[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 17, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1015
  COMMEMORATING NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH AND STOP VIOLENCE WEEK

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand this 
morning to commemorate National Women's History Month and Stop Violence 
Week. This year's theme is Women Inspiring Hope and Possibility.
  We are delighted, if you will, to reflect upon the history that women 
have made in the United States, but we also recognize that we must 
stand against violence and sexual assault. We know that both sexual and 
domestic violence and victims fear reporting is one of the greater 
challenges of women today in America.
  In my State of Texas, nearly 2 million adult Texans, almost 13 
percent of the State population, have been sexually assaulted. This is 
number one in the minds of many women. In Texas, every 2 minutes 
someone is sexually assaulted, and 2 women are killed each week by 
their intimate partner, and approximately 31 percent of sexual assault 
victims reported that a family member also had been sexually assaulted. 
An estimate of 82 percent of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported 
because of shame, fear, and hurt and anger, and nearly 80 percent of 
those raped know the person who raped them.
  We realize in working with the Texans Against Sexual Assault and the 
Texas Council on Family Violence that we have a challenge before us.
  Mr. Speaker, I conclude by saluting women for the progress they have 
made, but also reminding us as we work towards this very challenging 
problem, we must also include the women of Iraq who need to have their 
rights protected along with the children of Iraq as well.

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