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Radio talkers to fight domestic violence
15-hour discussion to air
said in a study of hospital
New York's WADO and
emergency rooms released
WIND's Luisa Torres, known in
in English and in Spanish
last August. The figure, four
Chicago as the "Hispanic
Michael
times higher than earlier, less
Oprah." Torres, who says she
precise estimates, suggests the
was abused by a former hus-
By Jill Lawrence
of the radio event.
problem is "seriously under-re-
band, receives a huge number
USA TODAY
The shows will
ported," the department said.
of calls from battered Hispanic
originate at the
The top draw among Mon-
women, according to her pro-
WASHINGTON
Think
Washington head-
day's radio talkers is clinical
ducer, Elisa Alfonso.
talk radio and you think Rush
quarters of the Inter-
psychologist Joy Browne,
"Many women don't speak
Limbaugh, Oliver North, G.
American Develop-
USA TODAY
Agence France-Presse
heard on 300 stations by 8.5
English, many are unem-
Gordon Liddy, Don Imus or
ment Bank, which is
Schroeder: Heads
Clinton: Confer-
million people.
ployed, they're housewives.
Howard Stern.
co-sponsoring a con-
anti-violence group
ence participant
To women who say they stay
Many are here illegally and
But about 25 million listen-
ference Monday and
with abusive men for love, she
their husbands say if they tell
ers will experience another
Tuesday on violence in the
played particular interest in
asks, "If you won the lottery to-
anyone they'll be deported,"
side of talk radio Monday
home. Speakers include first
the issue and particular empa-
morrow, would you stay or go?
says Alfonso. Some are told
when more than a dozen hosts
lady Hillary Rodham Clinton;
thy for the problem on the air,
They say 'I'd go.' It's not love.
that "the fact that your hus-
broadcast from a domestic vio-
former congresswoman Patri-
says Harrison.
It's economic dependency."
band smacks you around a lit-
lence conference here and de-
cia Schroeder, chairman of the
The conference and talk-
Alan Stock, a psychothera-
tle is part of the marriage."
vote their shows to the subject.
Boston-based Institute for Civil
athon are part of a cluster of
pist before he became a morn-
Torres, whose Chicago Al
From 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., in
Society; and experts on domes-
events connected with Nation-
ing drive-time host at Sacra-
Dia is heard by 56,000 people
English and Spanish, on hun-
tic violence in the United
al Domestic Violence Aware-
mento's KSTE radio, describes
in four states, is among the par-
dreds of stations from New
States and Latin America.
ness Month. A march on the
himself as "a conservative dis-
ticipants seeking an interview
York to Sacramento to Mexico
While radio talkers often
National Mall on Saturday will
gusted by the level of domestic
with Hillary Clinton, who is
City and overseas on Voice of
congregate at political conven-
feature 1,500 life-size wooden
violence in this area."
speaking at the conference. "It
America, the talk will be of vic-
tions, this is believed to be the
figures of women murdered by
By moving the show to
certainly would be wonderful
tims and batterers, of econom-
first issue-oriented conclave
domestic abusers. The U.S.
Washington, he said, "we're
for her to join in on the conver-
ics and emotions, of how to es-
and the first to bring together
Public Health Service holds a
hoping to be able to bring a lot
sation with any of us," says
cape seemingly hopeless
English and Spanish-speaking
meeting on Monday to discuss
more awareness to our audi-
Blanquita Cullum, a conserva-
cycles of abuse.
stars of the radio waves.
how nurses can help stop and
ence." His 70,000 listeners are
tive host whose BQ View is,car-
"It's going to be a very seri-
The hosts range from liberal
prevent abuse.
a politically balanced mix of
ried on 100 stations. "We'd al-
ous day of discussion," says Mi-
to conservative and include
About 243,000 people were
whites, blacks and Hispanics.
ways have an open mike for
chael Harrison, editor of Talk-
both men and women. They
victims of domestic violence in
Spanish-language partici-
her - an unbiased open
ers magazine and an organizer
were invited because they dis-
1994, the Justice Department
pants include Malin Falu of
mike."
2:05
2:15
USA TODAY
FRIDAY. OCTOBER 17, 1997
Where fund-raising flap falls flat
In Missouri, 1,000 miles from the nation's capital, the clamor over political
fund-raising generally is drawing little interest or concern.
manufacturing jobs at Chrysler, Ford
Louis metropolitan area.
with Clinton. The unemployment rate is
This is icing on the cake."
abuses.
The economy here is anchored by
just 3.7% in Missouri and 3.8% in the St.
this area have tempered discontent
But prosperous economic times in
ways thought Clinton was kind of shady.
House fund-raising, she says, "I've al-
Of the latest revelations about White
become outraged about fund-raising
will be forced to act only when people
manager from Fenton, says politicians
Karen Brown, 31, a business planning
ents interviewed here knew it.
nance system. But few of their constitu-
that would overhaul the campaign fi-
tion, known as the McCain-Feingold bill,
croft, voted last week to block legisla-
tors, Christopher Bond and John Ash-
Both of Missouri's Republican sena-
home district or region.
butions come only from the candidate's
" he'd support a requirement that contri-
current system likes it," he says, adding
"Nobody who has to live within the
might make matters worse.
form. But he worries that a quick-fix
campaign-finance system needs re-
rival by 3-1, says he agrees that the
year after outspending his Democratic
Talent, elected to a third term last
the interviews were conducted.
ent, the Republican in whose district
their own interests," says Rep. Jim Tal-
figure things out and vote rationally in
and knowledgeable. They know how to
nine congressmen are Democrats.
