    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [October 14, 1995]
    [Pages 1592-1593]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    October 14, 1995

        Good morning. In recent weeks, all of us have had reason to focus on
    two of the biggest problems facing our country: the problem of
    continuing racial divisions and the problem of violence in our homes,
    violence against women and children.
        Today, I want to talk to you about that violence in our homes. It is
    prevalent, unforgivable, and sometimes deadly. In the latest statistics
    from the Justice Department, we find that close to a third of all women
    murdered in this country were killed by their husbands, former husbands,
    or boyfriends.
        For too long, domestic violence has been swept under the rug,
    treated as a private family matter that was nobody's business but those
    involved. Fortunately, that's changing. In recent years, a huge public
    outcry against domestic violence has been rising all across the Nation.
    In our churches, schools, and throughout communities, we've begun to
    bring this problem out in the open and deal with it. Now everyone knows
    it is cowardly, destructive of families, immoral, and criminal to abuse
    the women in our families.
        Just last week at the White House, I met with a group of women who
    are survivors of domestic abuse. One woman told me of being battered and
    terrorized for more than 20 years, all the while blaming herself for the
    brutality she endured. It wasn't until her husband attacked her son that
    she got up the courage to leave the marriage and to seek help.
        It's important to remember that when children witness or are
    victimized by violence in the home, they often later grow up to abuse
    their own families. So it can become a vicious cycle, as many abusers
    were once those abused themselves.
        The good news is we can do something about this. The same day I met
    with the women survivors, I also met a remarkable Nashville police
    sergeant named Mark Wynn, a young man who himself grew up in a home
    where his father abused his mother and the children. But that experience
    motivated him to become a police officer and to dedicate his life to
    preventing domestic violence. For the past 10 years, he's been educating
    police nationwide about the seriousness of this problem and what to do
    about it. And he spearheaded the creation of a special domestic violence
    unit in the Nashville Police Department that has helped to reduce
    domestic murders by 70 percent in the last 6 months alone.
        One year ago, we made a major commitment in Washington to ensuring
    the securities of our families with the bipartisan passage of my
    anticrime bill. That law banned assault weapons from our streets and our
    schools, imposed tougher penalties for repeat offenders, including the
    ``three strikes and you're out'' law. It pro-

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    vided resources for community-based prevention programs to give our
    children something to say yes to. And it put 100,000 more police
    officers behind our efforts at effective community policing. That's an
    increase of about 20 percent in the number of police who are protecting
    our citizens. In just a year, 25,000 of these new officers are already
    out there working to help make your life safer. And I've put aside $20
    million to train our police to effectively deal with the problems of
    domestic violence.
        The crime bill also included the landmark Violence Against Women
    Act. For the first time in our history, the Federal Government is now a
    full partner in the effort to stop domestic violence. The Violence
    Against Women Act combines tough new sanctions against abusers with
    assistance to police, to prosecutors, and to shelters in the fight
    against domestic violence.
        Just last week, we awarded grants to organizations in 16 different
    States to assist in their efforts to stop the violence and support the
    victims. And soon we'll establish an 800 number where women facing abuse
    can get assistance, counseling, and shelter.
        Yet at the very moment our Nation has been focused on the abuse
    against women by their husbands--or former husbands or boyfriends--the
    House of Representatives has voted to cut $50 million from our efforts
    to protect battered women and their children, to preserve families, and
    to punish these crimes. I'm happy that the Senate agreed with me to
    fully fund the Violence Against Women Act, and I certainly hope the
    House will reconsider its decision.
        Violence against women within our families will not go away unless
    we all take responsibility for ending it. So let me close today by
    speaking directly to the men of America, not just as President or a
    father or a husband but also as a son who has seen domestic violence
    firsthand.
        We all know how much we owe to the sacrifices of the women who are
    our mothers, our wives, our sisters, our daughters. I was fortunate
    enough to be raised by a loving mother who taught me right from wrong
    and made me believe I could accomplish anything I was willing to work
    hard for. Hillary and I were blessed to celebrate our 20th wedding
    anniversary just this week. And of course, our daughter Chelsea is the
    great joy of our lives.
        I know that all of us support stronger law enforcement efforts to
    deal with violence against all of the mothers, all of the wives, all of
    the daughters in America. But the real solution to this problem starts
    with us, with our personal responsibility and a simple pledge that we
    will never, never lift a hand against a woman for as long as we live and
    that we will teach our children that violence is never the answer. Then
    we can do all we can to end violence in our homes, in our neighborhoods,
    and in everyone else's homes and neighborhoods throughout our beloved
    country.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 1:48 p.m. on October 13 in the
    Roosevelt Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October
    14.