[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16502]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

  (Ms. SINEMA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. SINEMA. Mr. Speaker, October is Domestic Violence Awareness 
Month.
  My first real job back in 1993 was at a domestic violence shelter. I 
was in college studying to become a social worker. During my time at 
the shelter, I helped women and children at our shelter escape the 
cycle of abuse. Some women came through our doors again and again 
before finally getting free.
  That is why I worked hard to pass the Violence Against Women Act for 
these very families. Yet too often, women in our country escape their 
abusers for only a short time. Some abusers track down women and 
children in order to keep the cycle of abuse going.
  VAWA helps these families stay safe from their abusers, like Jane, 
who lives in Phoenix with her three kids. Jane and her kids fled their 
home State and moved to Arizona to escape their abuser. He had been 
chasing Jane and the kids for years, following them from home to 
shelter to their next home. Jane couldn't get away from him. When she 
came to Arizona, Arizona's Address Confidentiality Program provided her 
with an alternative address to use legally instead of her real address. 
It prevented her abuser from finding her. Thanks to VAWA Jane is safe.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope we will all double down to end domestic violence 
in this country.

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