Democratic governor and five of its
State" tends to lean Republican, it has a
tions. And although the "Show-Me
bellwether state in presidential elec-
political savvy. Missouri has long been a
doesn't matter that much to me."
don't give any money to politicians so it
Heights stock clerk, bluntly puts it, "I
lives as political fund-raising.
about something as remote from their
about local issues to get too worked up
working, raising families and worrying
found that most people are too busy
western suburbs of St. Louis this week
Brentwood.
who works in direct-mail advertising in
tapes," acknowledges Aaron Head, 23,
stay-at-home mother of two children.
it," says Peggy Baumann, 37, a St. Louis
a campaign-finance-reform bill.
Buddhist nuns and Senate votes to block
counsels, money-laundering through
tributors, the prospect of independent
eotapes of White House coffees for con-
gressional hearings, newly surfaced vid-
the news from Washington about con-
paying limited day-to-day attention to
W00 donors.
"People here are quite independent
That does not mean people here lack
As Sue Riggio, 57, a Maryland
Nearly two dozen interviews in the
"I never even heard about the video-
"I just don't have the time to follow
But most residents interviewed are
President Gore used the White House to
about how President Clinton and Vice
for campaigns. And many feel uneasy
for the way politicians collect money
Many people here surely don't care
like irritating background noise.
away, the latest developments are more
this heartland community 1,000 miles
abuzz about political fund-raising but in
USA TODAY
DES PERES, Mo. - Washington is
By Richard Benedetto
you punish?"
term.
system.
tors.
can.
repairman from Ferguson. "Who do
says Al Sesay, a 50-year-old computer
form, but he's still out raising money,"
campaigns. President Clinton is for re-
and Democrat, collect money for their
"All of the candidates, Republican
paign-finance situation.
one party or politician for the cam-
makes it difficult for voters to blame
The feeling that everybody-does-it
its," Bloebaum says.
hard to get him out. We need term lim-
can collect enough money to make it
system. Once a politician is in office he
"That's the trouble with the finance
Bond's quest next year for another
think it will make much difference in
bill. Yet, Bloebaum says he doesn't
Senate to block the McCain-Feingold
Charles, knows that Bond voted in the
ployee assistance director from St.
Gus Bloebaum, 48; a corporate em-
the deciding factor in next year's vote.
campaign-finance reform will not be
Whether a candidate supports
what can be done to fix the complex
There is little citizen agreement on
tics will continue.
problem of big money influencing poli-
Even if they do change it, the old
rent fund-raising system.
in making drastic changes to the cur-
publicans are thought to be interested
Neither the Democrats nor the Re-
ever, four themes emerged:
As interviews got more in-depth, how-
videotapes of Clinton greeting contribu-
hadn't heard about the White House
vestigations very closely and 30%
of respondents were following the in-
ABC survey this week showed only 10%
probes in the House and Senate. An
tle attention to campaign-finance
with polls showing the public paying lit-
The interviews here are consistent
ance man who usually votes Republi-
Amoroso, 78, a retired St. Ann insur-
"It's a big flap over nothing," says Art
publican sniping
gations in Washington as SO much Re-
paigns, most tend to dismiss the investi-
As for the financing of political cam-
family demands.
just finding time to balance work and
seemed far bigger worries, along with
cation, crime, health care and traffic
issues that concerned them most. Edu-
economic problems when asked to list
Those interviewed didn't mention
cial companies.
em office parks for high-tech and finan-
and I-270 has been stimulated by mod-
Sprawling suburban growth along I-170
and McDonnell Douglas-Boeing plants.
USA TODAY FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 1997
Patti
LOUISIA
U.S. Department of Justice
10/20
Office of Justice Programs
SW
Violence Against Women Office
Washington, D.C. 20531
March 27, 1997
AAA
Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton
The First Lady
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mrs. Clinton:
IDG
for
I am writing to ask you to use your considerable talents, skills, experience and
presence to address a problem reaching epidemic proportions around the world. The
Bosta
problem is one that I know is of great concern to you: domestic violence.
On October 20-21, 1997, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is
crifice
sponsoring a two-day conference in Washington, D.C., on domestic violence in the
Americas. The conference will document the magnitude of domestic violence against
women, estimate its social and economic costs, and highlight some of the most innovative
programs that prevent or treat domestic violence. The second day the conference will
focus on ways in which the media can help change social attitudes about domestic
violence.
Certainly there have been other conferences on the topic of domestic violence.
However, this conference is truly unique because of the quality of the participants and
the unfathomable extent of their reach. This conference will be attended by
representatives of the leading international development organizations, ministers or vice-
ministers from the member countries of the hemisphere, representatives of non-
governmental organizations that work in the prevention or treatment of domestic
violence against women, experts in the area of domestic violence, and representatives of
important media firms in the hemisphere. In other words, the people who "know" will
be with the people who can make it happen -- all over the Americas.
I am asking you to consider participating in this event. I am asking this because
I believe that you have a special message as well as a commitment to this issue and that
you can deliver that message in a way that no one else can. I also believe that when you
deliver that message, in your own special, inimitable style, it will send ripples of change
throughout the Americas, helping countless women and their daughters and daughters-
to-be.
consider attending the first day of this conference and presenting the a costs 20-
10 chion the issue of domestic violence against women, focusing on of
devastating acts to society. Your presence and participation would mean a legacy
afety and hope for many struggling women.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Bonnie J Samphell
Bonnie J. Campbell, Director
BANK
ANDUM
furt
FILE CLASSIFICATION:
DATE:
TO
:
Melanne Verveer, Deputy Chief of Staff
Office of the First Lady
FROM
:
L. Ronald Scheman, US Executive Director
R
SUBJECT
:
Conference on Domestic Violence in the Americas.
