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Clinton Administration Accomplishments on
Violence Against Women
Executive Action on Domestic Violence & Welfare
As part of the welfare reform bill, Senators Wellstone and Murray attached an amendment
that urges states to address the special needs of battered women on welfare. Battered women
often have difficulty pursuing employment or education because of the mental and physical
effects of battering. Moreover, abusers often fight to keep their victims from becoming
independent.
The Wellstone/Murray Family Violence Amendment gives states an option to: (1) screen
welfare recipients for domestic abuse; (2) refer individuals who are battered to counseling
and supportive services; and (3) temporarily waive -- if the state chooses any program
requirements such as time limits that would make it more difficult for battered women to
escape domestic violence.
The President's directive encourages states to implement the Wellstone/Murray Family
Violence provisions of the welfare bill and directs the Secretary of Health & Human Services
and Attorney General to provide states with guidance and technical assistance. The directive
also calls for the Secretary of Health & Human Services and the Attorney General to study
the needs of impoverished battered women and make recommendations on assessment, referral
and delivery models to help victims achieve safety and self-sufficiency.
New Federal Anti-Stalking Law and Domestic Violence Gun Law
On September 23, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Interstate Stalking Punishment
and Prevention Act of 1996, which dramatically toughens the 1994 Violence Against Women
Act's provisions against stalkers who cross state lines to threaten, harass and instill fear in
others, particularly women and girls. For the first time, this law makes it a Federal crime for
any stalker to cross state lines to pursue a victim -- even if the woman does not have a
protection order in effect, even if the stalker does not commit an actual act of violence, and
even if the victim is not the spouse or intimate of the stalker.
Before September 23, women who did not have protection orders were not protected by
Federal law. This legislation will provide protection to women who cannot get a protection
order. In addition, this new law makes interstate stalking a Federal crime before any act of
violence has been committed. Victims pursued across state lines by a spouse or intimate no
longer have to suffer an act of violence before they can be protected by federal resources.
Finally, the law brings Federal protection even if the stalker is not someone you know: The
1994 Violence Against Women Act gave federal protection to women who were being stalked
by spouses, boyfriends or former "intimates." With this new law, the President has expanded
that protection to people who are stalked by a stranger or someone they have not been
intimate with an acquaintance, for instance.
Keeping Guns Out of the Hands of Batterers
On September 30, the President signed legislation to keep guns away from people convicted
of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. The President fought hard for this Gun Ban on
domestic violence offenders, including tough, last-minute negotiations with Republican leaders
to save the gun ban from being watered down. The Gun Ban builds on the Brady Bill and
amends the 1968 Federal firearms statute to bar any person convicted of any crime of
domestic violence not just a felony from owning and possessing a firearm. The Violence
Against Women Act made it a crime for stalkers and harassers under restraining orders to
carry a gun. That provision is beginning to take hold: in Kentucky alone, more than 300
stalkers and harassers were prohibited from buying firearms in one year. The Brady Law has
prevented more than 60,000 felons, fugitives and others from buying handguns.
But many batterers are not covered by existing law. Because of plea bargaining or the
downgrading of an offense, the overwhelming majority of domestic violence cases are
misdemeanors not felonies. The result is that these offenders are still free under Federal law
to possess a firearm. In 1994, there were 88,500 incidents of domestic violence where a
firearm was present.
To help States in enforcing such a measure, President Clinton's 1994 Crime Bill is already
providing funding for States to improve their criminal history record-keeping abilities and in
1996 the Clinton Administration specifically instituted a "National Stalker and Domestic
Violence" record-keeping program.
Re-Defining Carjacking & Rape
Earlier this week, the President signed into law the Carjacking Correction Act, which clarifies
that rape or sexual assault during a carjacking will bring an enhanced penalty. The current
federal carjacking prohibition statute provides an enhanced penalty if "serious bodily injury"
occurs during the course of a carjacking. The Carjacking Correction Act corrects that rape or
sexual assault is considered "serious bodily injury." This law corrects a Federal Court ruling
in which a judge determined that rape was not a "serious bodily injury" under the Carjacking
Act, and therefore no sentence enhancement was applicable. The Act's sponsor, Congressman
Conyers, complained that the decision would have required a criminal to spend more time in
prison for breaking an arm than raping a woman.
Stopping Child Abuse
On October 3, the President signed into law the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
Amendments of 1995. This legislation will give states greater flexibility to implement
programs for preventing and treating child abuse and neglect. The measure authorizes $221
million for fiscal 1997 for child abuse prevention and treatment programs, most to be used for
state grants. Thirty-five million of this funding is earmarked to help abandoned infants and
children with another $20 million targeted to promote adoption and foster care. Additionally,
states will be given two years to develop a procedure to speed the termination of parental
rights when an infant has been abandoned and for creating an appeals process for cases where
charges of neglect or abuse are challenged. The measure will also allow states to intervene in
abuse cases in any appropriate manner (instead of simply removing children from their
homes.)
Stopping Sex Offenders
On October 3, President signed into law the Pam Lyncher Sexual Offender Tracking and
Identification Act, which codifies what the President has already initiated by directing the
Attorney General to establish a national FBI database to track sexually violent criminals upon
their release from prison. It builds on both Megan's Law -- which President Clinton fought
for and signed into law, requiring states to tell communities whenever a dangerous sexual
predator is in their midst and the Jacob Wetterling Act, which requires state, but not
federal, registry systems. Clinton's Violence Against Women Act established a national
registry of sex offenders.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline
The hotline has helped more than 50,000 callers find assistance since it was launched by
President Clinton on February 21, 1996. The vast majority of these calls are from
individuals who have never before reached out for assistance. To support the tremendous
response to this service, the hotline will receive a new $1.2 million in funding for FY 1997 -
an $800,000 increase over its original 1997 authorization.
A 24-hour, toll-free service, the hotline provides crisis assistance and local shelter referrals for
callers across the country. It represents a major step towards the Clinton Administration's
goal of ensuring that every woman has access to information and emergency assistance,
wherever and whenever she needs it. The hotline is operated by the Texas Council on Family
Violence, through an HHS grant from the Violence Against Women Act. The voice number
is 1-800-799-SAFE and the TDD number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-787-3224.
Calling for Community Support
In July, the President announced that the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association
(CTIA) has offered to provide 50,000 cellular phones and free air time to citizen patrols and
community block watches throughout the country. There are an estimated 20,000
neighborhood block watches and citizen patrols throughout the country. Neighborhood watch
has been proven to help prevent crime and promote cooperation between law enforcement and
residents. The phones will be pre-programmed to reach local law enforcement. The President
has also called on corporate leaders to educate their employees about domestic violence and
to provide support and safety protections for battered women at their worksites.
The Advisory Council on Violence Against Women
The Advisory Council on Violence Against Women was created on July 13, 1995. Co-
chaired by Attorney General Janet Reno and Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna
Shalala, the Council consists of 47 experts -- representatives from law enforcement, media,
business, sports, health and social services, and victim advocacy -- working together to
prevent violence against women.
A Checklist for Communities On October 1, 1996, the Attorney General and Secretary
Shalala announced the creation of a "Community Checklist," to help ensure that every
community in the country has resources in place for domestic violence prevention and
intervention.
The checklist lists steps that every facet of a community can take to prevent domestic
violence; it includes recommendations for police departments, businesses, social service
groups, religious organizations, athletic organizations, the media, and others.
Workplace Awareness The Workplace Resource Center is organized by the Family
Violence Prevention Fund and supported by many corporations, state and local
governments, labor unions, and the Advisory Council. The Center provides help and
education to employees in the private and public sectors concerning domestic violence --
though newsletters, information fairs, and workplace assistance. On October 1, 1996,
businesses around the country kicked-off activities for Workplace Awareness Day, and
President Clinton urged all corporations to join the campaign.
The Federal government, under the President's direction, is also implementing an
Employee Awareness Campaign on Violence Against Women.
Immigration Bill Provision for Domestic Violence Victims
At the Administration's urging, Congress included a provision in the immigration bill that the
President signed on September 30, 1996, to ensure that immigrant women and children who
are victims of domestic violence are eligible for vital public health services and are not
denied services due to changes in deeming rules. The Administration also succeeded in
removing provisions from the bill that would subject battered immigrants to deportation for
receiving these vital services. In addition, the immigration bill now makes battered immigrants
eligible for cash assistance and Medicaid if the states exercise their option under the welfare
law to make legal immigrants eligible for such programs.
The Violence Against Women Act
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), passed as part of the Crime Act of 1994, is
landmark bipartisan legislation -- combining tough new penalties with programs to prosecute
offenders and help women victims of violence.
VAWA is authorized to provide $1.6 billion over five years to hire more prosecutors and
improve domestic violence training among prosecutors, police officers, and health and social
services professionals. It provides for more shelters, counseling services, and research into
causes and effective public education campaigns.
In addition, VAWA takes domestic violence seriously by setting new federal penalties for
those who cross state lines to continue abuse of a spouse or partner. VAWA has now been
used in 20 prosecutions, in addition to those taking place at the state and local levels.
VAWA makes it unlawful for any person who is subject to a restraining order to possess
ammunition or a firearm. It also requires states to honor protective orders issues in other
states and gives victims the right to mandatory restitution and the right to address the court at
the time of sentencing.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department are leading the
following initiatives under the Violence Against Women Act:
Health and Human Services Programs under VAWA
o
Grants for Battered Women's Shelters. In 1997, HHS will award $72.8 million to
states, territories, and tribes to expand the availability of shelter services to victims of
family violence and their dependents an increase of 52 percent over the $47.6
million available in 1996. These resources will also support related services, such as
community outreach and prevention, children's counseling, and linkage to child
protection services. The Crime Act provided new resources to extend these services
under the existing Family Violence Prevention and Services Act.
0
Education and Prevention Grants to Reduce Sexual Assaults Against Women.
Under this program, HHS provides grants to states for rape prevention and education
programs conducted by rape crisis centers or similar nongovernmental, nonprofit
entities. The funds will support educational seminars, the operation of hotlines,
training programs, preparation of informational materials, and other activities to
increase awareness of and to help prevent sexual assault. States receiving grants must
devote at least 25 percent of their funds to education programs targeted to middle
school, junior high school, or high school students. CDC will receive $35 million for
this program in FY 1997, an increase of 22 percent over its 1996 appropriation.
o
Coordinated Community Responses to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence This
program, administered by CDC, will help build new community programs aimed at
preventing intimate partner violence, as well as strengthen and better coordinate
existing community intervention and prevention programs. The program will also
evaluate the impact of comprehensive community programs on preventing intimate
partner violence. This program was appropriated $6 million for FY 1997, an increase
of 100 percent over its 1996 appropriation.
0
Youth Education on Domestic Violence. Four model curricula for youth education
about domestic violence will be recommended to Congress for use in primary, middle
and secondary schools, as well as higher education levels. The curricula will be
chosen in consultation with an expert panel, and will be used as model programs for
schools across the country. This program was given a one-year appropriation of
$400,000 in FY 1996.
0
Education and Prevention Services to Reduce Sexual Abuse Among Runaway,
Homeless, and Street Youth. This program was authorized under the Crime Act to
provide street-based outreach and education, including treatment, counseling, and
provision of information and referrals to runaway, homeless, and street youth who
have been subjected to or are at risk of sexual abuse. The program was appropriated
$8 million for FY 1997, an increase of 42 percent over FY 1996.
Justice Department Programs under VAWA
o
The Justice Department's STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) grant
program assists law enforcement officers and prosecutors in developing better
strategies to combat violence against women. In FY 1997, the Justice Department
will provide $145 million to states and territories to support coordinated approaches to
combating domestic violence and sexual assault, an 11 percent increase over FY 1996.
o
In addition, the Justice Department will distribute $33 million to encourage mandatory
arrest policies for domestic violence cases, a 15 percent increase over FY 1996.
Justice will also provide $8 million to fund rural domestic violence programs in FY
1997, an increase of 14 percent over FY 1996.
o
The Clinton Administration has designed a new $46 million Community Policing to
Combat Domestic Violence Program. The Justice Department's COPS office is
providing funds to over 300 jurisdictions around the country under this initiative to run
innovative community policing programs focused on domestic violence.
o
In June 1996, President Clinton directed the Attorney General to devise a plan to
create a national registry to track sex offenders, including rapists and child molesters.
o
The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender
Registration Act, enacted as part of the Crime Act, was amended by the federal
Megan's Law, and signed by the President on May 17, 1996. Under these statutes, sex
offenders and child molesters must register information about their whereabouts with
appropriate state law enforcement agencies for ten years after release from prison, and
state prison officials must notify local law enforcement when they are released. States
must notify the general public when a particularly dangerous sex offender moves into
their community.
Other Efforts at the Department of Health and Human Services
o
In 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its National Injury
Center, working with the Justice Department, expanded their public prevention and
awareness efforts in a new initiative to research the prevalence of domestic violence.
o
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA)
administers several programs that both research and work to address substance abuse
and mental health issues among victims of domestic violence.
o
The Administration on Aging (AOA) has funded the creation and operation of the
National Center on Elder Abuse, which focuses on training, technical assistance,
research, and information dissemination related to elder abuse, neglect, and
exploitation. In addition, AOA has funded six project grants to link state and local
domestic violence and aging organizations to protect older women against domestic
violence. In addition to this AoA project, HHS funds four national resource centers
which provide information, technical assistance, and research findings on domestic
violence.
o
HHS also funds several programs that aim to strengthen families, prevent the abuse of
women and children, and help families provide a healthy and safe environment for
children. These programs include the Family Preservation and Support program;
Community Schools; and Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act grants.
