Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Floor Speech

* Ms. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, designated as such in 1987. Since then, victims and their advocates have come together each October to shed light on this insidious and still far too pervasive social ill.

* As co-founder of the National Network to End Domestic Violence and its first Executive Director, I worked with domestic violence advocates and policymakers to bring about critical programming and changes in national public policy through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 for victims of domestic abuse.

* Since passage, great strides have been made to call attention and provide resources to address domestic violence. But the fight is far from over. Millions of women continue to suffer from assaults and rapes that cause long-term physical and mental health problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year, victims experience about 7.7 million intimate partner related physical assaults and rapes at a cost of $5.8 billion, including $4.1 billion in direct health care expenses.

* As our economy recovers, it is important to appreciate the impact that the economic downturn has had on services providers due to increased demand, but limited resources. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, domestic violence is more than three times as likely to occur when couples are experiencing high levels of financial strain. The sad truth is service providers struggle to serve victims with constrained budgets. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, 92% of victim service providers have seen an increased demand, but 84% reported that cutbacks in funding were directly affecting their work.

* This past Tuesday, October 25th, I was joined by the Prince George's County State's Attorney Office, Congressional staffers, victims' rights advocates, law enforcement, and providers on a tour of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center (DV/SAC) at the Prince George's Hospital in Cheverly, Maryland. The tour not only commemorated Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but provided all participants with a better understanding of the vital work being done by victim advocates in my State of Maryland and across our country, as well as the growing demand for special services for victims in this economic climate.

* Established in 1973 and expanded in 2010, DV/SAC is located in the 4th Congressional District of Maryland, which I have the honor of representing in this Chamber. It offers a full range of hospital-based domestic violence services. The Center operates 24 hours a day and includes crisis intervention, crisis and follow-up counseling, safety planning, danger assessment, referral services, and victim advocacy. In 2010, DV/SAC provided sexual assault forensic exams and counseling to over 300 new victims, 1,700 individual and group counseling sessions, and over 1,000 crisis line inquiries answered, in addition to training medical staff and collaborating with community partners.

* It is vitally important that we quickly reauthorize the life-saving and essential programs that protect so many women and families across our country. These programs save lives, contribute to our Nation's economic well-being, and break the devastating cycle of violence for future generations. We also need to maintain and even increase critical Family Violence Prevention and Service Act (FVPSA) and VAWA funding in these challenging economic times for not only our Nation, but also all the families across the United States.

* The prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault throughout the country takes the work of a community and a commitment to providing women and men with resources and information to protect themselves. I look forward to continue working with victims, advocates, providers, and other Members of Congress in obtaining the necessary funding for these vital programs, while also working to strengthen VAWA through its reauthorization.

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