[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 8, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H2208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FOR MOTHER'S DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of recognition of Mother's 
Day 2002 to honor mothers across the world and to honor the profession 
and the calling of mothering.
  I make these remarks today in memory of my own daughter, a wonderful 
mother to two little boys before she died 2 years ago, and in honor of 
their father, her husband, who is doing a fabulous job of parenting and 
mothering them.
  The second Sunday in May is an opportunity for each of us to reflect 
upon our own upbringing and to offer gratitude to the one who has 
nurtured us the most, and many of us know firsthand being a mother is 
much more than a biological process. Every day women who have never 
given birth become mothers to abandoned, separated or orphaned 
children.
  Last week, Save the Children unveiled their ``State of the World's 
Mother 2002'' report. The report was assembled to assess the state of 
mothers and children in the volatile regions of war and conflict. The 
findings of this report are particularly pertinent given our Nation's 
war on terrorism.
  After 23 years of conflict, Afghanistan is slowly recovering with 
assistance from governments and humanitarian agencies such as Save the 
Children. Specifically, the report tells us that investing in mothers 
is one of the most effective ways to help post-conflict societies 
achieve reconciliation and move forward.
  Often after enduring years of destruction and chaos, women step up to 
play highly constructive roles as peacemakers and rebuilders. In 
Afghanistan, we know that reconstruction largely depends upon the 
reintegration of women in that society. For this reason, in December 
Congress passed the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act into law. This 
law will provide vital educational and health care assistance to women 
and to children in that region.
  The need for increased aid to war-torn Nations, the majority of which 
are in the developing world, is clear. Mothers and children in these 
regions are indeed at great risk of death, disease, displacement and 
exploitation; and because of those factors, the cycle of difficulty 
goes from one generation to the next.
  The United States does not fare as badly as the developing world in 
terms of maternal health; but our country has its own set of problems, 
which includes high rates of violence against women. This epidemic, 
perpetrated against 31 percent of American women, is undeniably a 
serious concern; and while domestic violence is a criminal justice 
issue, it is really at its core a matter of public health.
  Women experience 85 percent of violent victimizations; and each year 
at least 6 percent of all pregnant women, about 240,000, are battered 
by the men in their lives. This battering leads to complications of 
pregnancy, including low weight gain, anemia, infections, first and 
second trimester bleeding. So domestic violence poses a considerable 
threat to maternal health.
  To combat this problem, I have introduced the Domestic Violence 
Vaccining and Treatment Act, which would dramatically increase the 
scale of intervention and prevention efforts. My legislation would urge 
every health care provider to screen women over age 18 for domestic 
violence. In the confidential environment of a doctor's office, health 
care professionals would serve as a bridge between the patient and the 
criminal justice system.
  Specifically, my bill would provide health care professionals with 
the training needed to assess women for signs and symptoms of abuse and 
then to supply her with adequate treatment and referrals. This routine 
verbal screening for domestic violence, fairly straightforward and 
simple procedure, would unlock options a woman may not otherwise pursue 
and allow her to see that shelter and advocacy services may be useful 
to her.
  We know that battered women comprise up to 30 percent of ambulatory 
care patients, but only one in 20 is correctly identified as such, and 
I hope my legislation will help in clearly identifying victims of 
violence in order to pinpoint the perpetrator and to end the cycle of 
abuse.
  Another goal of the legislation is to identify problems before they 
escalate to prevent in the long term this cycle of domestic violence 
from repeating itself from one generation to the next. As we well know, 
a child's survival is largely dependent upon the health and well-being 
of his or her mother or caretaker.
  So this Mother's Day, let us bear in mind the vital role that women 
play in creating a peaceful and prosperous world for all children. As I 
have pointed out, this statement rings true not only for mothers in our 
country but for mothers living in developing countries around this 
world.
  Women hold families together. Therefore, women hold communities and 
whole Nations together; and thus, mothers are a crucial link in the 
livelihood and survival of our Nation's future as well as the future of 
the world as a whole.

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