Background
Recent statistics show that nearly 30 percent of all female homicide victims
were known to have been killed by their husbands, former husbands, or
boyfriends.
###
I
Department of Justice, FBI, "Crime in the United States."
Facts on Women Working
U.S. Department of Labor
Women's Bureau
No. 96-3
October 1996
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A WORKPLACE ISSUE
Each year about one million women become
Domestic Violence Doesn't Just Affect a
victims of violence at the hands of an intimate--
Woman Outside of Work
a husband, ex-husband, boyfriend, or ex-
boyfriend. Some estimates are even higher.
Domestic violence can interfere with a woman's
Women are about six times more likely than
ability to get, perform, or keep a job.
men to experience violence committed by an
intimate.
1
One small pilot study of employed battered
women found that almost three-quarters
At work, women are also more likely than men
reported being harassed by their abusive
to be attacked by an intimate, whereas men are
partners in person or by telephone while at
more likely to be attacked by a stranger. Each
work and more than half reported missing three
year nearly one million individuals become
days of work each month because of abuse.4
victims of violent crime while working or on
duty. During the period 1987-1992, five
In another small non-random study of domestic
percent of the women victimized at work were
violence victims, 96 percent of those who were
attacked by a husband, ex-husband, boyfriend,
employed had some type of problem in the
or ex-boyfriend compared to one percent of
workplace as a direct result of their abuse or
men who were victimized by an intimate.²
abuser. These included being late (more than
When an employee is the target of attack in the
60 percent), missing work (more than 50
workplace by an intimate, other employees may
percent), having difficulty performing one's job
also be placed at risk.
(70 percent), being reprimanded for problems
associated with the abuse (60 percent), or
Homicide is by far the most frequent manner in
losing a job (30 percent). 5 Sometimes the
which women workers are fatally injured at
abuser actually prevents the victim from
work. Although more women at work are
working outside the home at all.
killed in the course of a robbery or other crime,
or by a work associate, during the period 1992-
What Employers Can Do
94, 17 percent of their alleged attackers were.
current or former husbands or boyfriends.
Many employers are unaware that domestic
violence affects their employees' job
For Black women, the figure was 28 percent,
performance or don't know how to help them
and, for Hispanic women, 20 percent.³
effectively. Others are aware of the problem,
but don't feel that business should play a role in
Project, extending a charge to businesses large
addressing it.
and small and corporations across the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts to collaborate
A survey of Fortune 1000 companies,
with battered women's shelters. Businesses
conducted for Liz Claiborne, Inc. in 1994,
agree to provide training for their managers and
found that:
supervisors and biannual luncheon seminars for
employees, develop a family violence protocol
--4 out of 10 corporate leaders surveyed were
for employees, and provide a shelter with in-
personally aware of employees in their companies
kind services, volunteers, employees'
who have been affected by domestic violence;
professional expertise and/or corporate financial
support. Shelters also agree to provide various
--nearly half (49 percent) said that domestic violence
forms of support.
had a harmful effect on their company's
productivity;
--In 1991, Liz Claiborne initiated a public
--forty-seven percent said it had a harmful effect on
service campaign called "Women's Work."
attendance;
It seeks to educate the general public about
domestic violence and raise corporate
--forty-four percent said it had a harmful effect on
America's awareness of the need to deal with
health care costs;
the problem. For its own employees, Liz
Claiborne has a strong Employee Assistance
--one-third believed domestic violence affected their
Program that offers counseling and referrals.
balance sheet; and
It also sponsors a series of family stress
seminars during business hours.
--two-thirds agreed that a company's financial
performance would benefit from addressing the
issue of domestic violence among its employees.
--The CEO of Marshalls Department Store has
volunteered at a shelter for battered women.
Only 12 percent said that corporations should
The company has conducted a campaign to
play a major role in addressing the issue. Yet,
educate its own workers and has raised money
over half (58 percent) of the 100 senior
for the Family Violence Prevention Fund's
executives who were interviewed sponsored
national public education campaign.
domestic violence awareness or survivor
support programs, and nearly three quarters
In 1995, the Women's Bureau of the U.S.
offered domestic violence counseling or
Department of Labor developed the Working
assistance programs. Forty-three percent said
Women Count Honor Roll, a program
they would definitely respond to the problem in
challenging businesses, nonprofits, unions, and
the future.
state and local governments to initiate new
programs or policies that make real, positive
Some organizations have been pioneers in
workplace change in the areas women say they
responding, and others are signing on.
need it the most. More than 1,300
organizations, public and private, large and
For example:
small, pledged to institute changes affecting
more than two million workers.
--Polaroid Corporation has addressed the issue
of domestic violence in a variety of ways over
Both Polaroid and Marshalls have made
several years. In 1994, the President of
Working Women Count Honor Roll pledges,
Polaroid initiated the Chief Executive Officer's
as have several other organizations trying to
help victims of domestic violence. The
Employers may also wish to contact their
following are some examples of these pledges:
State's Occupational Safety and Health
consultation program for help in recognizing
--In 1995, the City of Tacoma, Washington
and correcting workplace violence hazards and
initiated a broad-based domestic violence
in improving their workplace security program.⁶
educational campaign targeted at its 180,000
citizens and 3,500 employees. The campaign
What Unions Can Do
included classes on the prevention of domestic
violence, articles in the employee newsletter, the
Labor organizations can address and are
appointment of a committee of employees to
addressing domestic violence at the workplace
recommend services for victims and their
in a variety of ways. For example, they can:
families, and the inclusion of information on
domestic violence as an insert in all city resident
--negotiate provisions in collective bargaining
utility bills.
agreements for employee assistance services, paid
legal assistance, and paid time off for family
--In 1995, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
emergencies;
and the American Federation of State, County
--sponsor workshops;
and Municipal Employees/Service Employees
International Union signed a collective
--produce and/or distribute publications and/or
bargaining agreement which gave the
include articles on domestic violence in union
Commonwealth's 21,000 employees up to 10
newsletters;
days paid leave to attend necessary legal
proceedings or activities in instances where the
--work with shelters (donate or help raise funds,
employee or his/her children is a victim of
support for funding, donate services, provide
domestic abuse.
volunteers); and
-The Bank of Boston Foundation is funding the
--train stewards and union members.
Elizabeth Stone House, a battered women's
shelter, to train residents to run small
Some of the publications on domestic violence
businesses.
produced by unions are listed in the resources
section at the end of this publication.
Employers who wish to address domestic
violence as a workplace issue will find a source
What Employees Who Are Victims of
of information and support in the National
Domestic Violence Can Do
Workplace Resource Center on Domestic
Victims of domestic violence often feel isolated.
Violence, a project of the Family Violence
Prevention Fund established in October 1995.
But you don't have to face domestic violence
Current initiatives of the Center include: a
alone. The following are some things you can
resource library of best corporate practices on
do or that may be available to you:
domestic violence prevention; employee
education materials; leadership of National
0 Call the nationwide, 24-hour, toll-free
domestic violence hotline. The number is 1-
Domestic Violence Workplace Education Day
on October 1, 1996; and a Domestic Violence
800-799-SAFE and the TDD number for the
Advocacy Network, which can respond to
hearing impaired is 1-800-787-3224. Callers
members' requests for speakers, counselors, or
can receive counseling and be referred directly
legal experts.
to help in their communities, including
emergency services and shelters.
0+ Create a safety plan to use at work and away
of Occupational Safety and Health has issued
from work. If you are being threatened at
Guidelines for Workplace Security.
work, you can let your employer know of the
threat. The employer should then take specific
00 You may be entitled to leave under the Family
precautions to ensure your safety and the safety
and Medical Leave Act if you are seriously
of other employees who may be at risk as a
injured as a result of domestic violence, and as a
result of the threat. In California, under the
result have become incapacitated and unable to
Workplace Violence Safety Act, employers can
work. The Family and Medical Leave Act is
seek a temporary restraining order and
enforced by the Wage-Hour Division of the
injunctive relief "on behalf of the employee" if
U.S. Department of Labor.
the employee has suffered unlawful violence at
the workplace or has received a credible threat
0 If you quit your job for reasons related to
of violence that could reasonably be carried out
domestic violence, you may be able to obtain
at the workplace.⁷
unemployment benefits. More than a quarter of
the States permit award of benefits to domestic
00 If your place of employment has an Employee
violence victims.
Assistance Program, contact an employee
assistance counselor for counseling and
Other laws, such as wrongful discharge laws
referrals. Employee assistance programs are
and laws protecting employees who must miss
available to almost two-thirds (62 percent) of
work in order to testify in court may protect
employees in medium and large private sector
your employment.⁹
workplaces and one out of seven employees (15
percent) in small private sector workplaces.8
In Rhode Island, a 1996 law protects employees
from discrimination, such as discharge, solely
0 Suggest that your employer address domestic
because they have sought or obtained a
violence. The National Workplace Resource
protective order.
Center on Domestic Violence has many
materials that can help employers do that.
Resources
0+ If you are represented by a union, seek the
Violence Against Women Office
union's help.
U.S. Department of Justice
10th & Constitution Ave, NW, Room 5302
0+ Contact the Occupational Safety and Health
Washington, DC 20530
Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department
(202) 616-8894
of Labor if your employer is not taking steps to
National Workplace Resource Center on Domestic
ensure your safety at work. The Occupational
Violence
Safety and Health Act requires employers to
383 Rhode Island Street, Suite 304
furnish their employees with a safe and healthful
San Francisco, CA 94103-5133
workplace. OSHA can supply information and
(415)252-8900
guidance to businesses interested in making
their workplaces safer.
The Impact of Violence in the Lives of Working
Women: Creating Solutions - Creating Change
0+ Contact your State occupational safety and
(1996)
health agency to see if and how they seek to
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund
99 Hudson Street
prevent and address domestic and other forms
New York, NY 10013
of violence at work. In California, the Division
(212)925-6635
Domestic Violence, An AFSCME Guide for Union
3. "Fewer Women Than Men Die of Work-Related
Action
Injuries, Data Show," in Fatal Workplace Injuries in
Director, Women's Rights Department
1994: A Collection of Data and Analysis, Report
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
908, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of
Employees, AFL-CIO
Labor, July 1996.
1625 L Street, NW
Washington, DC
New York Victim Services Agency Report on the
(202)429-5090
Costs of Domestic Violence, 1987.
Domestic Violence, A Guide for Union Action
5. "Domestic Violence: An Occupational Impact
(February 1996)
Study," Domestic Violence Intervention Services,
New York City Labor Union Coalition Against
Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma, July 27, 1992
Domestic Violence
Cornell University/New York State School of
6.John Howard, MD, JD, "State and Regulatory
Industrial and Labor Relations
Approaches to Preventing Workplace Violence," in
Metropolitan District Office
Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews.
16 East 34th Street, 4th Floor
Vol. 11, No. 2, April-June 1996, Philadelphia,
New York, New York 10016
Hanley & Belfus, Inc. Consultation Services for the
(212)340-2810
Employer, OSHA 3047, 1995 (Revised),
Includes information on what unions can do,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S.
supporting a co-worker, and personal safety plans.
Department of Labor.
Domestic and Workplace Violence
.John Howard, MD, JD, "State and Local
United Food and Commercial Workers International
Regulatory Approaches to Preventing Workplace
Union, AFL-CIO, CLC
Violence," in Occupational Medicine: State of the Art
1775 K Street, NW
Reviews, Vol. 11, No. 2, April-June 1996,
Washington, DC 20006-1598
Philadelphia, Hanley & Belfus, Inc.
(202)223-3111
8. Employee Benefits in Medium and Large
"Sample Contract Language to Protect Workers from
Private Establishment, 1993, Bulletin 2456, Bureau
on-the-job Assault," in the factpack Assault On The
of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,
Job. We Can Do Something About It! (1993)
November 1994. Employee Benefits in Small Private
Service Employees International Union,
Establishments, 1994, Bulletin 2475, Bureau of
AFL-CIO, CLC
Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, April
1313 L Street, NW
1996.
Washington, DC 20005
(202)898-3200
9. Catherine K. Ruckelshaus, "Unemployment
Compensation for Victims of Domestic Violence:
An Important Link to Economic and Employment
ENDNOTES:
Security," in Clearinghouse Review, special issue
1996.
1. Violence Against Women: Estimates from the
Redesigned Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics
Special Report, August 1995.
2. Violence and Theft in the Workplace, Crime Data
Brief, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department
of Justice, July 1994.
