[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5401]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS RIGHTS WEEK

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, statistics show that a woman is 
raped every 5 minutes in the United States and that one in every three 
adult women experiences at least one physical assault by a partner 
during adulthood. In fact, more women are injured by domestic violence 
each year than by automobile accidents and cancer deaths combined. 
Statistics that report the abuse of our children are equally 
staggering. Nationwide, an estimated 826,000 children are victims of 
abuse and neglect, a number greater than the population of my home 
State of South Dakota.
  April is recognized as both Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual 
Assault Awareness Month. This week, the week of April 21-27, is 
National Crime Victims Rights Week and is a good time to take a serious 
look at the progress we have made in addressing the problem of abuse 
against women and children in our communities. In 1983, I introduced 
legislation in the South Dakota State Legislature to use marriage 
license fees to help fund domestic abuse shelters. At that time, 
thousands of South Dakota women and children were in need of shelters 
and programs to help them. However, few people wanted to acknowledge 
that domestic abuse occurred in their communities, or even in their 
homes.
  During the last 7 years, I have led efforts in the U.S. Congress to 
authorize the original Violence Against Women Act, VAWA, and, most 
recently, expand and improve the program to assist rural communities. 
South Dakota has received over $8 million in VAWA funds for women's 
shelters and family violence prevention services. In addition, the law 
has doubled prison time for repeat sex offenders, established mandatory 
restitution to victims of violence against women, and strengthened 
interstate enforcement of violent crimes against women. South Dakotans 
can also call a nationwide toll-free hotline for immediate crisis 
intervention help and free referrals to local services. The number to 
call for help is 1-800-799-SAFE.
  In South Dakota last year, over 5,500 women were provided assistance 
in domestic violence shelters and outreach centers thanks, in part, to 
VAWA funds. While I am pleased that we have made significant progress 
in getting resources to thousands of South Dakota women in need, it is 
important to look beyond the numbers. Mr. President, 5,500 neighbors, 
sisters, daughters, and wives in South Dakota were victimized by abuse 
last year. Thousands of other women are abused and do not seek help. We 
must also recognize that the problem is multiplied on the reservations 
where Native American women are abused at two-and-a-half times the 
national rate and are more than twice as likely to be rape victims as 
any other race of women.
  The words of a domestic abuse survivor may best illustrate the need 
to remain vigilant in Congress and in our communities on preventing 
domestic abuse. A woman from my State wrote me and explained that she 
was abused as a child, raped as a teenager, and emotionally abused as a 
wife. Her grandchildren were also abused. In her letter, she pleaded:

       Don't let another woman go through what I went through, and 
     please don't let another child go through what my 
     grandchildren have gone through. You can make a difference.

  We all can make a difference by protecting women and children from 
violence and abuse.

                          ____________________