[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
[October 8, 2003]
[Pages 1265-1269]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Domestic Violence Prevention
October 8, 2003

    President Bush. Thank you all for coming, and welcome to the White 
House. In a few moments, I will sign a proclamation naming October 
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I do so to focus attention 
on this urgent and very important issue. I will announce two initiatives 
we are launching to combat domestic violence in our country.
    A home, a family, should be a place of support, should be a peaceful 
place, not a place of cruelty and brutality. Domestic violence betrays 
the most basic duties of life. It violates the law. It's wrong. It is a 
crime that must be confronted by individuals, by communities, and by 
government.
    All of you here today have taken up the vital cause--the really 
important cause--of defending the vulnerable from domestic violence. Too 
often its victims suffer in secret and in silence. You make it easier 
for them to step out of the shadows and get the help and love they need. 
Your compassion is saving lives. Your country is grateful. Thank you for 
what you do.
    I appreciate Tommy Thompson being 
here. He's the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Many of the 
initiatives on family violence come from his Department. As Governor of 
Wisconsin, he made a name for dealing with domestic violence, and he's 
carried his passion, as have I, to Washington, DC, to help.
    I appreciate Jack Potter, who is the 
Postmaster General. There's a reason he is here. It has something to do 
with a stamp that I'll be describing here. [Laughter]
    I appreciate very much Diane Stuart, the 
Director of the Office of Violence Against Women, from the Department of 
Justice. Thank you for coming. Thank you for being a leader.
    We've got a special Senator here with us today, a person who flew 
all the way back from his home State of Colorado. He's here because he 
sponsored the legislation creating the Stop Family Violence stamp. I'm 
honored that you've come back, Senator Campbell. Ben Nighthorse 
Campbell is a compassionate, decent 
human being, and I'm proud to call him friend. Thanks for coming.
    I want to thank Sheryl Cates, who is the 
executive director of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the 
Texas Council on Family Violence. She's on the stage with me. The 
hotline received its one millionth call in August. That's a lot of 
calls, but it's a lot of help as well. And I want to thank Sheryl for 
being here, my fellow Texan. [Laughter] Lynn Rosenthal is the executive director of the National Network to End 
Domestic Violence. Lynn is with us as well here. Thank you for coming. 
And Rita Smith, the executive director of the 
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, is on the stage as well. 
These three women are leaders in the attempt to make somebody's life 
better, and I really appreciate you all coming.
    As well we've got Monique Blais who's with 
us today. Monique brought her mother, Marci, to 
the White House. [Laughter] The reason Monique is here is that she 
designed the artwork for the Stop Family Violence stamp. And I really 
appreciate your talents, and when people see the stamp, they'll--when I 
say ``talent,'' they'll

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know what I mean when I say ``talent,'' because it's really a great 
piece of work. We want to thank you for coming. And I want to thank you 
all for being here.
    Domestic violence cuts across every line of geography and income. 
Abuse is found in every community in our country--every community--and 
it must be fought in every community. Hundreds of thousands of incidents 
of domestic violence are reported every year. The sad news is, many go 
unreported. About a third of women murdered each year in America are 
killed by this type of violence, and nearly half the households where 
domestic violence occurs also has a child under 12 years old. There's 
more than one victim.
    Women and children are facing dangers in this country, and they need 
strong allies. That's what we're here to talk about. I'm not only here 
to thank you for being strong allies, I'm asking others around our 
country to work with the people here. There's plenty of opportunities 
for our fellow citizens to step forth and be a partner in helping save 
and heal lives.
    Fortunately, there are people, victims who can find help. That's the 
good news about America. The bad news is, there's too much domestic 
violence. The good news is, people can find help. Faith-based and 
community groups provide refuge and counseling and good legal advice. 
And a lot of time, an abused woman needs good, solid legal advice.
    Industry groups are recycling old cell phones. It's an interesting 
contribution, isn't it? They're saying, ``Here's an opportunity for you 
to be able to call to get help.''
    Lifetime television--I know some folks representing Lifetime 
television are here--is promoting domestic violence awareness in its 
programming and public service campaigns, and we thank you for that. 
Part of making sure that we help save lives is to educate people about 
the opportunities available.
    Business Strengthening America is a private organization of business 
leaders who are responding to a call I gave them earlier, after 
September the 11th. I said, ``Why don't you become an active 
participant, as responsible business leaders, in helping meet our 
society's needs?'' They've joined forces with the Corporate Alliance to 
End Partner Violence. Those two groups are working to raise awareness of 
the issues in the workplace, and as importantly, they're encouraging 
employees to become volunteers in the efforts to help those who have 
been abused.
    I want to thank the responsible corporate leaders in America for 
hearing the call that in a responsible society, you've got to behave 
responsibly yourself and encourage others to follow their heart.
    The fight against domestic violence is a national movement. I urge 
people to join the movement. Part of an awareness month is not only 
making people aware but a call to service. Today all of us up here are 
calling people to service, to serve your community and your country. If 
you want to love your neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself, 
there's ample opportunity to do so in the fight against domestic 
violence.
    Our Government is engaged in the fight, as it should be. Government 
has got a duty to treat domestic violence as a serious crime. It's part 
of our duty. If you treat something as a serious crime, then there must 
be serious consequences. Otherwise, it's not very serious. Last year, 
Federal prosecutors for violence against women crimes increased--Federal 
prosecutions increased by 35 percent. Our prosecutors are doing their 
job. They're finding the abusers, and they're throwing the book at them. 
And that's important.
    People who commit crimes must understand with certainty, there is a 
consequence. One way to change behavior is to make it clear to people in 
our society, if you break the law, if you beat up a woman, if you abuse 
your wife, you will be held to account. There must be certainty