Ida L. Castro
Women's Bureau
WOMEN'S BUREAU
REGIONAL OFFICES
Region I: Boston
Region VI: Dallas
Ms. Jacqueline Cooke, RA
Ms. Dolores Bischof, Acting RA
John F. Kennedy Federal Building
Federal Bldg., Suite 735
Room E-270
525 Griffin Street
Boston, MA 02230
Dallas, TX 75202
Phone: (617) 565-1988
Phone: (214) 767-6985
Fax: (617) 565-1986
Fax: (214) 767-5418
(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
(Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico,
New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)
Oklahoma, Texas)
Region II: New York City
Region VII: Kansas City
Ms. Mary C. Murphree, RA
Ms. Rose Kemp, RA
201 Varick Street, 601
Center City Sq. Building
New York, NY 10014-4811
1100 Main St., Suite 1230
Phone: (212) 337-2389
Kansas City, MO 64105
Fax: (212) 337-2394
Phone: (816) 426-6108
(New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico,
1-800-252-4706
Virgin Islands)
Fax: (816) 426-6107
(Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska)
Region III: Philadelphia
Region VIII: Denver
Ms. Cornelia Moore, RA
Ms. Oleta Crain, RA
Gateway Building, Room 2450
1801 California Street, 905
3535 Market Street
Denver, CO 80202-2614
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: (303) 391-6756
Phone: (215) 596-1183
1-800-299-0886
1-800-379-9042
Fax: (303) 391-6752
Fax: (215) 596-0753
(Colorado, Montana, North Dakota,
(Delaware, District of Columbia,
South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming)
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia)
Region IV: Atlanta
Region IX: San Francisco
Ms. Delores L. Crockett, RA/Field Coordinator
Ms. Barbara Sanford, Acting RA
1371 Peachtree Street, Room 323
71 Stevenson Street, Suite 927
Atlanta, GA 30367
San Francisco, CA 94105
Phone: (404) 347-4461
Phone: (415) 975-4750
Fax: (404) 347-1755
Fax: (415) 975-4753
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi
(Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee)
Nevada)
Region V: Chicago
Region X: Seattle
Ms. Estelle Cortinas, Acting RA
Ms. Karen Furia, RA
230 S. Dearborn Street, Room 1022
1111 Third Avenue, Room 885
Chicago, IL 60604
Seattle, WA 98101-3211
Phone: (312) 353-6985
Phone: (206) 553-1534
1-800-648-8183
Fax: (206) 553-5085
Fax: (312) 353-6986
(Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington)
(Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin)
Here is the latest on Domestic Violence:
Clinton Administration Accomplishments on Violence Against Women
President's statement on announcing DV hotline
Bios of Hotline announcement participants
DV Awareness Month Proc., Oct. 1996
Remarks by President from Oct. 2, 1995 DV event in White House
Bios of Oct. 2, 1995 DV participants
Letter to President from a participant from the Oct. 2, 1995 DV event
President's Oct. 14, 1995, DV radio address
Washington Post news article on President's DV radio address on Oct. 14, 1995
October 3, 1996, directive from President on Domestic Violence and welfare reform
Facts on Working Women: Domestic Violence -- A Workplace Issue
Page 3
1ST STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1996 The Florida Times-Union
The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL)
October 12, 1996 Saturday, City Edition
SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. C-7
LENGTH: 855 words
HEADLINE: Companies urged to help stop violence
BYLINE: Karen Brune Mathis, Times-Union senior business writer
BODY:
At least 60 Jacksonville employers can expect some words of wisdom and offers
of assistance from Hubbard House Inc., a shelter for victims of domestic
violence.
After all, those companies are victims of the crime as well.
Businesses nationwide lose more than $ 4.5 billion a year from the
consequences of domestic violence, including employee absenteeism, health-care
costs, staff turnover and lower productivity, according to Hubbard House.
Hubbard House executives plan to send the local companies information about
how to recognize and help their workers who are affected by the crime.
'We have an obligation to intervene,' said Bonnie Campbell, director of the
U.S. Justice Department Violence Against Women Office.
Campbell recommended that employers educate their work force about domestic
violence awareness, prevention and assistance and provide security for their
staffs.
Moreover, employers can intervene and help the employee escape the situation,
and should not ignore the signs of domestic violence.
'Your silence sounds like consent to me,' Campbell said.
Campbell was keynote speaker this week at the Barbara Ann Campbell Memorial
Breakfast to benefit Hubbard House. About 1,000 people attended the breakfast,
underwritten by U.S. Generating Co. and Gate Petroleum Co.
Barbara Ann Campbell, no relation to the keynote speaker, had worked at Gate
before she was shot to death by her husband, who then killed himself.
Gate officials said that they hadn't known the woman was a battered wife, and
would have assisted her had they been aware of the situation.
The 60 companies on Hubbard House's mailing list already have shown interest
in domestic violence awareness by sponsoring corporate tables at the breakfast
or providing other support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities.
Page 4
The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL) October 12, 1996 Saturday,
Former Mayor Jake Godbold, whose wife is the sister of Barbara Ann Campbell,
spoke highly of the corporate representatives who attended.
'So many times in Jacksonville, we send our money and we don't show, Godbold
said.
Hubbard House plans to send information and offers to provide seminars and
awareness training to the companies, with the hope they take further steps to
assist their work forces.
For a small amount of money, they can really do a lot, said Diane Clark
manager of corporate education at Hubbard House.
For example, employers can put up posters and distribute literature educating
workers about where to find help regarding domestic violence.
Clark said that State Farm Insurance Co. and Barnett Bank of Jacksonville
already are involved in domestic violence awareness issues and sponsor corporate
education programs.
Clark and the Justice Department official both emphasized yesterday that
employers are on the front lines of witnessing the effects of domestic violence
in the workplace.
Victims, the majority of them women, are known to miss work, be harassed on
the job either in person or by telephone, worry about their personal safety and
the welfare of their children, suffer from bruises and other injuries, leave
their jobs and face other effects.
Hubbard House also reported that nationally:
There are 13,000 acts of violence against women at work each year by husbands
and boyfriends.
Homicide is the leading cause of on-the-job death for women.
Either by phone or in person, 74 percent of battered women are harassed at
work.
One in five, or 20 percent, of battered women lose their jobs because of
missing too much work.
An overwhelming majority, 94 percent, of corporate security directors rank
domestic violence as a high security problem.
In Jacksonville, reports of domestic violence are on the rise. Last year,
there were 7,833 reported abuses, compared with 6,975 in 1994 and 6,126 in 1993.
Through July this year, 4,813 cases were reported.
Hubbard House said that in half of the cases in which women are battered, the
children are beaten as well.
Page 5
The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL) October 12, 1996 Saturday,
Information Box:
HELPING VICTIMS
The Hubbard House Inc. domestic violence shelter advises companies to provide
assistance for victims, including:
Put up posters condemning domestic violence and provide information for
victims.
Distribute literature in employee lounges and restrooms regarding domestic
violence awareness and prevention.
Provide training and awareness programs for supervisors and managers about
how to respond when an employee is a victim or perpetrator of domestic violence.
Look for symptoms of domestic violence among employees and coworkers.
Symptoms include unexplained or vaguely explained bruises or other injuries,
distraction, absenteeism or tardiness and harassing phone calls.
Let suspected victims know help is available by offering the phone number for
Hubbard House or other shelters in the area.
Check whether the company's employee assistance program includes domestic
violence services or referrals.
Make sure security guards are trained to handle the special safety needs of
battered women.
For information, companies can call Hubbard House in Jacksonville at 399-1000
or Quigley House in Orange Park at 284-0340.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 14, 1996
Page 7
4TH STORY of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1996 Omaha World-Herald Company
Omaha World Herald
October 6, 1996 Sunday SUNRISE EDITION
SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. 1M
LENGTH: 842 words
HEADLINE: Violence at Home A Rising Concern For Employers
BYLINE: JOHN TAYLOR, WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
BODY:
Laura Blake was called a model employee by those who worked with her at
Omaha's Lozier Corp. "Always at work, always pleasant,' said Cathy Simmons, an
employee development specialist at Lozier. "She was an employee who was on her
way to succeeding and had been promoted to a supervisory position." On Sept. 29,
1991, the man with whom she had lived for five years shot and killed Ms. Blake
and her 13-year-old daughter, Janesha Ayanna, in their home. He then drove to
Robinson Memorial Church of God in Christ at 2318 N. 26th St., and killed
himself.
It was learned later that Ms. Blake, fearing for her safety, several days
earlier had sought a restraining order against the man, Roy McClarty.
The smile that her co-workers said they would remember her by apparently had
concealed the turmoil in her domestic life.
"We had no idea she was in that situation,' said Mrs. Simmons.
It was that experience that caused the Lozier company to take another look at
how it was helping employees cope with similar domestic violence incidents.
"We had (an employee assistance program) for quite a while, but we really
stepped it up after (the deaths), Mrs. Simmons said.
Mrs. Simmons will be among those participating this week in various YWCA
"Week Without Violence" programs during National Domestic Violence Awareness
Month.
She will take part in a press conference at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the YWCA,
along with James Hardeman, corporate manager of the employee assistance program
of Polaroid Corp.; Kate Dear, director of employee assistance at the First
National Bank of Omaha; and YWCA officials.
In a telephone interview from his office in Cambridge, Mass., Hardeman said,
"The business community is some 25 to 30 years behind the whole movement of
dealing with issues
of domestic violence in the workplace." His company,
Polaroid, is considered a leader among corporations that offer specific programs
for employees who have been subjected to domestic violence.
Page 8
Omaha World Herald, October 6, 1996 Sunday
Among other things, in recent years Polaroid has annually donated $ 42,000 a
year to shelters for battered women in the Boston area and has trained its staff
to recognize battered workers.
Hardeman said that domestic violence is a "bottom-line issue" - meaning that
it has an impact on a corporation's financial performance and profits.
While there have been estimates that domestic violence costs companies as
much as $ 5 billion a year, Hardeman said he doubts there is "any true figure."
No one really knows the actual loss to corporations from absenteeism, medical
bills, retraining costs and lost productivity resulting from domestic violence,
although it is sizable, he said.
Besides discussing what companies can do for employees subjected to domestic
violence away from the job, Hardeman said he also will be talking about violence
within the workplace. He will speak at 5 p.m. Monday at the Joslyn Art Museum,
2200 Dodge St. He said he became more active in dealing with violence between
employees three years ago after a Polaroid employee took five hostages and
threatened to shoot them.
"I was asked to talk him out of the building, and we had to have the police
there, he said. "It was a very scary scene." Violence between employees on the
job, however, happens less frequently than the kind of domestic violence that
occurs outside the workplace, he said.
To deal more forcefully with domestic violence, the First National Bank
created an employee assistance program about three years ago, said Ms. Dear, who
heads the program.
Companies like First National have helped employees deal with problems like
drug and alcohol addictions for some time, she said. Only in recent years have
companies recognized the impact of domestic violence.
"I can't really quantify domestic violence cases, but I would say that I've
seen more each year that we've had the program,' she said. "I don't know whether
that means there are more cases or more people are becoming more comfortable and
reaching out for help." That assistance can take a number of forms, including
trying to help a threatened employee feel safer at work or en route to and from
work, she said.
For example, Ms. Dear said, if an abuser knows where an employee parks, "the
security department might get involved by (helping the employee) make other
parking arrangements." The bank also may permit an employee to take time during
the work day to file for protection orders and to be available for any hearings,
she said.
Mrs. Simmons said that Lozier has tried to increase its awareness of domestic
violence problems to detect problems earlier.
"We recently had an employee who was in an abusive situation who no longer is
in that situation because of the things that we've put in place now, she said.
"Part of working for a great company is to know that the company will take
care of the employee and put things in place for them that can help them whether
they are at home or at work."
Page 11
8TH STORY of Focus printed in FULL format.
Copyright 1996 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
October 17, 1996, Thursday, Final Edition
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A01
LENGTH: 1416 words
HEADLINE: No Place to Hide; For Abused Women, Isolation and Social Fabric Of
Rural Maryland Make Escape More Difficult
BYLINE: Jackie Spinner, Washington Post Staff Writer
BODY:
After two years of living with an abusive boyfriend in Calvert County, Yvonne
Mott wanted out. She called a shelter, which would accept her if she found a way
to get there. It was 12 miles away, and Mott didn't have a car.
Deborah Albrittain had two toddler daughters when her boyfriend started
shoving her around the secluded farmhouse they shared in Charles County. She was
miles from anybody who might have heard her cries for help and was afraid to run
away with the children.
A clerk at Brenda Sauder's neighborhood grocery in Calvert County saw her
bandaged face. The woman asked what had happened. "It's called domestic
violence, Sauder replied. The clerk observed: " 'You must have made him awful
mad, II Sauder said.
The women, like countless others living in rural areas across the country,
encountered the inherent hardships of getting away from a violent relationship
in a place where it isn't SO easy to get away.
Although battered women find it hard to leave an abusive relationship
regardless of where they live, rural communities have extra barriers: Southern
Maryland, for example, has no mass transportation, and many battered women there
are isolated, without a telephone or car and miles from a neighbor.
Too, they live in a culture that often expects a woman to keep family
business private. Social connections interwine so much that women are afraid to
come forward.
"It's much more dangerous in a spread-out community," said Eileen Clancy,
family service coordinator for Walden/Sierra Inc., which coordinates many of the
domestic violence programs for St. Mary's County. "You can't get lost in the
crowd and be anonymous. There are a lot of very large, extensive problems we
have dealing with domestic abuse in a rural community."
Every time one 38-year-old woman tried to flee, her abusive husband tracked
her down and coaxed her back to their home with I-love-yous and I'm-sorrys. St.
Mary's County, where she and her husband were raising a daughter, is small
enough and rural enough that she simply could not disappear.
Page 12
The Washington Post, October 17, 1996
FOCUS
"Everybody knows everybody, and anywhere that I went, he found me, she said.
