[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 37 (Friday, March 7, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DOUG OSE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 6, 2003

  Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my strong support for 
this week's campaign, ``Uniting Our Voices: Speaking Together to Speak 
Out,'' against domestic violence sponsored by Lifetime Television and 
the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in coordination with 
the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues.
  I would like to commend these organizations for their hard work and 
continued efforts to raise awareness of domestic violence issues.
  Domestic violence is a serious problem in this country. Nearly one 
third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or 
sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.
  In my home state of California, it is reported that almost 6 percent 
of California's women suffer physical injuries as a result of domestic 
violence every year. In 2001, there were more than 52,000 domestic 
violence arrests, and ' law enforcement received 198,000 domestic 
violence calls.
  Although domestic violence has traditionally been considered a 
problem primarily afflicting women, it does not just affect women and 
is not just a ``women's issue.'' It affects men, women and children; it 
affects American families and our communities.
  Each year, an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence 
in their homes, and statistics provided by the Department of Justice 
show that a child's exposure to domestic violence is one of the 
strongest factors in transmitting violent behavior from one generation 
to the next, increasing the likelihood of that that child will commit a 
violent act, continuing the cycle of violence.
  Domestic violence is a problem that Americans must confront head-on 
in order to stop the cycle of violence occurring within our communities 
and throughout our country.
  I support the Violence Against Women Act, it is an important bill 
whose effects have been far-reaching in all aspects of helping victims 
of domestic violence, but there is still much more to be done. We must 
continue to provide funding to domestic violence programs and work to 
close the loopholes in existing legislation.
  VAWA and this week's campaign against domestic violence are just the 
first of many steps that must be taken in order to end domestic 
violence. I encourage my colleagues to work with me to further address 
issues of domestic violence so that we may work towards developing 
solutions, both locally and nationally, to end the cycle of violence in 
our communities and to put a stop to the problem of domestic violence.

                          ____________________