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in the law, and we must have prosecutors who understand that we expect 
them to be tough. And they are.
    The administration has also increased funding for Justice 
Department's Violence Against Women's programs by $100 million this 
year. We're now spending money at the highest levels in our Nation's 
history, and it's money well spent. Programs which help local 
communities combat domestic violence and sexual assault and stalking and 
helps the victims of those crimes are now funded at $390 million a year. 
And I want to thank Ben and the Members of the Congress for working to 
see that our appropriations request was met.
    I'm going to talk about two other measures that I think will help in 
the fight against domestic violence. First, I've directed $20 million in 
2004 to help communities create family justice centers, where victims of 
domestic violence can find the services they need in one place, one 
central location. Too often, the services designed to help victims are 
uncoordinated and scattered throughout communities.
    Imagine what it would be like if you were an abused person trying to 
find help, and you went from one place to another. With laws and police 
and all the rules and regulations of a free society, it must be 
confusing and disheartening. The victim has been so traumatized, and 
then she has to tell her story over and over again, which repeats the 
trauma. There's a better way to do this. There's a better way to help 
people who need help in our society.
    San Diego figured it out. They've got a city attorney named 
Casey Gwinn--who's right there--who recognized 
that there's a more compassionate way to help people who have been 
abused. And so he did something about it. He created what's called the 
San Diego Family Justice Center. It's a full-service center for domestic 
violence victims, where police officers and prosecutors and probation 
officers and civil attorneys and counselors and doctors and victims 
advocates and chaplains all come together to help somebody. The 
runaround is over in San Diego. There's a central location where 
somebody who desperately needs help can find compassion and help. 
Victims can pick up food vouchers. They can get help with 
transportation. They can file for a temporary restraining order against 
their abusers. They can sign up for supervised visitation programs to 
keep their children safe. They can get their cell phone there. They can 
find help.
    The San Diego Family Justice Center opened a year ago. It has 
already served thousands of victims. They tell me the story of Caitlin 
Effgen, who is a brave woman who lives in San 
Diego. It's probably, unfortunately, a typical story I'm about to tell 
you. What's atypical is that she found help in a brand new way of 
helping victims of domestic violence. Her boyfriend started hitting her. 
She tried to break up with him, and he began to stalk her. In other 
words, he was not only abusing her one way, he decided to abuse her 
another as well. And she went to the authorities and got a restraining 
order, which, as the experts will tell you, sometimes it works and 
sometimes it didn't, because in her case, the boyfriend continued to 
harass her, just wouldn't leave her alone. You can imagine the fear she 
felt. He pled guilty to charges, but he still stalked and haunted her 
mind.
    And then she discovered the center. They 
helped her get counseling. They got another restraining order. A victims 
advocate joined her and her dad in court. In other words, she got all 
the help she needed. I can imagine the relief that she must have felt 
when somebody who heard the call to love a neighbor did just that. The 
guy ended up in--behind bars, which was the right thing to do, and I 
congratulate the San Diego law enforcement officers. But more important, 
she got to remember what life was like without her misery. Those are her 
words, not mine. She found compassion.
    The funding I've set aside will help begin a national movement 
toward more of these