"I went to church, he found me. I got an apartment, he found me. I wasn't even
comfortable going to the grocery store because everybody knew me."
The woman, who asked that her name not be used because she is afraid of
provoking her ex-husband, eventually had to move to a neighboring county to get
away from the man who, she said, punched her, pushed her down the stairs and
threatened her with a knife during their four-year, four-month marriage.
Annette Gilbert-Jackson, director of Charles County's Center for Abused
Persons, recalled one battered wife who spoke out at a domestic violence vigil
in the county and incensed her relatives.
"People in her family got very angry," Gilbert-Jackson said. "They didn't
want her putting their personal information out in the public to get spread
across the county.' If
Gilbert-Jackson said raising awareness about domestic violence has been a
chore in Charles County.
"It's getting a little better, but people don't want to hear about it," she
said. "They think we are some radical feminist group. The school board doesn't
want us to talk about it in the schools. We are supposed to keep quiet.'
One of the largest hurdles for battered women in Southern Maryland is finding
refuge. The counties have scarce affordable housing, few apartment complexes and
limited shelter space.
"I wanted to leave, but I had no place I could afford to go," said Mott, 32,
who has since moved in with another man because she could not afford her own
place. "They told me it could be years before I could get into a housing program
because the waiting list is so long."
Charles County has 12 beds for battered women in a wing of the region's
shelter for the homeless in Hughesville. St. Mary's does not have a women's
shelter and instead boards battered women in efficiency apartments and private
homes. Calvert County operates Southern Maryland's lone women's shelter, which
can take 14 women at a time. Mott stayed at the Calvert shelter for nine months
after the police took her there.
Shelter space is even more sparse on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where one
eight-bed domestic abuse shelter serves five counties.
"We have more animal shelters than domestic violence shelters down here,"
said Karen Greene, a client advocate for the Mid-Shore Council on Family
Violence, which covers Kent, Queen Anne, Talbot, Caroline and Dorchester
counties. "But just like the city, we deal with domestic violence every day."
According to the U.S. Justice Department, the rate of violence against women
is roughly the same in urban and rural areas, although advocates say that such
acts are more underreported in rural communities.
In 1995, the Calvert County sheriff's deparment took 480 reports of domestic
Page 13
The Washington Post, October 17, 1996
FOCUS
violence, the St. Mary's sheriff's department answered 788 domestic violence
calls and Charles County, far more populous than the other Southern Maryland
counties, responded to 3,706.
Albrittain, 36, whose boyfriend has custody of the couple's two young
daughters, said many more of those battered women could be helped if more
domestic violence services were available.
"They need housing, they need a shelter, they need more places to get help,"
she said. "There's not enough."
The size of the community further complicates the women's situation.
The location of the Calvert County shelter, called Safe Harbor, is supposed
to be a secret to protect the women who live there. But Calvert has only 64,000
residents, and Allen Reynolds, Safe Harbor's director, said everyone in the
county knows where it is.
"It's supposed to be a hidden place, a secret, but it's not," Reynolds said.
"It's one of the problems you have in a small county."
Confidentiality is another. The communities are so small that volunteers who
answer the domestic violence hot lines are likely to know callers. Many rural
residents have police scanner radios and listen to the calls for assistance.
They hear the names of the domestic violence victims and quite often know them.
"Confidentiality is right out the window before the officer arrives on the
scene," said Elaine Hughes, executive director of the Maryland Network Against
Domestic Violence, an advocacy group. "It's a serious problem."
Debra Bright, coordinator of Maryland's Violence Against Women Act program,
said the intimacy of rural areas often dissuades women from filing charges
against batterers.
"They may know all the players in the criminal justice system," she said.
One battered woman's call for help to the St. Mary's sheriff's department was
answered by a deputy who was her husband's cousin.
In Charles County, of the 3,706 domestic violence calls for police
assistance, 619 resulted in formal reports or complaints. Of the 788 domestic
violence calls to which the St. Mary's sheriff's department responded, 253
resulted in formal reports or complaints.
The battered woman from St. Mary's said it hasn't been easy having to move
out of the county, which was her home for 14 years. She still sees her
ex-husband because he has visitation rights with their infant daughter.
She has not become an outspoken advocate against domestic violence, with her
name out there for all to see. She pressed battery charges against her
ex-husband, but they were dropped in a plea bargain in which he pleaded guilty
of assaulting her college-age daughter from a previous marriage.
Because her ex-husband is prominent in St. Mary's and because he has rights
Page 14
The Washington Post, October 17, 1996
FOCUS
to visit their daughter, she is afraid he will retaliate against her through the
child if he believes she is sullying his name.
She said she wishes she could take a public stand because "you can't keep
sweeping this under the carpet," but for now, it is enough that she got out
herself.
"I lost a lot of me," she said. "I have to think of me now. I am far better
than my husband thought of me. I am an okay person."
Preparing her daughter for weekend visits with the child's father, the woman
has sewn purple ribbons to her clothing, a widely recognized sign of domestic
violence awareness. A card about ending domestic violence is always in the
baby's bag.
Here are telephone hot line numbers for victims of domestic abuse in Southern
Maryland: St. Mary's County, 301-863-6661; Calvert County, 410-535-1121 or
301-855-1075; Charles County, 301-645-3336 or 301-645-3337.
GRAPHIC: Photo, robert a. reeder; Illustration, Brenda Sauder, of Calvert
County, says of a broken nose: "I can go all day and forget this
and then
I look in the mirror and see what everybody else does. I'm scarred for life."
Women in Calvert County's Safe Harbor shelter create sketches and poems. The
shelter's supposedly secret location is well known, its director says.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 17, 1996
Violence Against Women Act NEWS
Vol. IV Oct. 1996
A Message from Bonnie J. Campbell, Director of
These steps are encouraging signs that the nation is
the Violence Against Women Office
working toward ending family violence. During
Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we should
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month,
recognize not only how far we've come in the
and as I travel around the country I am heartened
battle against domestic violence but that there is
by what communities are doing to stop the
still much work ahead of us. Let this national
violence. Unprecedented partnerships are forming
observance be the first step into an awareness that
among businesses, law enforcement, nonprofit
lasts 12 months of the year. And let that result in
groups, and agencies at every level of government
the elimination once and for all of this malady that
in unified efforts to give shelter and support to
haunts so many of our families.
vulnerable women and families.
Attention at the national level is also focused on
GUEST COLUMN
ending domestic violence. Beginning October 1,
with the sponsoring of an Information Fair for
INTERFAITH BREAKFAST: A CALL TO END
employees, the Justice Department has been
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
working with other agencies, States, and
communities to raise public awareness and
by Reverend Marie Fortune
understanding of this pervasive problem. The
Department's Violence Against Women Office held
Executive Director of the Center for Prevention of Sexual
an interagency meeting with key staff from Federal
and Domestic Violence and Member of the National
departments to discuss and coordinate their
Advisory Council on Violence Against Women
antiviolence strategies. The Violence Against
Women Grants Office awarded more than $137
Religious leaders are in powerful positions to help
million in S*T*O*P grant funds, encouraging
women and families escape from violence.
Domestic violence and sexual assault are
States to pay particular attention to the problem of
domestic violence among Native American, rural,
notoriously underreported crimes, and, as religious
and other groups of underserved women, as well as
leaders, we may be the only recourse a battered
to what law enforcement can do to confront and
woman has. Perhaps fearing retribution from her
reduce incidents of sexual assault and statutory
abuser or feeling intimidated by the legal system or
even shame over her predicament, a woman may
rape.
be reluctant to turn to the police or social services
The President signed into law more than half of a
for aid. We are often the only link connecting her
dozen pieces of legislation intended to increase
with the help she so desperately needs. We can be
Federal protection of women and children from
both a safe haven for the abused and a first step
violence and sexual assault. The new laws include
toward accountability for the abuser.
an amendment to the welfare reform bill urging
But how do we reach out to victims of domestic
States to use their welfare dollars to help domestic
violence victims. The Welfare Reform Act includes
violence? What do we say when a woman confides
a provision that allows States the option of
that her partner has physically, sexually, or
emotional abused her? How do we make it easier
implementing temporary and "good cause" waivers
of any welfare program requirements. The
for victims to leave violent relationships and get
President has directed the Departments of Justice
the counseling and services that they--and their
and Health and Human Services to assist States in
children--might need? How do we provide the
implementing this provision.
spiritual support that is necessary for her healing?
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Finding answers to these questions was the focus
Events like the Interfaith Breakfasts help us renew
of the first national Interfaith Breakfast: A Call to
our commitments and organize our efforts.
End Domestic Violence Against Women sponsored
jointly by the National Council of Churches of
Christ in the USA, the National Jewish Community
A COMMUNITY CHECKLIST: IMPORTANT
Relations Advisory Council, and the Center for the
STEPS TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence. The
national event was replicated in 100 communities
by the Advisory Council on Violence Against Women
throughout the country as local and regional
interfaith groups met with violence prevention
Beginning with this issue, Violence Against Women
organizations in a unified showing of commitment
Act News will include a checklist of ideas for
to antiviolence efforts.
communities to use in combatting domestic
violence. Each month's list will focus on a specific
Attorney General Janet Reno was the guest of
segment of the community. The following
honor at the October 11 event in Washington, DC
checklist identifies actions the religious community
and spoke movingly of her career-long dedication
can take to end domestic violence. It was made
to ending domestic violence. She offered examples
available at the first national Interfaith Breakfast
of how Federal agencies have responded to the
held October 11th in Washington, DC. A copy of
issue and urged participants to work together with
the complete checklist is available electronically
the courts, law enforcement, social service groups,
at: http://www.usdoj.gov/vawo.
schools, and others in giving help and offering
hope to those who suffer violence at home.
The Interfaith Breakfast brought religious leaders
CHECKLIST FOR THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
together in prayer and discussion of our roles and
obligations in combatting domestic violence. There
The religious community provides a safe haven
were 65 representatives from Jewish, Muslim,
for women and families in need. In addition, it
Buddhist, Roman Catholic, and Protestant traditions
exhorts society to share compassion and comfort
whose presence was a significant witness to the
with those afflicted by the tragedy of domestic
importance of voices from many religious
violence. Leaders of the religious community
traditions speaking out against violence against
have identified actions to share with the nation to
women. As the speakers made clear, none of our
create a unified response to violence against
religious traditions is exempt from the problems of
women.
sexual and domestic violence. So we all have a job
to do.
Become a Safe Place. Make your church,
temple, mosque or synagogue a safe place where
As religious leaders, it is our job to ensure that no
victims of domestic violence can come for help.
woman has to choose between the support of her
Display brochures and posters which include the
religious community and her physical safety. It is
telephone number of the domestic violence and
our job to ensure that if a woman seeks the help of
sexual assault programs in your area. Publicize
her religious leader, she will find a safe resource
the National Domestic Violence Hotline number,
who is well-informed and prepared to be her
1-800-799-SAFE(7233) or 800-787-3224(TDD).
advocate. It is our job to ensure that our doctrines,
teachings, and scripture not be misused and
Educate the Congregation. Provide ways for
distorted to excuse or justify the harm that has
members of the congregation to learn as much as
been done to her. If we do our job and work
they can about domestic and sexual violence.
cooperatively with our secular colleagues, victims
Routinely include information in monthly
of sexual and domestic violence will find the help
newsletters, on bulletin boards, and in marriage
they need to resist the violence and find healing.
preparation classes. Sponsor educational
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10/23/96
seminars on violence against women in your
ABA INTERDISCIPLINARYCOMMISSION
congregation.
FOCUSES ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Speak Out. Speak out about domestic and
by the American Bar Association
sexual assault from the pulpit. As a faith leader,
you can have a powerful impact on peoples'
In November 1994, the American Bar
attitudes and beliefs.
Association (ABA) established a national
commission to look at the problem of domestic
Lead by Example. Volunteer. Volunteer to
violence and develop effective, multidisciplinary
serve on the board of directors at the local
responses that communities can adopt. The
domestic violence/sexual assault program or
commission brought together doctors, lawyers,
attend a training to become a crisis volunteer.
judges, police officers, psychologists, and victim
advocates from around the country. Following
Offer Space. Offer meeting space for
are summaries of commission projects:
educational seminars or weekly support groups or
serve as a supervised visitation site when parents
The Impact of Domestic Violence on Your
need to visit safely with their children.
Legal Practice is a 53-chapter lawyer's manual
discussing the broad effects of domestic violence
Partner with Existing Resources. Include your
on various legal specialties, including family,
local domestic violence/sexual assault program in
criminal, tax, real property, and tort law. Copies
donations and community service projects. Adopt
are available by calling the ABA Service Center
a shelter for which your church, temple, mosque
at 1-800-285-2221.
or synagogue provides material support, or
provide similar support to families as they
It's Not O.K.: Let's Talk About Domestic
rebuild their lives following a shelter stay.
Violence videotape was developed in partnership
with the Walt Disney Company for professionals
Prepare to be a Resource. Do the theological
working with children who witness domestic
and scriptural homework necessary to better
violence. The 25-minute videotape is available
understand and respond to family violence and
from the ABA Service Center (1-800-285-2221)
receive training from professionals in the fields
and may be useful for advocates, judges, law
of sexual and domestic violence.
enforcement, social workers, psychologists, and
others working with children witnesses.