Melanne:
When Mrs. Clinton was at the Bank on February 27, Enrique Iglesias and I talked to her about
the "Conference on Domestic Violence in the Americas" scheduled to take place on October
@20-21, 1997 here at the IADB in Washington, D.C Wc invited her to be the keynote speaker
and she asked for more details.
The two-day conference will attempt to document the economic and social costs of domestic
violence and explore lessons from "best practices" to develop a better program to combat
domestic violence throughout the hemisphere. The results will be a resource to governments
and NGOs of the region and help the design of Bank projects to combat domestic violence.
We expect the meeting to be attended by major U.S. and Latin American political figures in
order to place a spotlight on domestic violence in the Americas and discuss policy options on
how best to address the problem.
A second part of the conference will be for the print and broadcast media from the Americas
to discuss how they can contribute to the solution of the problem of domestic violence.
Let me know if it will be possible for Mrs. Clinton to participate. We understand that, at this
stage it is only our expression of interest and a "penciling in" on the calendar.
2202 62.3 31112
23/97
11115
08:46
202 623 2638
SDS/WID
01002
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
IN LATIN AMERICA
AND THE CARIBBEAN
COSTS, PROGRAMS AND POLICIES
OCTOBER 20-21, 1997
INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Tentative Agenda
Moderator: Muni Figueres. External Relations Advisor, Inter-American Development Bank
OCTOBER 20, 1997
7:30-8:30
Confercuce Registration/ Coffee
8:30-9:00
Greetings and introduction of co-sponsors
Enrique Iglesias. President Inter-American Development Bank
co-sponsors:
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
Inter-American Commission of Women (ICM-OAS)
Institute for Civil Society (TCS)
ISIS Internacional
9:00-9:20
Speech
International Political Figure
9:20- 9:45
Presentation of IDB vidco on domestic vialence: "Battered Lives. Broken Trust: When Men Abuse Women"
9:45-10:00
General Framework of the Conference
Mayra Buvinic. Chief, Women in Development Unit. IDB
10:00- 10:15
Coffee
10:15-10:45
Prevalence, Causes and Consequences of Domestic Violence: A Focus on Women and Children
-Domcstic Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean: A General Vision of Prevalence and Existing
Programs in the Region
Soledad Larrain. Coordinator. Domestic Violence Post Graduate Degree. University of Chile
-Relations Between Poverty and Domestic Violence Against Women in Metropolitan Linia
Efrain González de Olarte. Principal Economist, Institute for Peruvian Studies
Pilar Gavilano Llosu. Clinical Psychologist, Peru
Inter-Amerlcen Development Bank 1300 New York Ave. N.W. Mail Stop: W0502 Washington D.C. 20577
Telephone: (202) 623-1314 Fax: (202) 623-1463 E-mail: [email protected]
A7
10:51
202 623 3612
IDB U.S. OFFICE
1
003
0:45-11:00
Discussion and questions
1:00-11:30
Costs of Domestic Violence Against Women
- The Impact of Domestic Violence Against Women on Health: The Mexican Case
Rafael Lozano. Coordinator, Health Needs Analysis for the Center of Economy and Health, Mexican Health
Foundation
-Economic Cost of Domestic Violence for Women, Children and Society: The Cases of Nicaragua and Chile
Andrew Morrison. Economist, Women in Development Unit, IDD
11:30-11:45
Policy Lessons in Health and Labor Markets
Tarsicto Castañeda International Social Policy Consultant. Colombia
11:45- 12:00
Discussion and questions
12:00-1:30
Lunch
Speaker: Esmeralda Santiago. Novelist
1:30 -2:25
Best Practice #1: Domestic Violence Treatment
-Domestic Violence Networks
Dore Caballero. Program Conrdinator, "Networks for the Prevention and Treatment of Domestic Violence",
PAHO
Marcela Granados. Director, Research of the Inter-tristitutional Working Group Against Domestic Violence,
State Population Council, Nueva Lsón, México
-Crisis Intervention: The Experience of Telephone Interventions
Enrique Valdez. Chief, Violence Treatment Division, Salvadorian Institute for Women Development
-Treatment of Baucrers
Francisco Cervante. Coordinator, Men for Egalitarian Relations (CORIAC). México
2:25-2:40
Policy Lessons in Domestic Violence Treatment
Lori Heise. Director. Health and Development Policy Project, Washington DC
2:40- 3:00
Discussion and questions
3:00-3:15
Coffee
3:15 -3:45
Best Practices #2: Judicial Systems and Law Enforcement
Martha Mesquita do Rocha. Coordinator. Women Police Stations. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Zarela Villanueva, Supreme Court, Costa Rica
3:45-4:00
Policy Lessons in Judicial Systems and Law Enforcement
Susana Chiarotti. Coordinator, Regional Committee for Latin America and the Caribbeun for Women's
Human Rights (CLADEM), Argentina
4:00-4:15
Coffee
004
1:00-11:15
Coffee
11:15-1:00
Interactive Panel: Problems and Possibilities of Media Actions on Domestic
Violence.¹
Moderator: Jorge Gestoso. CNN in Spanish
Rassana Fuentes. Diario la Reforma.
Dorrit Harzim. Veja Magazine, São Paulo
México
Maria Laura Santillá. Programa causa
Claudia Cano. Diario El Espectador,
común, TV Canal 13 ARTEAR Argentina
Colombia
Patricia Verdugo. TV Nacional Canal 7,
Silvia Rojas. Diario La República, Perú
Chile
Jorge Valverde. Programa En la mira,
Canal 4 MULTIVISION, Costa Rica
Hercilia Gamica. Diarlo Universal.
