[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 23 (Wednesday, March 6, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H691]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

  (Mrs. CAPITO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to address a very 
serious and pressing problem in our communities and in our society, 
domestic violence. Around the world at least one woman in every three 
has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. 
Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family. Increasingly, 
gender-based violence is recognized as a major public health concern 
and a violation of human rights.
  In my home State of West Virginia, domestic violence complaints to 
law enforcement agencies have increased by 400 percent since 1998. Last 
April, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that West Virginia 
would be receiving $1.1 million. I commend this effort.
  We must keep in mind that battering behavior is prevalent across all 
lines of race, ethnicity, geography, education, social class, religion 
and sexual orientation and that battering has adverse, long-term 
psychological, emotional, physical and economic effects on women and 
children.
  Mr. Speaker, this is Violence Against Women Week, and so I urge all 
of my colleagues to stand up for battered women everywhere.

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