Intervene. If you suspect violence is occurring
in a relationship, speak to each member of the
A multidisciplinary guide for developing
couple separately. Help the victim plan for
coordinated community responses is currently
safety. Let both individuals know of the
under production. Intended for corporations,
community resources available to assist them.
lawyers, doctors, religious community members,
Do not attempt couples counseling.
and nonprofit organizations, the document will be
introduced to the public on the World Wide Web
Support Professional Training. Encourage and
at the 1996 Annual Meeting.
support training and education for clergy and lay
leaders, hospital chaplains, and seminary students
A technical assistance and continuing legal
to increase awareness about sexual and domestic
education video is being developed by the
violence.
Commission in conjunction with the ABA Center
for Pro Bono work, the ABA Center for
Address Internal Issues. Encourage continued
Continuing Legal Education, and the USDOJ
efforts by religious institutions to address
Office of Justice Programs. Designed for
allegations of abuse by religious leaders to insure
attorneys, law enforcement, prosecutors, and
that religious leaders are a safe resource for
victims advocates, the video will highlight
victims and their children.
significant new provisions under the Violence
(Adapted in part from the Nebraska Domestic Violence and
Against Women Act.
Sexual Assault Coalition and the Center for Prevention of
Domestic and Sexual Violence, Seutile, WA)
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Regional Conferences on family violence
providers, and others on the frontlines of this
cosponsored by the U.S. Departments of Justice
issue to receive training, education, and support
and Health and Human Services and the
to help strengthen their domestic violence
American Medical Association will examine child
programs. For instance, a number of police
abuse issues, sexual assault, domestic violence,
groups received funds to educate police leaders
and elder abuse.
about the Violence Against Women Act and to
formulate a curriculum for training police
Other issues of national scope under study
officers and increasing their understanding of
include insurance discrimination against victims
domestic violence issues.
of domestic violence, interstate enforcement of
protection orders, domestic violence in the sports
Similarly, OJP awarded almost $370,000 to the
community and in the workplace, and domestic
American Prosecutors Research Institute to
violence curricula for law schools.
develop workshops for local prosecutors
committed to exploring and implementing
effective policies for investigating and
prosecuting crimes of violence against women.
LENDING A HELPING HAND: TRAINING
Through these workshops, prosecutors will have
AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS
a chance to learn from their peers, as well as
By Preet Kang
other professionals, about overcoming challenges
Violence Against Women Grants Office
to successful prosecutions of domestic violence
Office of Justice Programs
cases and designing action plans for
implementing changes in their offices.
Caran Curry, Prosecutor Coordinator for Victim
Services in Arkansas, had heard people talk about
Also, OJP and the State Justice Institute are
having the criminal justice system take a
jointly sponsoring a training and technical
coordinated approach to addressing domestic
assistance grant to the Family Violence
violence, but she wasn't sure it was possible.
Prevention Fund to conduct three video
"I really didn't get the picture until I saw it for
teleconferences on domestic violence to assist
myself," Curry said of her site visit to Quincy,
judges in handling domestic violence.
MA. "It really does work. It was fascinating to
see how everybody worked with the victim. Each
Other technical assistance efforts under
component of the criminal justice process was
development include the following:
involved. I came away from Quincy with
renewed vigor to see what we could do in
training sessions for judges across the country
Arkansas."
addressing the judicial response to sexual assault.
Curry's site visit to Quincy was made possible
through a cooperative agreement awarded to the
STATES TO RECEIVE $132 MILLION IN
Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic
S*T*O*P GRANTS
Violence by the Office of Justice Programs'
The Violence Against Women Grants Office
(OJP) Violence Against Women Grants Office to
will award States and U.S. territories more
enhance the implementation of the Violence
than $132 million for domestic violence
Against Women Program in the States. The
shelters, rape crises centers, hotlines, victim
Coalition provides ongoing, in-depth training and
advocates, and training and specialized law
technical assistance to States and their
enforcement and prosecutors units. Funds are
subgrantees to design and implement strong
available under the S*T*O*P Violence Against
Women formula grant program. Now in its
programs to counter violence against women.
third year the STOP program will give each
State and territory $500,000 in FY 97 funds
These technical assistance grants enable police
plus additional money based on population.
officers, prosecutors, judges, victim assistance
More information about STOP and other
antiviolence efforts is available electronically at
http://www.usdoj.gov/vawo.
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workshops addressing the problem of police
moved in across the street from her family. The
officers who batter their partners. The project
Jacob Wetterling Act provides States financial
will identify the extent of the problem, develop
incentives to adopt registration systems for
strategies for reducing the number of incidents of
convicted child molesters and other offenders.
domestic violence involving police officers, and
promote implementation of these strategies in law
A related measure passed by the 104th Congress
enforcement agencies around the country.
requires the Attorney General to set up a national
registry of sex offenders in the FBI. The Pam
Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Registration
Act will give law enforcement access to
LEGISLATIVE WRAP Up
information about such offenders from any State or
U.S. territory. (For more information about the
registry, see Violence Against Women Act News,
By Kathleen O'Connell
Violence Against Women Office
September 1996.)
The 104th Congress adjourned October 1, but not
The President also signed into law legislation
without passing, and the President signing, several
prohibiting anyone convicted of a misdemeanor
key pieces of legislation to broaden Federal legal
domestic violence charge from owning or
protection for women and children.
possessing a gun; a bill to enhance penalties for
using the drug, Rohypnol, with criminal intent; and
Among the bills passed this summer is the
the Health Insurance Portability Act to restrict
Interstate Stalking Punishment Act of 1996, which
certain insurers from denying coverage for
amends the Defense Department's spending
preexisting conditions, including conditions linked
authorization, making it a Federal crime to stalk or
to domestic violence.
harass someone across State lines or within special
maritime and territorial jurisdictions of the United
States regardless of whether the stalker has
Any part or all of this newsletter may be
committed an act of violence, is the spouse or
reproduced without restrictions. To subscribe for
intimate of the victim, or is under a court order of
fax copies of the newsletter, please send us a fax of
protection.
your name, the name of your organization, address,
e-mail address, and telephone and fax numbers.
The new law sets penalties from up to 5 years in
The Violence Against Women Office fax number is
prison for harassment to life in prison for certain
202-307- 3911. More information about the Office
bodily injury.
is available electronically at
http://www.usdoj.gov/vawo
Another bill to come through Congress this session
also provides a corrective amendment to existing
Yes, I would like to receive fax copies of the
law. The Carjacking Correction Act amends the
Violence Against Women Act News. My name,
Federal carjacking statute to include rape in the
organization, address, and telephone and fax
legal definition of serious bodily injury.
numbers are
The House and Senate also moved to strengthen
NAME:
protection from convicted sexual abusers. An
amendment to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against
ORGANIZATION:
Children and Sexually Violent Offender
Registration Act now requires States to notify local
law enforcement and citizens when a sex offender
ADDRESS:
is released into the community. The new provision
is referred to as Megan's Law after a 7-year-old
New Jersey girl who had been brutally raped and
TEL.AND FAX:
murdered by a convicted sex offender who had
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Violence Against Women Act NEWS
Vol. III Sept. 1996
A Message from Bonnie J. Campbell, Director of
The Office of Justice Programs made these awards
the Violence Against Women Office, Office of
quickly (employing friendly applications and staff
Justice Programs
consultation) to states during the application
process.
August heat didn't slow the pace of activity
at the Violence Against Women Office (VAWA)
Looking back on the successes of last month, I am
and the work of the Administration this summer to
happily anticipating a very full and eventful
help safeguard the welfare of American women and
autumn, as we work toward National Domestic
families.
Violence Awareness Month in October. Much has
been accomplished and we head into the coming
Speaking from Columbus, Ohio the President
months with great optimism and a full schedule.
announced his strong support for federal legislation
that would keep guns out of the hands of all
batterers. And in one of his weekly radio addresses,
GUEST COLUMN
the President made public the FBI's establishment
of a national sex offender registry that will enable
REACHING OUT
law enforcement to know almost instantaneously
By Esta Soler
whether and where a sex offender has registered.
Executive Director of the Family Violence
Prevention Fund and Member of the Advisory Council on
These key initiatives add significantly to the
Violence Against Women
progress achieved already in combatting domestic
violence and sexual assault and abuse. Currently,
For 3 years, the Family Violence Prevention Fund
under provisions of the 1994 Violent Crime
(the FUND) in San Francisco has been educating
Control and Law Enforcement Act, a person
Americans about the terrible harm caused by
subject to a domestic violence protection order is
domestic violence and encouraging people to get
prohibited from possessing a firearm. And under
involved in efforts to prevent this devastating
the 1968 federal firearms statute, a person
epidemic. We have mounted the There's No Excuse
convicted of a felony charge may not possess a
for Domestic Violence campaign and trained
firearm. Now the President has made clear that
professionals in health care, child welfare, law and
anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of
criminal justice.
domestic violence should also be barred from
having a gun.
More and more, Americans recognize that family
violence is not a private matter--in some way it
The national sex offender registry builds on the
affects every community, every business and every
success of the Jacob Wetterling Act, which is also
one of us. More now than at any time in the past,
a part of the 1994 Crime Act. States have begun
people are looking for solutions--for how they can
developing and improving registry systems of sex
prevent and reduce battering.
offenders; with the national system law
enforcement can share this information from state
With this in mind, the FUND is reaching out to a
to state.
new group--the business community--launching
Workplace Education Day 1996, which will feature
Also in August, the Office of Justice Programs
large and small employers, labor unions,
awarded nearly all of the 1996 STOP Violence
government agencies and media joining together to
Against Women grants; $130 million was made
educate their employees and members.
available for police, prosecution, prevention and
victims services.
Scheduled for October 1, Workplace Education
Day 1996 will kick off National Domestic Violence
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Awareness Month. The FUND is asking employers
abusive husbands or boyfriends. The U.S. Justice
and unions to offer support to employees who are
Department estimates that in 60,000 incidents of
abused and to provide information on how
on-the-job violence each year, the victims know
everyone can prevent domestic violence. Among
their attackers intimately.
those already committed to participate are The
Please join us on October 1. Just think: reaching
Gap, Kaiser Permanente, Marshalls, Inc., Polaroid,
out to a friend at work whom you suspect is being
Wells Fargo Bank, the American Bar Association,
beaten could save her and her children's lives. If
American Federation of State and Municipal
you are in business, labor or government and want
Employees (AFSCME), the U.S. Department of
to learn how to participate in Workplace Education
Health and Human Services and the Department of
Day 1996, contact Donna Norton at the FUND
Justice. Governors Mike Lowry of Washington and
(415-252-8900 ext. 25). If you are working in a
Lawton Chiles of Florida will announce educational
domestic violence agency and want to learn how to
programs for their state employees.
encourage local employers to get involved, contact
Kelly Mitchell-Clark at the FUND (ext. 47).
Employers and unions will put on special programs
and distribute materials discussing domestic
COMMUNITY POLICING TO COMBAT
violence and how to address it. At seminars, brown
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
bag lunches and meetings featuring domestic
By Charles Miller, Press Secretary
violence survivors and CEOs, business, labor and
Community Oriented Policing Services Office
government leaders will declare: "There's no
excuse for domestic violence, and we all have to
Late last year, Attorney General Janet Reno
be a part of the solution."
announced a new initiative that would put the issue
of: domestic violence on the front burner of
Workplace Education Day 1996 is a project of the
American law enforcement. The Community
National Workplace Resource Center on Domestic
Policing to Combat Domestic Violence Program, a
Violence, created by the FUND last fall to engage
funding initiative of the U.S. Department of
employers and unions in addressing this violence at
Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing
work and to encourage them to become active in
Services (COPS), encourages police and sheriffs'
preventing abuse. Already, 19 national companies,
departments to form partnerships with advocacy
labor unions and trade associations have joined the
organizations in the effort to reduce domestic
Center to develop model policies and benefits for
violence.
employees who face abuse.
Through this new initiative, law enforcement
Businesses and government workplaces are
agencies were called on to partner with nonprofit,
increasingly realizing that this violence exacts a
nongovernmental victim services programs,
heavy toll. The impact is felt in increased health
domestic violence shelters or community service
care costs, reduced productivity, higher rates of
groups. The response was so overwhelming that the
absenteeism and turnover and a greater risk of
original $10 million allocated for funding was
workplace violence, which can generate legal
increased to $46 million. Three hundred thirty-four
liability. A recent study by the National Institute of
agencies paired with advocacy groups in all 50
Justice estimates that domestic violence accounts
states received grants.
for almost 15 percent of total crime costs--$67
billion per year. Employers pay a large share of
COPS funds will support many innovative ideas
these costs, primarily through higher health
that have been proposed. For instance, the San
insurance bills.
Diego Police Department and Domestic Violence
Services of the YWCA of San Diego County will
The fact that 99 percent of American women work
develop a Community Domestic Violence Resource
for pay at some point in their lives means that most
Network, including a toll-free telephone
battered women are working women. For many,
clearinghouse of information on all services
work is no sanctuary because stalking, threats and
available throughout the area in emergency and
violence follow them on the job. The news media
nonemergency domestic violence situations.
often carry reports of women killed at work by
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The Oglala Sioux Tribe Safety Commission, along
plan was developed by the Attorney General as
with Project Medicine Wheel in South Dakota, are
directed by the President and builds on progress
developing a new protocol for police officer
made by the 1994 Jacob Wetterling Act and
investigation and report writing to increase the
Megan's Law to protect our neighborhoods and
strength of cases going to trial. In Akron, Ohio, the
communities from sex offenders and child
Police Division, in partnership with the Victim
molesters. The interim registry has two basic
Assistance Program, will develop a court to
components:
specifically handle domestic violence cases.