Venezuela
1:00- 1:15
Closing Remarks
invited to participate
White House Press Releases Databas TIC VIOLENCE AWAEESrMOih.gov/cgi-..>+19930119+1997101576297629&use_hyp
White House Virtual Library
White House Press Release
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH, 1997
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 1, 1997
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH, 1997
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
In observing the month of October as National Domestic Violence
Awareness Month, the American people reaffirm our commitment to prevent
and eliminate violence against women. Domestic violence is not simply
a private family matter -- it is a matter affecting the entire
community.
Too many of America's homes have become places where women, children,
and seniors suffer physical abuse and emotional trauma. Domestic
violence is a leading cause of injury to women in our country, and it
occurs among all racial, ethnic, religious, and economic groups. It is
a particularly devastating form of abuse because it wears a familiar
face: the face of a spouse, parent, or partner. This violence too
often extends beyond the home and into the workplace.
My Administration is committed to ending this violence and to
protecting women in all aspects of their lives, whether in the home, in
the community, or in the workplace. In 1994, I fought for passage of
the Violence Against Women Act, which combined tough new penalties for
offenders with funding for much-needed shelters, counseling services,
public education, and research to help the victims of violence. The
Federal penalties and prevention efforts included in this legislation
have improved our ability to deter crimes of domestic violence.
Early in my Administration, as outlined in the landmark Crime Bill, I
1 of 3
10/15/97 14:16:13
White House Press Releases Databas TIC VIOLENCE
established the Office of Violence Against Women in the Department of
Justice to lead our comprehensive national effort to combine tough
Federal laws with assistance to States and localities to fight domestic
violence and other crimes against women. In February 1996, the
Department of Health and Human Services launched the 24-hour-a-day,
toll-free National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-797-SAFE, so that
those in trouble can find out how to get emergency help, find shelter,
or report abuse. To date, the hotline has received more than 118,000
calls from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
the U.S. Virgin Islands. We also initiated an Advisory Council on
Violence Against Women to bring together experts in the field,
including representatives from law enforcement, business, health and
human services, and advocates, to focus national attention on
successful, multifaceted solutions to combating violence and sexual
assault.
We cannot simply rest on past efforts. My Administration is continuing
its work to prevent domestic violence and to care for survivors in their
communities and workplaces. We are committed to strengthening the
health care system's ability to screen, treat, prevent, and eliminate
family violence by supporting training of health care providers and
projects to assist those in the substance abuse field to address
domestic violence. We are working to improve collaboration between
human services providers, advocates, and the criminal justice community
to enhance responses to domestic violence. The Department of Health
and Human Services is sponsoring projects and programs to coordinate
community responses to domestic violence, to focus on youth and children
who witness violence, and to link child protection services with
community providers who work with abused women and their children.
Finally, as a further enhancement of my 1995 directive to all Federal
departments and agencies to conduct employee awareness campaigns on
domestic violence, the Office of Personnel Management is producing a
guide to help agency representatives develop programs to prevent and
respond to all types of workplace violence against Federal employees,
including domestic violence. This guide, drafted by experts in the
areas of mental health, investigations, law enforcement, threat
assessment, and employee relations, will serve as a useful tool in
providing step-by-step information to identify, prevent, and respond
to violence SO that we can protect those in the Federal work force.
I encourage the private sector to expand its role in preventing and
eliminating domestic violence. We must also strengthen coordinated
efforts between the public and private sectors to combat domestic
violence in the home, the community, and the workplace. These efforts
must ensure that no survivor of domestic violence lives in isolation
and that the families of victims also have our support. No child
should have to live in an abusive home. No woman should live in fear
in her home, on the streets, or on the job. Only through a national
commitment to this effort can we stop domestic violence and ensure that
its survivors are safe.
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 1997 as
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I call upon government
officials, law enforcement agencies, health professionals, educators,
community leaders, and the American people to join together to end the
domestic violence that threatens so many of our people.
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White House Press Releases Databas TIC VIOLENCE AWARErMONh.gov/cgi-.>+19930119+19971015629629&use_hyp=
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of
October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-second.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
# # #
To comment on this service: [email protected]
3 of 3
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White House Press Releases Databas TIC VIOLENCE AWAEMOhb6.gov/cgi-..>+19930119+199710156296298uise_hyp=
Mule House Virtual Library
White House Press Release
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH, 1996
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
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White House Press Releases Databas TIC VIOLENCE
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
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White House Press Release
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE EVENT
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,
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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,
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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.)
I
-- a question on this topic, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Okay.
Ω
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
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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.
I
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.
I
-- 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
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White House Press Release
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN OBSERVANCE OF NATIONAL DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
October 2, 1995
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN OBSERVANCE OF
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
EastRoom
2:06 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Sergeant Wynn, for
your remarks, and for dedicating your life to this important work.
Thank you, Bonnie Campbell, for doing a great job as head of the
Violence Against Women Program in the Justice Department. Thank you,
Attorney General Reno, for believing in this and for driving it.
Thank you, Secretary Shalala, for reminding us this is a human tragedy.
Thank you, Jerry Rossi. You stood up here and you tried to
convince us that you were really worried about the bottom line, and
everybody who saw you knew that what you were really worried about was
all those people out there, right and wrong. And every American who can
see you would be proud of you and would wish that every person in
business in this country would have those values and that kind of
passion. Thank you so much. (Applause.)
And thank you, Tana Sherman, for being brave enough to tell
us your story. Before we came over here, Tana and the five people who
are on the back row with Bonnie Campbell all told me their stories. One
of them had to have her back broken before she actually asked for help.
Another waited until her oldest child was assaulted with a meat cleaver.
This is not just a woman's problem. I was glad to hear
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that. This is a children's problem and it's a man's problem. And we're
not doing anybody any favors, least of all the abusers, by ignoring it
any longer. And I thank all these brave women for the power of their
example. And there are others in this audience who have been severely
abused in domestic situations -- I thank them all for having the courage
to be here and for the fight they are fighting.