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centers. Twelve will be funded through this initiative. When they work, 
there's another 12 and maybe even more. Maybe we can escalate the 
request. But the point is, we have found what can work in order to 
provide efficient help, to channel the compassion so somebody can get 
their life back together. So I want to thank you for coming, 
Casey. Good job. You're doing your duty as a 
public servant.
    The second initiative will expand the good work of community and 
faith-based groups as they provide counseling and mentoring and other 
services to children who have witnessed domestic violence. The children 
who witness domestic violence are prone to depression and anxiety. 
That's natural. You could imagine what it would be like for a little 
child to witness such an act. They need help and love. We have a moral 
obligation in our society to help relieve the suffering and to show that 
there is a better life.
    I like to remind people, you know, that--I wish Government could 
make people love one another. I would sign the piece of legislation. 
[Laughter] But I know that there are loving people who are willing to 
love. It's a--by the way, a lot of times it's from a higher law; it's 
not the law of government. And so what we want to do is spend $5 
billion--$5 million this year on initiatives--[laughter]--a million 
here, a million there. [Laughter] Let's start small--what do you think--
[laughter]--to start an initiative called Safe and Bright Futures for 
Children. That's what we want to start. The Department of Health and 
Human Services will provide funding to community and faith-based groups 
to help children escape the cycle of violence, to get counseling, to get 
mentoring, to become involved in healthy activities like sports or 
scouting or community services.
    The money will support programs at sites all across America. We 
believe it will be--make a difference in lives. One such program is run 
by the Reverend Cheryle Albert, who is with 
us today. She works with Safe Haven Interfaith Partnership Against 
Domestic Violence in Boston, Massachusetts. Probably rooting for the Red 
Sox, aren't you? [Laughter] She teaches congregations about domestic 
violence. She helps train them to help troubled families through crisis 
intervention and counseling. Here's what she says: ``The power behind 
domestic violence is that it's a secret. We work with the faith 
community because we feel it's the best way to break the silence.''
    When men and women face violence and injustice, it is important for 
our Government to understand that oftentimes they turn to their churches 
or synagogues or mosques for help, as they should. These are places of 
love. They exist because of love. They are wise to do so, and our 
Government should not fear the faith-based programs which help save 
lives. Matter of fact, we ought to welcome the faith-based programs into 
helping people who suffer.
    Oftentimes, it requires faith to help heal a heart and to help bring 
a bright future into some child's life. This initiative welcomes the 
faith-based programs all across our society. This initiative takes 
taxpayers' money to encourage faith-based programs to become important 
partners in the fight against domestic violence.
    I am not the least bit hesitant to encourage our Government to use 
Federal tax money to rally the armies of compassion which exist in every 
society in America. We must not fear faith in America. We must welcome 
faith in America to help solve our problems.
    Now, to the stamp. And the stamp will be placed out in the hall; you 
can see it on the way out. The Safe and Bright Futures program will be 
supported by the sales of the stamp. There have been three such stamps. 
This is the third where the revenues collected from the sales of the 
stamps, designed by one of our Nation's budding artists--[laughter]--
will be--will use that money. And as I understand it, the stamp is for 
sale today? That's why

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the head of the Post Office is here. [Laughter]
    Audience member. Buy them.
    President Bush. Buy them? Well, and so anybody who wants to support 
effective programs in our fight against domestic violence ought to buy 
the stamp. The money goes to these programs, and it's a great way for 
people to use the mail and to express their desires to make their 
communities a better place.
    I want to thank you all for coming today. I want to thank you for 
your commitment. For those who are involved with saving lives, it's a 
hard job. It's got to be hard to provide a shoulder onto which someone 
can cry or a sympathetic ear for some child who wonders what their 
future is like. That can only be accomplished, however, when loving 
Americans hear the call. If any American is interested in serving, one 
good way to do so is to become involved in these programs that are 
saving lives as a result of the brutal crime of domestic violence.
    The strength of our country is not our military. It's not our 
wallet. The strength of our country is the heart and soul of the 
American people. And today I'm honored to be in the presence of 
Americans who serve your country and your community by helping people 
who have been hurt.
    May God bless your work. May God bless those who are victims of 
domestic violence. And may God continue to bless our country. Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 3:13 p.m. in the East Room at the White 
House. The National Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamation of 
October 8 is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.