A centralized database at the FBI where existing
In Alaska, the North Slope Borough of Alaska and
criminal history records are flagged to identify
the Arctic Slope Native Association, confronted
whether an individual is a registered sex offender
with a remote area that covers nearly 90,000 square
and where the individual is registered; and
miles, will seek a way to provide services to
domestic violence victims.
The National Law Enforcement
TelecommunicationsSystem (NLETS), a computer-
In Hawaii, the Honolulu Police Department, with
based link that will enable states to access and
its partners, Parent and Children Together and
retrieve information from other states about
Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal
registered sex offenders.
Hotline, will create a "one-stop" Drop-In Center to
assist victims of domestic violence in a non-
Law enforcement can use the centralized database
threatening environment. The Center will provide
to identify in a single, national search where an
victims with on-site crisis assistance, counseling,
individual is registered and, through NLETS, can
legal assistance and child care while parents attend
immediately access vital information about that
court. The department will have a detective on site,
individual from the indicated state registry.
allowing for close cooperation between victim
advocates and police in preliminary stages of an
The registry will be both efficient and cost-
investigation.
effective because it combines existing data already
collected by state and federal agencies to track sex
These innovative ideas to reduce and curtail
offenders. It will be operating in 6 months
domestic abuse are as numerous as the departments
although states will be able to communicate
that applied for these grants. It is believed that as
through NLETS by November.
a result of this program, successful and long-lasting
partnerships will be formed between law
The registry announced by the President is an
enforcement agencies and advocacy groups.
interim measure that will fill a critical role until a
permanent National Sex Offender Registry file is in
With department by department successes, the
place with the FBI by mid-1999. When fully
wealth of knowledge gleaned from these projects
completed in mid-1999, the permanent registry will
will be shared throughout the country, helping to
include state-of-the-art identification techniques,
curb domestic violence and improve services to
such as an indication of DNA availability,
victims nationwide.
fingerprint matching and mugshots, which will be
invaluable in tracking offenders.
Ultimately, the successful tracking of sex offenders
THE NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
and child molesters, and the prevention of future
by Joan Silverstein
sex crimes, calls for a commitment from law
Assistant Associate Attorney General
enforcement at every level to work together and
On August 24, 1996 President Clinton announced
share information. Maintaining a reliable and
in his radio address a plan for a national sex
centralized national sex offender registry is one
offender registry. The registry, operated by the
step forward. In addition, states should be
FBI, will enable law enforcement to quickly
encouraged to do the following:
determine whether an individual has been convicted
Issue arrest warrants for offenders whose
of a sex offense in any state in the country. The
addresses cannot be verified or who fail to comply
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with state registration requirements;
these offenders are still free under federal law to
possess a firearm.
Require submission of DNA samples as part of
the state registration process, which will help
Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative
significantly in the investigation of rape and serial
Torricelli (D-NJ) have been pushing for legislation
rape cases where the suspect is unknown; and
that would prohibit those convicted of any
domestic violence offense--misdemeanoror felony-
Work together to develop agreements for
-from owning or possessing a firearm. The bill
interstate sharing and disclosure of sex offender
introduced by Senator Lautenberg passed the
registry information to ensure public safety.
Senate unanimously this past July. Thus far,
similar legislation has not been passed in the
House.
Keeping Guns Out of the Hands
That is why President Clinton called on Congress
of Domestic Violence Offenders
to disarm domestic violence offenders and pass
By Elizabeth Hyman
Violence Against Women Office
legislation like the Lautenberg Bill. The
Office of Justice Programs
President's announcement represents another
significant step in the effort to reduce domestic
Recognizing an important gap in the protection of
violence in this country.
battered women, President Clinton announced his
support for legislation to prevent batterers and
abusers from possessing firearms. Speaking from
the Columbus Ohio Police Academy on August 26,
the President said
Rape and sexual assault crimes dropped
"I believe strongly in the right of Americans to own
for the third year in a row according to
guns. I have used them as a hunter with great joy.
the Department of Justice Bureau of
But make no mistake, those who threaten the safety
Justice Statistics (BJS). BJS's national
survey of 100,000 people found there
of others do not deserve our trust. If you're
were 56 thousand fewer rapes and 22
convicted of felony, you shouldn't have one. If
thousand fewer sexual assaults in 1995.
you're a fugitive from the law, you shouldn't have
The drop in rape/sexual assault crimes is
a gun. If you're stalking or harassing women or
part of a 9 percent decline overall in
children, you shouldn't have a gun. And if you
violent crimes committed in 1995. For
commit an act of violence against your spouse or
more information contact the BJS
child, you shouldn't have a gun."
clearinghouse at 1-800-732-3277
In 1994, there were 88,500 incidents of domestic
violence where a firearm was present. Moreover,
responding to these calls has been deadly business
for law enforcement. From 1985 to 1994, there
were 65 law enforcement officers killed when they
As always, please feel free to reproduce this
responded to family quarrels, and 9 out of 10 of
newsletter or any portion of it. Additionally, to
those deaths resulted from firearms. The
receive the newsletter by fax, fax your name,
connection between guns and domestic violence
organization, address, e-mail address, phone and
can have dangerous, even deadly consequences.
fax numbers to the Violence Against Women Office
at 202-307-3911. Thank you!
Many individuals convicted of crimes of domestic
violence are not covered by existing firearm law.
It is estimated that the vast majority of domestic
violence cases are misdemeanors and not felonies,
and are therefore not an included category under
the 1968 federal firearms statute. The result is that
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Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification
On July 29, 1994, a seven-year-old New Jersey girl, Megan Kanka,
was sexually assaulted and murdered by a twice-convicted sex
offender who moved in across the street from her family.
Promising to show her his new puppy, the defendant lured Megan to
his home and subsequently raped and killed her. Her body was
later found nearby. At the time, there were no state law
provisions for notifying local law enforcement or the community
concerning a sex offender's criminal history or presence in the
neighborhood.
The Provision
The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually
Violent Offender Registration Act provides states with a
financial incentive to adopt effective registration systems for
convicted child molesters and other persons convicted of sexually
violent crimes. As amended by Megan's Law, the Act now requires
community notification concerning the release of registered
offenders when necessary to protect the public. In August 1996,
the Attorney General submitted a plan to the President for a
national sex offender registry that builds upon the state-level
registration systems.
The Impact
All states have some form of sex offender registration
system, but not all have community notification programs, and
relatively few regularly verify an offender's address. The Jacob
Wetterling Act and guidelines provide minimum national standards
for effective state registration and notification systems.
In general, registration systems help the investigation of
sex crimes by informing the authorities of the identities and
whereabouts of convicted sex offenders. These systems may also
inhibit offenders -- who know that the authorities know who they
are and where they are -- from committing additional crimes.
Community notification enables communities to take common sense
measures to protect themselves and their families, such as
ensuring that their children do not associate or visit with known
child molesters.
The national sex offender registry will facilitate
communication among the states about convicted sex offenders by
permitting law enforcement at every level to have immediate
access to information about all registered offenders nationwide.
By mid-1999, the FBI will establish a National Sex Offender
Registry File, which will have state of the art identification
techniques, including fingerprint matching and mugshots.
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The Success
The Department of Justice is assisting states in both
enacting and defending their sex offender registration and
notification laws. The Department of Justice published final
guidelines for state registration systems on April 4, 1996.
Guidelines to implement Megan's Law will be issued in the near
future.
The Department of Justice also has participated in state
and federal litigation defending the validity of several states'
sex offender registration and notification systems. To date, the
Department has filed "friend of the court" briefs in cases in New
Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Washington State, and has
provided support to state attorneys and court officers in several
other states.
The Future
The Department of Justice will continue to work with the
states to help them comply with the Wetterling Act by adopting
conforming registration and notification systems. The Department
also will continue to participate in litigation defending the
constitutionality of state registration and notification systems.
2
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A
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, D.C. 20530
U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
SELECTED STATISTICS ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Women were attacked seven times more often by offenders with whom they had an
intimate relationship than were male violence victims.
Women experienced over 1,000,000 violent victimizations per year committed by an
intimate, compared to approximately 143,000 incidents per year committed against men.
Women are more likely to be injured in violent incidents committed by intimates than in
incidents committed by strangers.
Nearly 30 percent of all female homicide victims were known to have been killed by their
husbands, former husbands or boyfriends. In contrast, just over 3 percent of male
homicide victims were known to have been killed by their wives, former wives or
girlfriends.
Husbands, former husbands, boyfriends and ex-boyfriends committed 26 percent of rapes
and sexual assaults.
Forty-five percent of all violent attacks against female victims 12 years old and older by
multiple offenders involve offenders they know.
The rate of intimate-offender attacks on women separated from their husbands was about
three times higher than that of divorcèd women and about 25 times higher than that of
married women.
Women of all races were equally vulnerable to attacks by intimates. However, women
in families with incomes below $10,000 per year were more likely than other women to
be violently attacked by an intimate.
Sources:
BJS, Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey, August 1995
BJS, Violence Between Intimates, November 1994
OCTOBER 1, 1996
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STATE
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, D.C. 20530
THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT
Women were victims of violent crime 4.2 million times in 1995, and most of these crimes were
committed by someone they knew.
Source: Department of Justice
National Crime Victimization Survey
On September 13, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Violence Against Women Act,
landmark legislation that combines tough new sanctions with programs to prosecute offenders
and help women victims of violence.
FIGHTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The Violence Against Women Act, Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1902-1955 (1994),
passed as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The
Act takes a comprehensive approach to domestic violence and sexual assault,
combining a broad array of legal and practical reforms.
The Violence Against Women Act encourages better responses to domestic violence
from police, prosecutors, and judges; forces sex offenders to pay restitution to their
victims; increases funding for battered women's shelters; and provides for interstate
enforcement of protection orders.
THE LAW WORKS FOR VICTIMS
The Violence Against Women Act protects battered women who move across state
lines. The Act establishes the nationwide enforcement of protection of abuse orders
entered in any court and provides penalties for crossing state lines to abuse a spouse or
violate a protection order. Now, when it is appropriate, Federal, state, and local
prosecutors can work together to determine who can bring the most effective
prosecutions. As of September 1996, 20 Federal cases had been brought under Federal
criminal provisions. of the Act.
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The Violence Against Women Act bans firearm possession by abusers who are
under protection orders. As of September 1996, three Federal cases have been
brought under this provision of the Act.
The Violence Against Women Act established a Federal cause of action for gender-
motivated violence. Victims of a felony crime of violence motivated at least in part
by gender may bring a civil suit for damages or equitable relief in Federal or state
court.
The Violence Against Women Act enhances and protects the rights of crime victims.
Among other provisions, the new law strengthens restitution orders and extends the
"rape shield law" to protect victims from intrusive inquiries regarding their private
sexual conduct.
THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is one solution that promises to reach every
community in the nation. A critical component of the Violence Against Women Act,
this nationwide, 24-hour, toll-free hotline will serve as a lifeline to victims of domestic
violence across the country, providing local referral information to victims in need. It
was announced by President Clinton on February 21, 1996.
From its opening through May 31, 1996, NDVH advocates have answered 42,285 calls
for help from residents of the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands. The Hotline's toll-free numbers are 1-800-799-SAFE or 1-800-787-
3224 (TDD).
FUNDING TO THE STATES
In FY 95, the Department of Justice S*T*O*P Violence Against Women Grant
Program (Services* Training *Officers* Prosecutors) provided approximately $26 million
directly to states and Indian tribes as a first step in helping restructure the criminal
justice system's response to crimes of violence against women. Through a streamlined
application kit, $426,346 was awarded to all 50 states and six territories in an
expedited process.
In FY 96, Congress appropriated $130 million to continue the S.T.O.P. program.
States are encouraged to build on their current efforts and to focus on projects that will
strengthen intra- and interstate enforcement of protection orders; to develop innovative
programs related to sexual assault and stalking; and to increase their emphasis on
judicial education and court-related projects. Awards are planned by the end of
August.
In FY 96, Congress appropriated $28 million for grants to Encourage Arrest Policies.
This discretionary grant programs encourages States and localities to treat domestic
violence as a serious violation of criminal law. This program is intended to promote
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the implementation of mandatory or pro-arrest policies relating to domestic violence
cases. Grants are to be awarded to the states by September 30. No money was
appropriated for this grant program in FY 95.
In FY 96, Congress appropriated $7 million for the Rural Domestic Violence and
Child Victimization Enforcement grant program. This discretionary grant program is
intended to support the establishment and expansion of cooperative efforts among law
enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim advocates, and other criminal justice
practitioners and service providers involved in the investigation and prosection of
domestic violence and child abuse cases in rural jurisdictions. Grants are to be
awarded to the states by September 30. No money was appropriated for this grant
program in FY 95.
In addition to the VAWA grants, the Department has announced $46 million under the
Community Oriented Policing to Combat Domestic Violence grant program. These
grants were developed in response to the real needs expressed by law enforcement
officers, many of whom report that domestic violence incidents are the most dangerous
and difficult encounters they experience on the job. The response to this program by
police departments has been overwhelming -- over 700 agencies applied for assistance.