I'd also like to thank the Congress for the support that
they gave this program a year ago, and to say a special word of
appreciation to the United States Senate for restoring funding for the
Violence Against Women Program just last week. Thank you, Senator
Leahy; thank you, Congresswoman Morella; thank you, Congresswoman Zoe
Lofgren. And I have to thank my good friend, Senator Joe Biden, in his
absence for all of their work on behalf of this program.
Last week we had a great week in Washington. We celebrated
progress in peace in the Middle East. We celebrated the beginnings of
peaceful agreements in Bosnia. I spend a whole lot of my time trying to
make or keep peace -- Northern Ireland, Southern Africa, Haiti; trying
to get rid of the nuclear weapons that have threatened to disturb our
peace profoundly and permanently. But we don't need just peace with
other countries. We need peace on our streets, in our schools, and
perhaps most of all, in our homes. All of us should want a peaceful
world, but we know a peaceful world has to start with each of us -- in
our homes, and at work, and in our lives.
This problem has been swept under the rug for quite a long
while now. It's really always existed at some level or another. It is
time to recognize that domestic violence can quickly and easily become
criminal violent activity that affects us all -- regardless of our race
or our income or our age, regardless of where we live or what we do.
You've heard about how it increases health costs and
absenteeism and reduces the productivity of businesses. You know the
most important thing is that it undermines the most important things in
life -- it undermines the most important institution in the world.
Most of us have been privileged to know, in greater or
lesser degree, the joys of family life. And everyone who has ever been
part of any family knows there's no such thing as a perfect family, and
they all have their problems. But there's a whole lot of difference
between a family with joys and problems and a family dominated by
violence and abuse.
If there is anything I could say to you today that would
leave a lasting impression, I would hope it would be to echo what the
fine man who introduced me said and that is that we don't have to put
up with this. We do not have to put up with this. We can do something
about it. It can be changed; it can be better.
And everybody, not just the battered women, but their
children who suffer psychological wounds that can only be imagined and
can never be fully predicted. And the abusers themselves will be better
off if we determine that we are going to put a quick, firm, rapid,
unambiguous stop to every single case we find about, as soon as we find
out about it. That is what we should all leave here determined to do.
(Applause.)
I wish the First Lady could be here today, but Hillary has
to -- she's going to New York, and she couldn't be here. But when we
lived in Little Rock, we spent a lot of time at the shelter for battered
and abused women and children. It was run by some saintly people we
knew and respected. We enjoyed, if you can use that word, the time we
spent there. We learned a lot. And it sort of stiffened my resolve to
see this as a problem of society, not just an unfortunate thing that
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happens to some families on occasion, including mine.
And when we were debating the crime bill a year ago, I was
so moved by the commitment that the Attorney General had and that many
in the Congress had to make a bipartisan departure from national policy
and say that we were actually going to single this out that we were
going to pass a crime bill that was comprehensive and meaningful, that
carried the real potential of lowering the crime rate; changing the
conditions in which crime would occur. And it really was a brilliant
piece of legislation. It had the assault weapons ban. It had stronger
penalties for serious offenders.
You see now people are beginning to be put away for good
under the three-strikes-and-you're-out law, and the two cases that I've
seen, I'd say the law has been properly implemented. It had money for
prevention, for community strategies. It had money for 100, police
officers. We see all over the country now community policing lowering
the crime rate. We do not have to put up with this; we can make this
better. We can bring the crime rate down, and we can certainly reduce
the rate of domestic violence.
But The Violence Against Women Act is really a peculiar
part of the genius of the crime bill because of its commitment to raise
to national prominence an issue that had never, ever been there before;
and because it combines tough sanctions against abusers with assistance
to police and to prosecutors and to shelters. And I don't know
several of the people who talked to me before I came out here were
emphasizing how important it is to educate and train not only the police
officers, but also the prosecutors and the judges. All the police can
do is to bring the case to the criminal justice system. Prosecutors and
the courts have to do the rest.
To make sure this act had a good chance to work, we created
the Office of Violence Against Women in the Justice Department, and we
named Bonnie Campbell, the former Attorney General of Iowa, to head it.
And we hope that we can say -- we hope that we can say now that as a
matter of national policy, with the support of people all across America
in uniform, in women's groups, in support groups -- the days of men
using physical violence to control the lives of their wives, their
girlfriends and their children are over. And it is not a women's issue,
it's an American issue, it's a values issue, and it is now an issue
around the world.
A lot of kind things have been said about the speech that
Hillary made at the Women's Conference in Beijing, speaking out against
abuses against women and little girls in other parts of the world. But
I would remind you, she also spoke out against the problem of family
violence. And the Beijing conference made that an international goal
for improving the condition of women the world over. And since we had
SO much to do with that, we ought to say, we've got a lot of work to do
right here in the United States, and we want to lead the way to
guarantee women and their children a safe life and a chance at a good,
constructive family.
Again, let me say, I'm grateful to all the corporations who
have worked on this. Jerry Rossi made an eloquent statement. There are
many others -- the GAP, Liz Claiborne, Aetna, Polaroid are among the
great companies in this country who have made a difference in the way
their employees are treated and the way they think about themselves and
their options and their possibilities. I thank them for that.
I want to thank the Congress again -- I mean, the Senate,
for restoring the funding. I want to say again, we will not be able to
do this right unless there are police officers like Sergeant Wynn who
will give themselves to this work. And I often say this in Washington
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very often a national movement like this starts with someone like
him, who had to live with the reality of domestic abuse. But we can't
bring it all the way home with only police officers who grew up in
families where there was abuse. We now have to have a systematic
commitment to sensitize people who, thank God, did not to live through
it, to be a part of this movement; to sensitize prosecutors; to
sensitize judges; to sensitize all of us in decision-making capacities,
whether or not we had domestic abuse in our homes.
