition that should be working together.
  Maryland, which currently has 21 programs and 19 shelters, has used a 
multilevel approach that includes local, grassroots projects to meet 
the immediate needs of individuals and families, as well as statewide 
initiatives that provide education, training, and advocacy that 
addresses institutional and systemic issues.
  I use Maryland as one of the examples, but this is the case 
throughout our 50 states and indicates that VAWA works. That is the 
Violence Against Women Act. I want to point out that nationally nearly 
one in every three adult women will experience a physical assault by a 
partner or a significant other and almost half the women who are taken 
to a hospital emergency room are treated for injuries inflicted by a 
partner or spouse.
  The Violence Against Women Act needs to be reauthorized and a new 
version adding more, Violence Against Women Act II, also needs to be 
passed.
  These statistics, including the reports from shelters all over the 
country that they are overwhelmed with victims seeking safety and 
counseling, reinforce the need to expand domestic violence programs. 
Many of these expansions are addressed within the Violence Against 
Women Act II--HR 357.
  Among the issues that VAWA I did not tackle, for example, were 
domestic violence and child custody, issues that have traditionally 
been handled by state and local courts but are issues that demand a 
national response.
  What is domestic violence and what happens to children raised in 
homes where domestic violence occurs?
  Domestic violence or battering is a means of establishing control 
over another person through fear and intimidation. Generally, battering 
is physical, but it also includes emotional, economic, and sexual 
abuse, and the kind of isolation experienced by hostages and prisoners 
of war.
  Domestic violence is a brutal crime, mostly, but not always, 
committed by men against women. The shocking reality is that an 
estimated 3 to 4 million American women are assaulted each year by 
their husbands or partners, and every year 3.3 million children witness 
these attacks.
  There are many theories about batterers and why they resort to 
violence. These include career and economic stress, violence on TV and 
in movies, poor socialization, and sexism in our society. Whatever the 
cause, battering continues because too many people look the other way. 
Our judicial system has been guilty of ignorance about domestic 
violence and negligence. For many victims of domestic violence the 
courts are their adversaries, not their allies.

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