OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Child Abuse in Military Families

Floor Speech

Date: Nov. 3, 2015
Location: Washington, D.C.
Issues: Minors and Children Military Personnel Criminal Justice

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Ms. GABBARD. Mr. Speaker, Talia Williams was just 5 years old when she was beaten to death by her own father after suffering months of abuse at home. Despite multiple reports to officials at the Army base in Hawaii where Talia and her father lived, the system failed to protect her.

Talia's tragic story is just one of over 29,000 cases of child abuse and neglect in military homes over the last decade. This is a problem that demands better protections for our children in military families who are being abused and better support for military families facing the stresses of war, multiple deployments, and economic hardship.

I have introduced Talia's Law today, joined by Representative Mark Takai, which requires military officials to immediately report suspected cases of abuse to State child protective services. We owe it to our servicemembers, their families, and thousands of children like Talia to disrupt the status quo and stop another decade of preventable child abuse.

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