And let me finally say that as a kickoff to the National
Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I signed today an executive
memorandum to ensure that our federal government continues to be a
leader in this national effort. I've asked the heads of all the
executive departments to conduct employee awareness campaigns modeled
after the one that the Attorney General has put in place at the
Department of Justice, to provide information and the resources to deal
with domestic violence. After all, we know there must be federal
employees at work, even as we speak, who themselves are the victims of
domestic violence and who are sitting there at their desks staring
blankly at a piece of paper while we here proclaim victory in this fight
and they haven't even taken the first step. So we want to set a good
example.
Let me lastly say that, to all the women here and all
across America who are abused or who have been abused, you are not
invisible. The people who have stood with you today can now say that
you are being heard, you are being seen, you are being understood.
The following quote is from one of Hillary's favorite
books, and I asked if I could use it today. It's called "In the
Spirit, by Susan Taylor, the editor of Essence Magazine. And it talks
about your courage, your strength and your hope. She writes -- quote --
"While we cannot change the past, with the wisdom of spirit, we can
change what it means to us and to our future. With understanding and
compassion, we can break a cycle of despair, rise above our sorrows and
find a new emotional home from which to create a brighter tomorrow.
Each breath we take offers us a chance to create a better life.
Now, I hope because of all these efforts, we will all, with
each breath we take, resolve that a part of that better life will be
less and less and less domestic violence and abuse, until we have taken
it out of the spirit and the soul and the life of the United States of
America.
Thank you, and God bless you all. (Applause.)
END
2:20 P.M. EDT
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White House Press Release
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT EVENT
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 21, 1995
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT EVENT
The East Room
1:11 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Sarah, for your wonderful
remarks and for the powerful example of your life. I was watching you
speak today, thinking of your story, wondering how many other stories
like yours there might have been if our society had responded more
properly, and how many more there will be now because we are going to
do the right things.
I thank Attorney General Reno and Secretary Shalala, and of
course, Senator Biden and Senator Hatch and Senator Boxer, Senator
Harkin, Senator Kerry, Senator Moseley-Braun, Senator Wellstone -- we've
nearly got a quorum. (Laughter.) Congresswoman DeLauro, Congresswoman
Mink, Congresswoman Morella, Congresswoman Blanche Lambert-Lincoln. I
thank you all for being here.
This is an important day for me. This is an issue with
which I have dealt as President, as a governor, as an attorney general,
as a citizen, going for years with my wife to the shelters in our state
for battered women and their children, and as a human being. And I have
looked forward to this day for a very long time.
We spend a lot of time in Washington, and we are now having
a great and fascinating debate about what the role of this government
ought to be and how we're going to get into the next century, and how
we're going to create opportunity for all the American people. This is
a good thing that we're doing. It's exciting. And I'm having a good
time. But, you know, let's be honest with each other. If children
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aren't safe in their homes, if college women aren't safe in their dorms,
if mothers can't raise their children in safety, then the American Dream
will never be real for them, no matter what we do in economic policy, no
matter how strong we are in standing against the forces that would seek
to undermine our values beyond our borders. This is key to everything
else we want to do.
So I applaud the members of the Congress, and especially
those who have been recognized already -- especially Senator Biden and
Senator Hatch -- for recognizing that we had to take responsibility for
trying to come to grips with issues that we ordinarily would think of as
issues that belong to local law enforcement or local social agencies, or
even to the privacy of the home.
When we were fighting SO hard last year to pass the crime
bill, with the emphasis on more police and more punishment and more
prisons and more prevention, one of the things that almost got lost was
the Violence Against Women Act. I think it almost got lost for a very
regrettable reason in this day and time -- the Republicans and the
Democrats weren't fighting about it. We really had a national consensus
that we had to do something. And because we knew we had to do something
and it passed, it was almost unnoticed.
But, you know, domestic violence is now the number one
health risk for women between the ages of 15 and 44 in our country.
If you think about it, it's a bigger threat than cancer or car
accidents. The incidents of rape is rising at three times the rate of
the crime rate. The FBI estimates that a woman is beaten in this
country once every 12 seconds. And we know, too, that often when a
spouse is beaten, the children as beaten as well.
For too long, domestic violence has been considered purely
a private matter. From now on, it is a problem we all share.
(Applause.) What are we going to do about it? The first thing we have
to do is do what we can to prevent violence. One part of the crime bill
I am proudest of will help in our efforts to stop repeat offenses
against women. It will prohibit individuals with a restraining order
against them from purchasing or possessing a gun. No ifs, ands or buts.
(Applause.)
When crimes do occur, we must restore the rights of victims
to their proper place. That means giving them the right to speak at
sentencing hearings. And above all, it means helping victims rebuild
their lives. We'll require sexual offenders to pay restitution to their
victims. We must help people who suffer violence put their lives back
on track and put the burdens on the criminals where they belong.
To help in prevention and in assisting victims, the crime
bill establishes a Violence Against Women Office at the Department of
Justice. Today I am pleased to announce that Bonnie Campbell of Iowa
will be the first director of that office. As Iowa's first female
attorney general, Bonnie Campbell helped to enact strong domestic
violence and anti-stalking laws in that state. She worked with counties
and college campuses to raise awareness about domestic violence. And
she endorsed a victims rights amendment to the state constitution. A
big part of her new job will be helping states and communities to deal
with domestic violence.
