[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 45 (Friday, April 2, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E506-E507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  REGARDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN COMMEMORATION OF INTERNATIONAL 
                       WOMEN'S DAY MARCH 15, 2004

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 1, 2004

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate Women's 
History Month, it is of critical importance to note that the incidence 
of violence against women is still too high around the globe. Many 
women in the United States and in other nations live in terror, are 
afraid to speak up to protect their health and wellbeing, and are 
unable to shield their children from the effects of domestic violence.
  The impact of violence against women of all social and economic 
classes worldwide is chilling. According to Amnesty International, 120 
million women and girls are subjected to female circumcision annually, 
and over 700,000 women in the United States are

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raped each year. Further, the World Bank reports that at least one in 
five women and girls have been sexually violated or beaten at some 
point in their lives. Violence against women is one of the world's most 
pervasive and yet least addressed human rights abuse issues. Women 
worldwide expend their energy, compromise their health and sacrifice 
their self-esteem due to the impact of domestic violence on their 
lives.
  In 1993, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of 
Violence Against Women, Article 1 defined violence against women as 
``any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to 
result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to 
women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary 
deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.'' 
Given this definition, and the evidence that women are more likely than 
men to be attacked by an intimate partner or family member to whom they 
are emotionally tied and economically dependent upon, it is incumbent 
upon those of us who are elected leaders to ensure the physical, 
emotional and financial stability of women everywhere.
  The threat of violence extends to pregnant women, and is compounded 
in the treatment of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. As reported by 
the Center for Health and Gender Equity, a study of pregnant women in 
six African nations showed that the women's fear of rejection and 
domestic violence was responsible for their refusal to take AZT to 
prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The women surveyed 
declined to inform their families and friends about their HIV status 
because they feared being assaulted.
  Around the world, too few women fail to seek adequate medical care, 
nor are they willing to share pertinent information about their 
experiences of domestic violence with healthcare providers for fear of 
retaliation from male partners or family members. We must work together 
on behalf of women everywhere to create an atmosphere free of the 
threat of violence where women can seek the care they need to safeguard 
their health and that of their children.

                          ____________________