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Floor Speech
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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise in support of the resolution that I lead with Senator Grassley to designate January 2023 as a focus on stalking awareness.
This year's resolution has eight bipartisan cosponsors. This resolution builds on Congress's recent efforts to curb domestic violence. We already passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which back in 2013 included the bipartisan STALKERS Act to improve Federal anti-stalking laws. Last year, once again, we reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act. But there is so much more work that needs to be done.
You know, not so long ago, stalking was not seen as the harmful crime we know it to be today. It was only in the 1990s that the first anti- stalking legislation was passed in the United States. Without a consistent definition of ``stalking'' or resources for those in crisis, too often victims struggle to find the support they need to name and identify the harm they were experiencing.
Through the tireless work of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and service providers, we have seen progress. In the three decades since the first anti-stalking legislation was passed, every State in the country has passed anti-stalking laws. My home State passed it in 1993--3 years before Congress made stalking a crime.
But we know our work is not done. Approximately one in every three women in the United States has experienced stalking. Each year, more than 13 million people report that they are victims of stalking. According to one study, young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 experienced stalking more than any other age group.
As a former prosecutor, I know the emotional toll this crime takes. I know what the victims suffer from. Nearly 70 percent of those who are stalked by an intimate partner are physically abused by their stalkers, and three in four women who were killed by an intimate partner were stalked by their killers in the year leading up to their deaths.
By passing this resolution today, we can show how deeply we appreciate the work of law enforcement, that we are there for the victims, and we will do all we can to provide the services, safety, and stability they need.
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Ms. KLOBUCHAR.
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