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“INTRODUCTION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMANENT OFFICE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E7-E8 on Jan. 3, 2001.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INTRODUCTION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMANENT OFFICE OF VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN ACT
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HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER
of new york
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, January 3, 2001
Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join with my distinguished colleague, Representative Connie Morella, in introducing the Violence Against Women Office Act. This bill would make permanent the Violence Against Women Office within the Department of Justice.
Mr. Speaker, domestic violence is shockingly pervasive in our society today. The National Violence Against Women Survey, released by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July 2000, found that:
Domestic abuse rates remain disturbingly high. Nearly 25 percent of women and 7.6 percent of men surveyed reported they had been raped or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date at some point in their lifetime.
Stalking by intimates is more common than previously thought. Almost 5 percent of surveyed women and 0.6 percent of surveyed men reported being stalked by an intimate at some point in their lifetime; 0.5 percent of surveyed women and 0.2 percent of surveyed men reported being stalked by such a partner in the previous 12 months.
Domestic violence has major implications for public health and our health care system. Of the estimated 4.9 million intimate partner rapes and physical assaults perpetrated against women annually, approximately 2 million will result in an injury to the victim, and 570,457 will result in some type of medical treatment to the victim. Of the estimated 2.9 million intimate partner physical assaults perpetrated against men annually, 581,391 will result in an injury to the victim, and 124,999 will result in some type of medical treatment to the victim.
According to these statistics, approximately 1.5 million women and 834,732 men are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year in the United States. Domestic violence is nothing less than an epidemic, and must be attacked with all the resources we would bring to bear against a deadly disease.
We have made important progress over the past decade. One of my proudest accomplishments in Congress was my work as a lead author of the Violence Against Women Act. This bill, passed by Congress in 1994 and signed into law by President Clinton, has effected a sea change in the way our nation views and addresses domestic violence. VAWA made possible today's programs to educate judges and law enforcement officers, support shelters for battered women and children, and collect vital information on statistics on violence. Nevertheless, studies show that we still have a long way to go.
The legislation I am introducing today with Representative Morella would establish a permanent Office of Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice. At present, this office only exists by administrative fiat. It could be abolished or subsumed into another part of the Department at any time. In our view, the existence of the Office of Violence Against Women should not be subject to changing political winds.
This legislation has the support of numerous domestic violence organizations all over our nation. In the 106th Congress, it garnered the support of almost 150 bipartisan cosponsors in short time. Representative Morella and I are hopeful that the 107th Congress will acknowledge the importance of this bill by passing it into law as soon as possible.
Tragically, there is no indication that domestic violence will disappear any time soon. Congress should signal its commitment to the fight against domestic abuse by establishing a permanent Office of Violence Against Women.
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