336 police departments, working in partnership with victim advocates and others in
their community, will receive funding to develop domestic violence programs that
utilize the proven techniques of community policing.
STEPS ALONG THE WAY.
On March 21, 1995, the President named Bonnie Campbell as Director of the Violence
Against Women Office at the Department of Justice.
Also on March 21, 1995, the President announced $26 million in S*T*O*P grants to
states to bolster their law enforcement, prosecution, and victims services to better
address violence against women.
On April 7, 1995, Attorney General Janet Reno signed Federal guidelines that should
lead to laws in all 50 states requiring sexual offenders and child molesters to register
with authorities. This will help state law enforcement agencies communicate with each
other regarding sex offenders who cross state lines.
On July 13, 1995, the Attorney General and Secretary Shalala announced the Advisory
Council on Violence Against Women and held the first meeting of this group of 46
experts on the issue of violence against women.
On July 27-29, 1995, the Department of Justice held the first ever Violence Against
Women Grantee's Conference. Representatives from all 50 states and the territories
attended the conference, where they exchanged stories of success and considered
challenges in dealing with domestic violence in their communities and across state
lines.
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On August 18, 1995, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala awarded $1
million to the Texas Council on Family Violence to set up a hotline for victims of
domestic violence. The hotline operates through the fifty states, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
The Violence Against Women Act punishes domestic abusers who cross state lines.
The first conviction under this new federal law took place on May 23, 1995 in West
Virginia. On September 1, 1995, the defendant was sentenced to life in prison for
interstate domestic violence and kidnapping.
Bonnie Campbell attended the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing as a
U.S. Delegate from September 1-15, 1995.
On September 8, 1995, the Attorney General announced the Community Policing to
Combat Domestic Violence Grant Program. This $20 million grant program is the
first of its kind. It is open to all state, local, Indian Tribal and other public and private
law enforcement agencies committed to using community policing to address domestic
violence. Police departments must partner with nonprofit, nongovernmental victim
service programs, domestic violence shelters, or community service groups to apply for
funding under this solicitation.
On September 28, 1995, Bonnie Campbell convened the first meeting of the
Interagency Working Group on Violence Against Women to examine what other
components of the federal government are doing and what they can do to fight
violence against women.
On October 2, 1995 President Clinton signed a Presidential Proclamation declaring the
month of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and sent an
Executive Memorandum to the heads of all executive departments and agencies to
implement a Federal Employee Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign.
On October 14, 1995 President Clinton used his weekly radio address as an
opportunity to discuss the problem of domestic
violence, noting that as a child he witnessed domestic violence firsthand.
On October 30, 1995 the Department of Justice held a Violence Against Women
Information Fair for its employees as part the Federal Employee Domestic Violence
Awareness Campaign. The Fair included a self-defense demonstration, information
booths by national and local organizations dealing with domestic violence and violence
against women, artwork by survivors of domestic violence, and video presentations.
On January 25, 1996 the Advisory Council on Violence Against Women held its
second meeting. At that meeting the following subgroups made recommendations of
initiatives to amplify messages about violence against women and to encourage a
greater public awareness around the issue: Media & Entertainment, Educational
Institutions, the Religious Community, the Workplace, the Sports Industry, the Health
Profession and Law Enforcement. An eighth subgroup, Primary and Secondary
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Education, was added at the recommendation of the Advisory Council because of the
impact domestic violence has on children.
Also on January 25, 1996, the Attorney General announced that the S.T.O.P Violence
Against Women state plans of all 56 states and eligible territories have been approved
signifying that all have received $426,364 to improve prosecution, training and
services to victims of violent crimes.
On February 21, 1996, President Clinton announced the National Domestic Violence
Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE or 1-800-787-3224 (TDD). The Hotline is a nationwide, 24-
hour, toll-free number. The hotline provides immediate crisis intervention assistance
to those in need. To date, the hotline has received more than 42,000 calls.
On May 15, 1996, the Attorney General testified before the Senate Judiciary
Committee on the first year of the Violence Against Women Act and the Violence
Against Women Office.
In May, Congress took several steps to strengthen the Jacob Wetterling Act in passing
the community notification requirement of Megan's Law, and on May 17, 1996, the
President, who has always been supportive of Megan's Law, signed it into law.
On May 24, 1996, the Department of Justice announced the availability of $130
million in grant funding for the states to assist police, prosecutors, and victim service
providers in combating domestic violence and sexual assault. The S.T.O.P. Violence
Against Women formula grants were authorized by the Violence Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
On May 28, 1996, the Department of Justice began distribution of a resource book,
Domestic Violence Awareness: What You Can Do, to all of its 96,000 employees.
This resource book is one of the steps in the Department's Violence Against Women
Employee Awareness Campaign.
On June 20, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) announced
$46 million to be awarded to 336 police departments. Working in partnership with
victim advocates and others in their community. The funding will be used o develop
domestic violence programs that utilize the proven techniques of community policing.
On July 18, 1996, the Advisory Council on Violence Against Women met for the third
time. The purpose of this meeting was review efforts made since the January meeting
as well as to draft a Community Checklist: Important Steps Communities Can Take to
End Violence Against Women. The checklist will be published in October 1996.
In August 26, 1996 the President announced his support of legislation to prohibit
anyone convicted of any crime of domestic violence--misdemeanor or felony--from
owning and possessing a firearm.
On September 20, 1996, Director Campbell convened a meeting of the Interagency
Working Group on Violence Against Women to discuss what steps they are taking to
prevent violence against women in the workforce.
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On September 21, 1996 the President announced that the FBI would set up a national
registry of sex offenders to provide law enforcement agencies across the nation
immediate access to information about where offenders live.
On September 23, 1996, the President signed a bill that makes interstate stalking and
harassment a Federal crime regardless of whether the stalker has committed an act of
violence or subject victim had a court order of protection. It also sets penalties from
up to 5 years in prison for harassment to life in prison for bodily injury.
September 24, 1996
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FACSIMILE TRANSMITTAL
COVER SHEET
TO:
Erica
FAX:
202-456-5709
FROM:
Ursula Barrett
Violence Against Women Office
U.S. Department of Justice
202-616-9174
202-307-3911 fax
DATE:
October 23, 1996
PAGES:
10, including cover
100
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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
February 21, 1996
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE EVENT
The Roosevelt Room
12:38 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Candice. Thank you, Secretary Shalala. Thank you,
Senator Kennedy, Senator Leahy, Representative Conyers. I want to thank Bonnie Campbell
for doing such a great job as the Director of the Violence Against Women Office at the Justice
Department. And I thank the Attorney General and Associate Attorney General John Schmidt
and the others at Justice who have supported this endeavor for the first time. I want to thank
you, Ellen Fisher, and your entire team for your hard work and your leadership. We are
counting on you.
I want to thank all the brave women in this audience who have survived the horrors and
the fears of domestic violence and who have gone on to work, like Candice, as advocates. And
I want to thank the men and the women who are here today, some in law enforcement, some
in other walks of life, who are here because they believe in this effort and they want to support
it.
I was just sitting here thinking how many of you had the same reaction to Candice that
I did. You sort of stepped up here and started talking, sounding like another ordinary speech
-- I've done thousands of these now in the last 22 years -- and it was almost hypnotic, just a
calm, even-voice narrative that seemed almost unbelievable except for those of you who have
lived through it so often.
When I gave the State of the Union address and asked the American people to look
beyond the present battle over the budget to the real challenges facing our country -- not just our
government, but our country -- I pointed out that our first and foremost challenge now and
perhaps forever will be to have good, strong families and to give childhood back to all the
children in this country. Most of us have known the joys of -- some of the joys of family life.
And anybody who's been in a family knows that none of them are perfect. But there's a world
of difference between a family with its joys and its problems and a family terrorized by violence
and abuse.
For all the economic problems facing poor children in America, I would rather them be
poor and home with loving parents than have their childhood robbed by violence in their homes.
So I say again to all of you, this is not a women's issue, this is an issue for families and for
children and for men as well. And it is an American challenge that we have to face.
This issue has been swept under the rug for too long. We have tried to take it out into
the daylight, to let people talk about it, to give people a chance to find courage in the efforts of
other and to know where they can find help. That's what the Violence Against Women Act in
the 1994 Crime Bill was all about. And again, I thank Bonnie Campbell and all those at Justice
who have supported those endeavors.
It's also what our efforts in the Crime Bill to train people locally to be more sensitive
to this are all about. We're making progress now. We're actually getting a core group of police
officers and prosecutors and judges who really understand this problem and how it should be
dealt with. This past September, federal prosecutors used the Violence Against Women Act to
help ensure that a man convicted of severe violence against his wife was actually sentenced to
life in prison. So I think that we need to continue this effort.
The second thing we need to do is to make sure that women who are struggling to take
control of their own lives know how to do it. And for all the reasons that Secretary Shalala
said, this number -- this hotline will make a difference to women everywhere, whether they're
isolated in rural areas, whether they're in big cities without enough money for a quarter for a
telephone call -- everywhere that people can see this number they will be able to use it.
So I guess what I'd like to do now is to wrap up my remarks and say that we're really,
all of us here, for people who aren't here. And my greatest hope about this press conference
is that people out there across America will see it tonight or hear about it, and if they are
victims of domestic abuse or if they suspect that someone they know and care about is a victim
of domestic abuse, they will pick up the phone and call this number -- 1-800-799-CARE.
SECRETARY SHALALA: SAFE.
THE PRESIDENT: SAFE, I mean. (Laughter.) I can't read. Maybe it will get
overused and we'll have to have two. (Laughter.)
If this hotline -- if one person does this and it saves their lives, if one person winds up
safe, it will have been worth the effort. But all of you in this room know that it's not one
person, that there are thousands and thousands and thousands of people out there.
I'm going to be very interested to see what the report is after one month and two months
and three months. And I'm going to ask to get a report how many calls, how many people
out there, feeling alone and lonely and bereft and abandoned will dial that; how many people
will commit to memory 799-SAFE and dial it. Because I believe that all of us, even those of
you who are advocates, may well be surprised by the sheer numbers, the volume of calls.
So I ask you as you leave today to reaffirm our common commitment to an end to
domestic violence; to reaffirm our common commitment to saying to people, you must not raise
your hand in violence against members of your family in your home; and to reaffirm our
commitment to get this number everywhere. I want school children to know that there is a
1-800-799-SAFE. I want every police officer to know there's a 1-800-799-SAFE. I want every
mayor to know it. I want every church leader to know it. I want it to be emblazoned in the
synagogues and all the houses of worship in America. I want people to know this number. This
is a way that we can bring the marvels of modern technology to solve a very old problem in a
profoundly human way.
So, again, I say, I thank all of you for your efforts. As you know, it means a lot to me
personally. But it will only count if everyone in America who needs to know this number,
knows it; and if everybody who needs to know it, knows it and feels that they can use it; and
then that the people on the other end of the line do their job. I'm convinced that people on the
other end of the line will do their job. (Laughter.) And I'm convinced those of you who are
out there in the fields will continue to do your job.
So I ask you to celebrate today, but remember, there's a lot of doctors and teachers and
police officers and others that we need to gather into this great American family committed to
doing away with this problem. I think I will say again, if we can do this, and then we can
make some progress on the real issue, which is getting every man in America to make a
personal pledge never to raise a hand in violence in the home, this is a problem that America
has that can actually be solved. And I think all of you are going to hasten the day when we do
it.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Q
-- a question on this topic, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Okay.
Q
Following up on what the speaker said, could you or your family or your mother
have benefitted from a service like this when you were growing up, considering the problems
that were in your household?
THE PRESIDENT: The honest answer is, I don't know. I think that -- I think yes
because at that time in our country's history, most women were too embarrassed to talk about
it. They didn't know that anybody else -- they didn't know if anybody else had the problem,
and, if they did, they had no way of finding out who they were. And I think that the sense of
shame, the ambivalence that maybe somehow this must be partly my fault, or this is my burden
to bear, that this is not anything that I can get out of -- I think that's how it would have been
most helpful.
I had a -- my mother was one of the most remarkably resilient and self-reliant people I
knew, but I think she came of age at a time when women in America simply didn't know that
there was any way out of this. And I bet you there's still a lot of women out there who just
don't know that there's any way out of this. So I would think that would have been the most
important thing that would have helped us.
Thank you.
Q
I wonder if you could just take a moment and speak to the fact that with the
billions of women who are battered, those that are the least addressed are those that are deaf,
and that there is also a TTD line --
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, I'm sorry.
Q
-- and maybe a special thank-you to Senator Kennedy for seeing that that
happened. (Laughter and applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Would you like to say something about it?
That's the TTD line, and for the last couple of years we've done some things to point
out what telephone technology is doing to bring communication to the deaf. And this TTD line
is 1-800-787-3224.
I thank you for mentioning that. Thank you.
Thank you all.
(Applause.)
END
12:49 P.M. EST
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 3, 1996
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH, 1996
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Domestic violence threatens the very core of what we hold dear. Millions of women and
children throughout our nation are plagued by the terror of family violence each year, and
approximately 20 percent of all hospital emergency room visits by women result from such
violence. Family violence is a crime that transcends race, religion, ethnicity, and economic
stature, and one of its greatest tragedies is its effect on our young people: as many as 3 million
children witness violence in their homes each year.
