[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 193 (Wednesday, October 4, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 59315-59316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-25675]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 193 / Wednesday, October 4, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 59315]]


                Proclamation 7348 of September 29, 2000

                
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Domestic violence transcends all ethnic, racial, and 
                socioeconomic boundaries. Its perpetrators abuse their 
                victims both physically and mentally, and the effects 
                of their attacks are far-reaching--weakening the very 
                core of our communities. Domestic violence is 
                particularly devastating because it so often occurs in 
                the privacy of the home, which is meant to be a place 
                of shelter and security. During the month of October, 
                all Americans should contemplate the scars that 
                domestic violence leaves on our society and what each 
                of us can do to prevent it.

                Because domestic violence usually takes place in 
                private, many Americans may not realize how widespread 
                it is. According to the National Violence Against Women 
                Survey, conducted jointly by the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention and the National Institute of 
                Justice, each year in the United States approximately 
                1.5 million women are raped and/or physically assaulted 
                by their current or former husbands, partners, or 
                boyfriends. Many of these women are victimized more 
                than once over the course of a year. As unsettling as 
                these statistics are, it is also disturbing to realize 
                that the children of battered women frequently witness 
                these attacks, thus becoming victims themselves.

                My Administration has worked hard to reduce domestic 
                violence in our Nation and to assist victims and their 
                families. The cornerstone of our efforts has been the 
                Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which the Congress 
                passed with bipartisan support in 1994 and which I 
                signed into law as part of our comprehensive crime 
                control bill. This important piece of legislation, 
                which contains a broad array of ground-breaking 
                measures to combat violence against women, combines 
                tough penalties with programs to prosecute offenders 
                and provide assistance to women who are survivors of 
                violence.

                In the 6 years since I signed VAWA into law, the 
                legislation has provided more than $1.6 billion to 
                support prosecutors, law enforcement officials, courts, 
                victim advocates, and intervention efforts. We have 
                quadrupled funding for battered women's shelters, 
                created the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and 
                supported community outreach and prevention programs, 
                children's counseling, and child protection services. 
                The Department of Justice has awarded more than 900 
                discretionary grants and 280 STOP (Services, Training, 
                Officers, Prosecutors) Violence Against Women formula 
                grants to help State, tribal, and local governments and 
                community-based organizations establish specialized 
                domestic violence and sexual assault units, train 
                personnel, enforce laws, develop policies, assist 
                victims of violence, and hold abusers accountable.

                These VAWA programs are making a difference across the 
                country. A recent report by the Bureau of Justice 
                Statistics shows that the number of women experiencing 
                violence at the hands of an intimate partner declined 
                21 percent from 1993 to 1998. I call on the Congress to 
                reauthorize and strengthen VAWA so that we may continue 
                to build on the progress we have made in combating 
                domestic violence in our Nation.

[[Page 59316]]

                Through VAWA and other initiatives and programs, we are 
                striving to create a responsive legal system in 
                American communities that not only prevents domestic 
                violence and sexual assault, but also ensures that 
                every victim has immediate access to helpful 
                information and emergency assistance. By taking strong 
                public action against this crime, we are creating a 
                society that promotes strong values, fosters a safe, 
                loving home environment for every family, and refuses 
                to tolerate domestic violence in any form.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim October 2000 as National 
                Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I call upon 
                government officials, law enforcement agencies, health 
                professionals, educators, community leaders, and the 
                American people to join together to end the domestic 
                violence that threatens so many of our people.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-25675
Filed 10-3-00; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P