Today we are making available $26 million to help the
states open rape crisis centers, to staff domestic violence hotlines, to
provides victims advocates, to pay for more officers and more training.
This is the first down payment on a six-year commitment of $800 million
for this purpose. (Applause.)
This is part of a report I should make at least to these
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members of Congress who are here about the crime bill. The work has
already begun. In just four months we have awarded more than 16,000
police officers to half the police departments in America. We're taking
guns and criminals off the streets. The three-strikes-and- you're-out
law is being enforced in Iowa and in many other states throughout the
country. In short, we are under budget and ahead of schedule. And I
want more of that from our government.
We passed this crime bill with bipartisan support. And I'd
be the last person to say that it's the end-all and be-all, the ultimate
answer to all the problems of crime in America. But I will not permit
the crime bill to be undercut. It is just starting to make a difference
in the lives of America. We have to keep going. We have to make a
difference in the lives of everyone, but especially the women and the
children we are called here today to pledge our allegiance to protect.
Let me begin this introduction of Bonnie Campbell and end
it with a simple thank you. It's hard to get anybody with good sense to
leave Iowa to come to Washington. (Laughter.) And I thank her for
doing it and for the shining example she has set in public service and
for the excellent work I am confident she will do in this important
position.
Bonnie. (Applause.)
END1 : 20 P.M. EST
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White House Press Release
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT HUMAN RIGHTS DAY EVENT
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
December 10, 1996
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT HUMAN RIGHTS DAY EVENT
The Roosevelt Room
11:45 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: This may be one of those cases where the
introduction was better than the speech. (Laughter.) Thank you,
Julie and thank all of you for being here. I'm honored to be with
this distinguished group on Human Rights Day. I want to thank all of
you in attendance. I think Congresswoman Connie Morella is here.
Where are you, Connie? There you are, right in front of me.
(Laughter.) Our AID Administrator, Brian Atwood; Assistant Secretary
John Shattuck, Assistant Secretary Phyllis Oakley and all of you who
represent organizations who have done SO much to advance the cause of
freedom around the world. I want to say a special word of welcome to
my good friend, Gerry Ferraro. Thank you for being here.
Before I begin what I want to say about human rights, I
think it is appropriate on Human Rights Day that I have just gotten a
report from the Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who is meeting
with our NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, that, together, they
agreed to hold an historic NATO summit in July in Madrid to carry
forward our goal of building a Europe that is undivided, democratic
and at peace for the first time in history -- one in which we will
work to forge a partnership with Russia, adapt NATO to the demands of
a new era, and invite the first aspiring members from among Europe's
new democracies into NATO. My goal is to see them become full
members of the Alliance for NATO's 50th birthday in 1999.
It's fitting that this step comes on Human Rights Day
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White House Press Release
EXCERPTS FROM FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON'S ADDRESS TO U.N.
CONFERENCE ON WOMEN AND THE UNITED NATIONS
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the First Lady
For Immediate Release
March 14, 1995
EXCERPTS FROM FIRST LADY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON'S ADDRESS TO
U.N. CONFERENCE ON WOMEN AND THE UNITED NATIONS
New York City
"There is no panacea, no magic bullet that will suddenly empower
women or free people from the bondage of inhuman living conditions.
Progress depends on our working together, in partnership, to create
conditions around the world that enable women, men, and children to
reach their God-given potential and flourish within their families and
societies.
"But today, perhaps even more than in Mrs. Roosevelt's time, there is
a special urgency to helping women around the world assume their
rightful places in society. That is because the fortunes of women are
inextricably tied to the fortunes of our global community. If women
don't thrive, the world won't thrive.
"At least in words, we tend to agree that women should be active
participants in helping their societies meet the great challenges of
this and the next century. But that can only be achieved through real,
concrete actions, actions that empower women through education, legal
rights and protection from violence. And actions that assure women
access to adequate social services, employment opportunities, political
institutions, and decision making.
"Investing in the health and education of women and girls is
essential to improving global prosperity. In parts of Asia and South
America, we have seen education of girls help lift whole populations out
of poverty. We have seen the education of women enhance their roles as
mothers and increase their participation in civic life. So we must do
more to ensure equal rights for women, along with equal pay and equal
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access to health care, education, and political power.
"The United Nations must play a leadership role. Every program,
policy, and decision that emanates from this building directly or
indirectly affects women as they care for children, manage households,
and work at their jobs. Women must be a part of the process within the
United Nations as we search for answers, and women must continue to
demand that their rights and opportunities be respected in nations
around the world.
"In paying tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt as part of this conference,
we would do well to consider her great vision, her compassion, and her
common sense approach to solving very difficult human problems. For
her, no political obstacle was too large. No cultural gap was too wide.
No difference of opinion was too serious to overcome. 'The important
thing is to go on working and growing in understanding. , she said. If
we follow that one piece of advice, our world will be better for it."
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and on Bill of Rights Day and in Human Rights Week. The prospect of
NATO membership and integration into the West has been a very strong
incentive for Europe's new democracies to expand their political
freedoms and to promote universal human rights.
Working together with our allies and our partners, we're
building a world where, as Judge Learned Hand once said, rights know
no boundaries and justice no frontiers.
For the first time in history, more than half the
world's people now live under governments of their own choosing.
Today we dedicate ourselves to the unfinished task of extending
freedom's reach. Promoting democracy and human rights reflects our
ideals and reinforces our interests. It's a fundamental pillar of
our foreign policy.
History shows that nations where rights are respected
and governments are freely chosen are more likely to be partners in
peace and prosperity. That is why we've worked hard over the last
four years to help equality and freedom take root in South Africa, to
stop the reign of terror in Haiti, to promote reform in Bosnia and
Russia, to bring freedom back to Bosnia, and peace, and to enable
millions of suffering people all around the world to reclaim their
simple human dignity. That is why we must continue to support the
world's newest democracies and to keep the pressure on its remaining
repressive regimes.
