[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 8979-8980]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          TELLING AMY'S STORY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rarely have time to go 
to the movies, or to watch television, for that matter, but I saw a 
movie the other night that will forever be etched in my memory. It was 
a simple documentary entitled, ``Telling Amy's Story.'' And it just so 
happens that Joe Myers, a 1998 graduate of Penn State, and a 
constituent, is the producer/director of the film.
  The film is a time line of a domestic violence homicide that took 
place back in November 2001 in State College, Pennsylvania, in my 
district. Police Detective Deirdri Fishel talks about the city where 
Penn State is located and how it has come to be called Happy Valley. 
And nothing ever goes wrong in a place called Happy Valley; right?
  But she goes on to explain that in the last 2 years, her unit has 
handled more than 500 domestic violence cases. And she says in the film 
that all homicides in Centre County in that period were domestic 
violence related. She even comments that, if you are not in a domestic 
violence situation, you are extremely safe in Happy Valley.
  According to the National Domestic Violence Web site, domestic 
violence is defined as a pattern of behavior in any intimate 
relationship where one partner seeks to gain or maintain power and 
control over the other. The abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, 
economic, and psychological. The abuser acts or makes threats against 
the other person in order to keep them in line. The behavior includes 
anything that frightens, intimidates, terrorizes, manipulates, hurts, 
humiliates, blames, injures, or wounds someone. The abuse is not 
limited to economic, racial, education, or social levels, nor does it 
have anything to do with geography or ethnicity.
  The numbers are staggering. According to a 2008 study by the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, about one quarter of all women in 
the United States report that they've experienced domestic violence. 
One in five female high school students report being physically and/or 
sexually abused by a dating partner. Worst of all, on average, more 
than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this 
country every day. That is what happened to Amy.
  The film chronicles the events that led up to her murder. Amy's 
parents and coworkers, law enforcement officers and court personnel 
share their perspectives on what happened to Amy in the weeks, months, 
and years leading to her death. The signs were there. The people knew 
what to look for.
  The people who produced the film say, While we will never be able to 
change the ending to Amy's story, we hope that its telling can change 
outcomes for millions of victims, survivors, and loved ones affected by 
domestic violence every day.

[[Page 8980]]

  The signs of domestic violence are physical signs of injury, anxiety 
and fear, emotional distress, isolation, changes in appearance and 
self-esteem, restricted transportation, clothing inappropriate for the 
season, attempts to hide activities or interactions from partner, and 
minimization or denial of harassment or injuries.
  The message of the film is that there is help out there and that if 
you recognize the signs, encourage the person to seek professional 
resources, such as the Centre County Resource Center in my district 
and, nationally, the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
  Amy's story should end with the fact that she did not die in vain. 
Her story is designed to help others, and, I believe if you see it, it 
will.

                          ____________________