We must never give up in our efforts to transform despair into hope for the women and
families across this country who suffer violence at home. We must encourage all Americans to
increase public awareness and understanding of domestic abuse as well as the needs of its
victims. My Administration is fully engaged in this struggle, coordinating our efforts through
the Violence Against Women Office at the Department of Justice and through the Department
of Health and Human Services.
Legislation enacted during the past several years is also helping to overcome the scourge
of domestic violence. The Violence Against Women Act that I signed into law has given law
enforcement critical new tools with which to prosecute and punish criminals who intentionally
prey upon women and children. The Interstate Stalking Punishment and Prevention Act of 1996,
enacted just last month, makes it a Federal crime for any stalker to cross State lines to pursue
a victim, whether or not there is a protection order in effect, whether or not an actual act of
violence has been committed, and whether or not the stalker is the victim's spouse. And I am
pleased that the Congress has just taken action to keep guns out of the hands of people with a
history of domestic violence.
My Administration has also worked to increase the support available for battered women
and other victims of domestic violence, including the elderly. In February, I announced the
creation of a 24-hour, toll-free National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE. The
response to this service has been overwhelming, and the hotline has already received over
50,000 calls -- the majority from women and men who have never before reached out for
assistance. This year, we will also provide increased and unprecedented resources for battered
women's shelters, domestic violence prevention efforts, and children's counseling services.
There is still much more to do, however. The welfare reform legislation that I recently
signed recognizes the special needs of domestic violence victims, and I urge all States to accept
the option of implementing the new law's Family Violence provisions. I have also directed the
Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice to develop guidance
for States and assist them in implementing the provisions. As we help families move from
welfare to work, we must ensure that they remain safe from violence in their homes and are
given the support they need to achieve independence.
As a result of these and other efforts at the national, State, and local levels, we are one
step closer to eliminating domestic violence and building in its place a brighter, more secure
future for our families and loved ones. I salute all those whose efforts are helping us in this
endeavor and pay special tribute to the survivors of domestic violence whose courage is an
inspiration to us all. I urge all Americans to join me in working toward the day when no person
raises a hand in violence against a family member.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim October 1996 as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I
call upon all Americans to observe this month by demonstrating their respect and gratitude for
all those individuals who unselfishly share their experiences, skills, and talents with those
affected by domestic violence.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this third day of October, in the
year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and twenty-first.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
2
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 3, 1996
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT THE SIGNING OF THE ANTI-CRIME
LEGISLATION
The Rose Garden
9:23 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, thank you very much. Thank you very much
Attorney General Reno, Secretary Rubin, Secretary Shalala, General McCaffrey, OMB
Director Frank Raines, Undersecretary Kelly, our ATF Director John McGaw, Bonnie
Campbell, Bob Scully and the board members of NAPO, to the families who are here
represented that were mentioned by the Attorney General who have paid such a great price to
serve our country in law enforcement, to the members of Congress who are here who
supported this action in a completely bipartisan way, I thank you for being here: Senator
Biden, Senator Graham, Senator Feinstein, Senator John Kerry, Senator Reid, Senator
Specter, Senator Wellstone, Congressman Conyers, Congressman DeFazio, Congressman
Fox, Congressman Frost, Congressman Luther, Congressman Studds. I thank you all for
your active support of these initiatives and for your presence here today.
I would like to being by saluting the brave men and women who are in law
enforcement in the United States. Before this ceremony, I had the honor of meeting and
presenting the annual "Top Cop" award to 25 law enforcement officials from around the
country who have displayed heroism, devotion to duty and service to their communities that
is truly extraordinary. That service is also on display in every community every day. Our
police are at the center our strategy as a nation for fighting crime, and today I think every
American should give them thanks. So I would like to ask all of you to recognize those who
have been awarded the "Top Cop" award behind us. (Applause.)
I would also like to say again a special word of thanks to Richard Hagerman and
Donna Whitson, to the O'Hare and Alou families, and to Karen Degan and her family for
their remarkable work to prove that representative government can still represent, can still
actually respond to the legitimate needs and concerns of the citizens of this country.
This is a good day for America because we have seen a change in the attitudes of our
people, the actions of communities, and the work in Washington on the problem of crime.
Today, after years and years of talking about the crime problem, we can actually see that we
can say with a clear heart and a clear mind and absolute conviction to the American people,
"There is something you can do about crime." We are getting results, and today we mark
the passage of three more laws that further advance our anti-crime strategy.
Four years ago, we put in place an anti-crime strategy that was both tough and smart.
It was eventually embodied in the 1994 Crime Bill. It has been behind all of our actions
over the last three and a half years. We are on track to putting 100,000 new community
police officers on the street, people who work with their neighbors to catch criminals, close
crack houses, who work with citizens groups which we have also supported to prevent crime
before it happens.
I am pleased that the Budget Bill I signed on Monday evening will keep moving
forward on our promise to finish putting 100,000 police on the street. We have toughened
penalties, made three strikes and you're out the law of the land, expanded the death penalty,
said to drug dealers who prey on public housing, "One criminal conviction and you are out
of public housing." We have said to sexual predators, "The law will follow you wherever
you go," and we are working to establish a national registry for sexual predators to make
absolutely sure that that is exactly what happens. We are taking guns off the street, banning
19 deadly assault weapons, passing the Brady Bill.
And we are giving our young people some things to say yes to as well: expanded
anti-drug programs in our schools, encouragement to communities to enforce truancy laws,
impose community curfews, introduce policies like school uniforms. All of these things will
work to give our children a stronger sense of right and wrong and a greater capacity to do
what is right.
This strategy, of course, is not ours alone. In fact, I would say to all those here
especially to you, Senator Biden -- who helped us write the Crime Bill of 1994, what we
have done in Washington is a reflection of what we have heard from the energy, the
determination, and the activities of thousands and thousands of citizens and law enforcement
officials all across this country where our police are taking back their streets, enlisting the
active support of community watch groups, of parents, of businesses.
For four years in a row now, crime has come down in America. Murders are down,
rapes are down, robberies are down, drug use is down. The rising tide of juvenile violence,
which seemed poised to upend our progress, has finally begun to recede. There are one
million fewer crime victims today than there were a year ago. Now we must press on. We
must build on this strategy of putting more police on the street and taking criminals, drugs,
and guns off the street. That is what these measures we mark today do.
First, earlier this week, Congress answered my call to expand on the proven success
of the Brady Bill. When our police officers and crime victims were advocating the passage
2
of the Brady Bill and the assault weapons ban, those who opposed them told the nations
hunters that Congress would take their guns away. Well, now we know. After two years,
not a single hunter has been denied a weapon but 60,000 felons, fugitives and stalkers have
been denied guns because of the Brady Bill. It was plainly the right thing to do. It has
worked. (Applause.)
Until now, the Brady Bill has worked to bar felons from buying guns, handguns.
Thousands of people, however, who are wife beaters or child abusers, even those who have
wielded weapons in their assaults, could still buy handguns with potentially deadly
consequences. There is no more harmful type of violence than this.
In August, I asked Congress to pass an extension of the Brady Bill to deny handguns
to anyone convicted of domestic violence. I am pleased that the Congress enacted this
important domestic violence law as part of the Budget Bill. It is a very fitting way to begin
Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which I am proclaiming today. (Applause.)
Now, with a strong voice, America says: If you are convicted of a felony you should
not have a gun. If you are a fugitive from the law, you should not have a gun. If you are
stalking or harassing women or children you should not have a gun. And if you raise and
commit an act of violence against your spouse or your child you should not have a gun.
That is now the law of the land.
Second, I am very pleased that in the Budget Bill Congress passed more was done to
help break the cycle of crime and drugs. Drug dealers with guns and criminals on drugs are
central to our crime problem. Up to two-thirds of the adults arrested for felonies today have
substance abuse problems. When criminals go on parole, and then they go back on drugs,
chances are very high that they will commit new crimes. Now, listen to this -- I couldn't
believe it when I learned this -- 60 percent, 60 percent, of the heroin and cocaine sold in our
country is purchased by people on bail, on probation, or on parole. Seventy-five percent of
the prisoners with a history of heroin or cocaine use are released, without treatment, to go
back on drugs within three months and back to the cycle of crime and drugs.
Today, states often do not do much to drug test prisoners or parolees or take action to
break them of their habit. Last month, I proposed legislation to do something about that. It
requires states receiving federal prison funds to develop comprehensive drug testing and
treatment programs for prisoners and parolees. And I am very, very pleased that the
Congress passed this legislation. We say to inmates, "If you stay on drugs, you have to stay
in jail." We say to parolees, "If you go back on drugs, then you have to go back to jail. If
you want to stay on the street, stay off drugs."
I have asked the Attorney General to issue preliminary guidelines for the states to
help them comply with this new law by the end of this year. I am pleased we are not
wasting any time.
3
And again, let me thank the Congress for their prompt action on this problem. This
has the potential to make a huge difference in the crime problem in America, as well as to
liberate a lot of people from a drug abuse habit and enable them to go back to being
responsible citizens, instead of just being in a revolving door, in and out of prison all their
lives.
Finally, I'm pleased that Congress has passed important anti-drug legislation that I
submitted last spring to deal with methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a deadly drug that
unfortunately is gaining popularity. In two years, deaths from this drug have doubled.
Currently isolated in geographic pockets, its use now threatens to spread nationwide
With this legislation we increase penalties for trafficking in meth, toughen the
penalties for trafficking in those chemicals used to produce meth, and give the Justice
Department authority to regulate and seize those chemicals. I am particularly pleased that
we are acting before this epidemic spreads. And I thank General McCaffrey and Attorney
General Reno for their urgency in this matter. We have to stop meth before it becomes the
crack of the 1990s, and this legislation gives us a chance to do it.
Again, let me say to General McCaffrey a thank you for your work and for holding
two national forums on methamphetamine, one with Senator Feinstein in Southern California,
and one with Senator Kerry in Nebraska, over the next few months.
All of these new laws will help us to fight crime, but we must recognize that more
police and tougher penalties cannot fight crime alone. Parents have to teach their children to
stay away from drugs and out of gangs and violence. Clergy, businesspeople, educators, all
must do their part. We need more citizens out there patrolling the streets, and we are trying
to generate another million volunteers to help because we know that these citizen patrols
have dramatically reduced crime when they are working with police officers. And all of our
young people must decide to assume more personal responsibility to stay off drugs, out of
gangs, and away from jail and within the law.
As of today, if you commit an act of violence against your spouse or child, you can't
purchase a gun. If you violate your parole and use drugs, you must go back to jail. If you
traffick in meth, you must pay a stiff penalty. We are safer because of these actions.
Again, I thank the Congress and I'm pleased to sign the legislation, and I'd like to
ask the members who are here and the law enforcement officers to come up and be with me.
(Applause.)
(The bill was signed.) (Applause.)
END
9:36 A.M. EDT
4
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 3, 1996
October 3, 1996
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
SUBJECT:
Guidelines to States for Implementing
the Family Violence Provisions
Domestic violence has a devastating impact on families and
communities. Each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans
are subjected to assault, rape, or murder at the hands of an
intimate family member. Our children's futures are severely
threatened by the fact that they live in homes with domestic
violence. We know that children who grow up with such violence
are more likely to become victims or batterers themselves. The
violence in our homes is self-perpetuating and eventually it
spills into our schools, our communities, and our workplaces.
Domestic violence can be particularly damaging to women and
children in low-income families. The profound mental and
physical effects of domestic violence can often interfere with
victims' efforts to pursue education or employment -- to become
self-sufficient and independent. Moreover, it is often the case
that the abusers themselves fight to keep their victims from
becoming independent.
As we reform our Nation's welfare system, we must make sure
that welfare-to-work programs across the country have the tools,
the training, and the flexibility necessary to help battered
women move successfully into the work force and become
self-sufficient.
For these reasons, I strongly encourage States to implement
the Wellstone/Murray Family Violence provisions of the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)
of 1996 (Public Law 104-193, section 402 (a) (7) ) These
provisions invite States to increase services for battered women
through welfare programs and help these women move successfully
and permanently into the workplace. The Family Violence pro-
visions are critical in responding to the unique needs faced by
women and families subjected to domestic violence.
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As we move forward on our historical mission to reform the
welfare system, this Administration is committed to offering
States assistance in their efforts to implement the Family
Violence provisions.
Accordingly, I direct the Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services and the Attorney General to develop guidance
for States to assist and facilitate the implementation of the
Family Violence provisions. In crafting this guidance, the
Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice should
work with States, domestic violence experts, victims' services
programs, law enforcement, medical professionals, and others
involved in fighting domestic violence. These agencies should
recommend standards and procedures that will help make transi-
tional assistance programs fully responsive to the needs of
battered women.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services is further directed
to provide States with technical assistance as they work to
implement the Family Violence provisions.
Finally, to more accurately study the scope of the problem, we
should examine statutory rape, domestic violence, and sexual
assault as threats to safety and barriers to self-sufficiency.
I therefore direct the Attorney General and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to make it a priority to understand
the incidence of statutory rape, domestic violence, and sexual
assault in the lives of poor families, and to recommend the best
assessment, referral, and delivery models to improve safety and
self-sufficiency for poor families who are victims of domestic
violence.
I ask the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the
Attorney General to report to me in writing 90 days from the
date of this memorandum on the specific progress that has been
made toward these goals.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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