Congress Must Act to Prevent Violence Against Women
CONGRESS MUST ACT TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN -- (Extensions of Remarks - March 09, 2005)
SPEECH OF
HON. NANCY PELOSI
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2005
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, for more than 10 years, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has helped protect women in this country from violence, abuse, sexual assault, and sexual predators. This landmark piece of legislation was achieved in part by the bipartisan efforts of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, of which I am proud to be a member.
VAWA has provided improved access to services and resources for victims of violence and their families. It has made a real difference in the lives of women and children, who no longer suffer in silence. .
Community programs funded through VAWA aid law enforcement officers and prosecutors, encourage arrest policies, stem domestic violence and child abuse, establish and operate training programs for victim advocates and counselors, and train probation and parole officers who work with released sex offenders. VAWA has also led to the creation of battered women's shelters, rape prevention and education programs, the reduction of sexual abuse of runaway and homeless street youth, and community programs on domestic violence.
Despite the success of this legislation, we still have much work to do.
One out of every four women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. Equally alarming is that women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest per capita rates of intimate partner violence.
VAWA is up for reauthorization in this Congress. We must come together to put forward a bill that strengthens and improves our efforts to combat violence against women, including doing more for violence prevention. An essential component of prevention must be to increase outreach to young people.
We must also encourage adequate funding of VAWA initiatives. Unfortunately, each year we fall further behind in fulfilling the promises made in the authorization of VAWA. This year alone the Bush budget is more than $163 million short of the goal.
As we recognize the vital role of the Violence Against Women Act, I urge my colleagues to reauthorize VAWA in a bipartisan way and to dedicate the necessary resources to fulfill its mission.
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