[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24265]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 28, 2005

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of October as 
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. By increasing awareness of 
the prevalence of domestic violence, we hope that more victims come 
forward and make use of the services available to assist them.
  According to the U.S. Department of Justice domestic violence is 
defined as, a pattern of coercive behavior designed to exert power and 
control over a person in an intimate relationship through the use of 
intimidating, threatening, harmful, or harassing behavior. Partners may 
be married or not married, heterosexual or homosexual, separated or 
dating.
  Domestic violence is one of the most common and yet least talked 
about crimes. Nearly one in three adult women experiences at least one 
physical assault by a partner during adulthood. Approximately four 
million American women experience a serious assault by an intimate 
partner each year. Every fifteen seconds in the United States a woman 
is brutally battered by her partner and a woman is raped every six 
minutes. During the course of this speech, 15 women will be battered 
and another will be raped.
  Children are also more likely to be abused in homes with domestic 
violence.
  Violence is a learned behavior and children who are abused, or who 
witness domestic violence, are more likely to abuse their own partners 
or children, creating a cycle of violence that is difficult to break.
  Domestic violence victims are not just those that have witnessed or 
been subjected to abuse. The impacts of abuse are felt by everyone in 
contact with the victim. It threatens the well-being of entire 
communities. Friends, family, co-workers, and communities are often 
called upon to help repair the lives shattered by domestic abuse.
  I became active in the struggle against domestic violence long before 
I came to Washington. As a prosecutor in the Middlesex County DA's 
Office, I created priority prosecution policies to put the most violent 
domestic abusers behind bars. In my first term in Congress I became 
involved in this issue nationally as an original co-sponsor of the 
Violence Against Women Act, VAWA. I remain committed to preventing 
domestic violence and providing victims with the support that they need 
to this day. I was an active participant in strengthening VAWA with the 
passage of VAWA in 2000 and I was a co-sponsor of the Debbie Smith Act 
of 2003, which will improve the investigation and prosecution of sexual 
assault cases by using DNA evidence. This bill was included in the 
Justice for All Act of 2004 and became law on October 30, 2004.
  Sadly, we are not making as much progress as we need to on this 
issue. In fact, since 1974 the rate of assaults against women aged 20-
24 has increased almost 50 percent. We can and should do much more. We 
must continue to reach out to victims and restrain abusers. We need to 
craft stronger legislation and to change existing legislation to ensure 
that the protections and services included in VAWA extend to all our 
citizens.
  As we recognize National Domestic Violence Awareness Month let us 
renew our dedication to protecting our Nation's women, men and children 
from one of the greatest threats to the social fabric of America.

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