[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6200]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   RAISING AWARENESS AND SUPPORTING AN END TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RUSS CARNAHAN

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2010

  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in solidarity with my colleagues 
who, this week, have come forth under the leadership of Representative 
Ted Poe, founding co-chair of the Victims' Rights Caucus, to speak out 
against violence perpetrated against women. Violence against women is 
one of the most pervasive forms of violence throughout the world today, 
affecting an estimated one billion women and girls. It is a 
reprehensible violation of fundamental human rights and a crime against 
humanity.
  According to the United Nations, approximately 1 out of every 3 women 
in the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in 
her lifetime. The World Health Organization reports that in some 
countries, up to 70 percent of women report having been victims of 
domestic violence at some stage in their lives.
  Violence against women has come to be systematically used as a tool 
of war in some regions, where women are publicly raped, beaten and 
murdered. In Rwanda, up to half a million women were reportedly raped 
during the 1994 genocide. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, nearly 60,000 women 
were raped in a campaign of ethnic cleansing during the war.
  Women have become ``prey,'' according to the New York Times, in 
Guinea, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo it is reportedly more 
dangerous to be a woman than a soldier.
  Shocking stories such as these provide only a snapshot of the 
complete scope of this deplorable problem and are exemplary, sadly, of 
the experiences of vast communities of women and girls every day.
  It is critical that we in Congress, along with other governments, 
multilateral organizations and nongovernmental organizations throughout 
the world, take a strong stand against these crimes. We must not allow 
violence against women to become a socialized norm.
  In 1994 the Violence Against Women Act was sign into law by President 
Bill Clinton, in an effort to comprehensively acknowledge and address 
the severity and importance of this insidious problem within the United 
States. This landmark Act enhanced judicial and law enforcement tools 
to combat violence in all forms, improved existing services and 
provided for additional services, economic security, and protection for 
victims.
  This legislation has since served as an example globally on how 
issues affecting women can be successfully incorporated into public law 
and social consciousness. Freedom from violence, abuse and intimidation 
is a basic building block of empowering women. And, when women have a 
voice, communities and countries are made stronger, more economically 
prosperous, and more stable.
  In 2009, the International Violence Against Women Act was 
reintroduced, to extend the provisions of VAWA to tackle violence 
worldwide. This bill would ensure that all women are protected under 
the same policies and approach now codified for women and girls in the 
U.S.
  IVAWA seeks a comprehensive international strategy to reduce and 
prevent violence against women and girls. This includes assistance to 
reduce international violence, enhanced U.S. accountability and 
training of foreign military, police and judicial officials on 
preventing and responding to violence, and addressing violence in 
humanitarian relief, peacekeeping, conflict and post-conflict 
operations.
  We in Congress, along with our international partners, must stand up 
now to take bold action on ensuring that women and girls are no longer 
targets of brutal violence; violence that destroys families and 
communities, and has lasting detrimental effects on productivity, 
health, and many other areas of women's daily lives.
  Furthermore, we must work tirelessly to give women a voice to impact 
the issues that affect them and be agents of change in their societies. 
When women thrive, families, communities, societies and economies 
thrive. When women and girls are victimized, families, communities, 
societies and economies suffer and are profoundly weakened, and the 
cycle of violence is perpetuated. Violence against women and girls is 
an assault against us all and we must end it now.

                          ____________________