The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2216 on Oct. 28, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
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HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN
of massachusetts
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 28, 2005
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. By increasing awareness of the prevalence of domestic violence, we hope that more victims come forward and make use of the services available to assist them.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice domestic violence is defined as, a pattern of coercive behavior designed to exert power and control over a person in an intimate relationship through the use of intimidating, threatening, harmful, or harassing behavior. Partners may be married or not married, heterosexual or homosexual, separated or dating.
Domestic violence is one of the most common and yet least talked about crimes. Nearly one in three adult women experiences at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood. Approximately four million American women experience a serious assault by an intimate partner each year. Every fifteen seconds in the United States a woman is brutally battered by her partner and a woman is raped every six minutes. During the course of this speech, 15 women will be battered and another will be raped.
Children are also more likely to be abused in homes with domestic violence.
Violence is a learned behavior and children who are abused, or who witness domestic violence, are more likely to abuse their own partners or children, creating a cycle of violence that is difficult to break.
Domestic violence victims are not just those that have witnessed or been subjected to abuse. The impacts of abuse are felt by everyone in contact with the victim. It threatens the well-being of entire communities. Friends, family, co-workers, and communities are often called upon to help repair the lives shattered by domestic abuse.
I became active in the struggle against domestic violence long before I came to Washington. As a prosecutor in the Middlesex County DA's Office, I created priority prosecution policies to put the most violent domestic abusers behind bars. In my first term in Congress I became involved in this issue nationally as an original co-sponsor of the Violence Against Women Act, VAWA. I remain committed to preventing domestic violence and providing victims with the support that they need to this day. I was an active participant in strengthening VAWA with the passage of VAWA in 2000 and I was a co-sponsor of the Debbie Smith Act of 2003, which will improve the investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases by using DNA evidence. This bill was included in the Justice for All Act of 2004 and became law on October 30, 2004.
Sadly, we are not making as much progress as we need to on this issue. In fact, since 1974 the rate of assaults against women aged 20-
24 has increased almost 50 percent. We can and should do much more. We must continue to reach out to victims and restrain abusers. We need to craft stronger legislation and to change existing legislation to ensure that the protections and services included in VAWA extend to all our citizens.
As we recognize National Domestic Violence Awareness Month let us renew our dedication to protecting our Nation's women, men and children from one of the greatest threats to the social fabric of America.
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