The First Lady and I have just had a remarkable meeting
with these six women. They are courageous in promoting human rights
in different ways. They are courageous in promoting democracy and
empowerment by helping women to live up to their potential. You can
just look at them and see that they've put the lie to the notion that
human rights is some Western cultural idea that has no place in other
societies.
Julie Su, who spoke so eloquently, has played a crucial
role in stopping the exploitation of Thai women immigrants in sweat
shops. And I am proud of the work that Secretary Reich and the Labor
Department has done in that regard, and we intend to continue to do
that for the next four years.
For the last 20 years, Dawn Calabia has fought to
protect women refugees and children.
Nahid Toubia is a doctor from Sudan whose organization
has played a pioneering role in women's health issues.
Barbara Fry has promoted corporate responsibility for
human rights around the world and has also promoted education of
children in her native Minnesota in human rights.
Wanjiru Muigai from Kenya has helped women in her
country to secure their legal rights and she made a passionate appeal
to me to focus on targeted United States aid in a way that will
promote the empowerment of women in nation after nation.
And since coming here from El Salvador, Lillian Perdomo
has worked to protect women from domestic violence right here in the
District of Columbia.
Each of these women tells a story for many others.
Together their experiences underscore a shared truth. As the First
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Lady said in Beijing and as Julie repeated, human rights are women's
rights and women's rights are human rights.
I want to tell you that I am very proud of the role that
Hillary, Ambassador Albright, and all the members of the United
States delegation -- and thank you, Marge Mezvinsky, back there --
who played in issuing Beijing's call to action. That was a great
moment for the United States and a great moment for women around the
world.
Beijing's message was as clear as it was compelling.
We cannot advance our ideals and interests unless we focus more
attention on the fundamental human rights and basic needs of women
and girls. We must recognize that it is a violation of human rights
when girls and women are sold into prostitution, when rape becomes a
weapon of war, when women are denied the right to plan their own
families, including through forced abortions, when young girls are
brutalized by genital mutilation, when women around the world are
unsafe even in their own homes. If women are free from violence, if
they're healthy and educated, if they can live and work as full and
equal partners in any society, then families will flourish. And when
they do, communities and nations will thrive.
We are putting our efforts to protect and advance
women's rights where they belong -- in the mainstream of American
foreign policy. During the last four years, we have worked to steer
more of our assistance to women and girls, to help protect their
legal rights and to give them a greater voice in their political and
economic futures. These programs are making a real difference
whether by raising female voter turnout in Bangladesh, promoting
equality for women in Nepal, enabling women in Bosnia to participate
fully in the rebuilding of their country. But we must do more.
Today, I call upon the Senate, again, to ratify the
United Nations Convention on the elimination of all forms of
discrimination against women. (Applause.) As you know, many, many,
many other nations have done this. In our country where we have
worked so hard against domestic violence, where we have worked SO
hard to empower women, it is, to say the least, an embarrassment that
the United States has not done this, and there is no excuse for this
situation to continue.
I'm also pleased to announce several initiatives
totalling $4 million to protect and advance women's rights, including
new efforts to help Rwandan women who have been torn from their homes
and to provide women refugees around the world with access to
reproductive health services. They've built on the commitment I made
at last year's G-7 summit to help women in Bosnia start new
businesses and will help women across Africa to do the same. They
strengthen our commitment to stop the trafficking of women and
children for prostitution and child labor. And they will help
women's groups in Asia fight violence and discrimination
In short, these efforts will reinforce America's global
leadership on behalf of human rights and democracy in perhaps the
most fundamental areas at which they are at risk. They reflect our
nation's enduring commitment to the freedoms of our Bill of Rights
that safeguard our own citizens. They support the values in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights that promote freedom, justice,
and peace all around the world.
We live at a time when our most deeply-held ideals are
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ascendant, but this hopeful trend toward freedom and democracy is
neither inevitable, nor irreversible, nor has it extended to the real
lives of hundreds of millions of people all across the globe. While
we seek to engage all nations on terms of goodwill, we must continue
to stand up for the proposition that all people, without regard to
their gender, their nationality, their race, their ethnic group or
their religion, should have a chance to live up to their potential.
I want to say again how gratified I am that there are
people like these six women alive and well and at work in the world
-- people like so many of you. It is a constant source of
inspiration to me. I want to say again how grateful I am to the
First Lady for going across the world to raise our concerns about
this and bringing back to me the knowledge of the work that has been
done and what still can be done on behalf of women and girls.
As I sign this proclamation marking International Human
Rights Day, I ask you all to remember not just that women's rights or
human rights, but that the defense and the promotion of human rights
are the responsibilities of all of us. Thank you. (Applause.)
(The proclamation is signed.)
(Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
END
11:50 A.M. EST
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White House Press Release
REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
March 12, 1997
REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Dean Acheson Auditorium
The State Department
MRS. CLINTON: We are gathered today to celebrate
International Women's Day in the heart of the State Department. And we
do, as Americans, have much to celebrate, starting with a Secretary of
State who, yes, broke a barrier by virtue of her own gender, but who much
more importantly is committed to defending the rights not just of
Americans but of citizens around the world regardless of gender.
Not only has Madeleine Albright broken many a glass ceiling,
she has brokered many a peace. Not only has she opened many doors, she
has opened many minds. And since she mentioned it, I would say that in
my last conversation with Mrs. Roosevelt -- (laughter) -- she told me how
pleased she was that her husband had appointed the first woman to the
Cabinet in United States history, and how pleased she was that my husband
had appointed the first woman Secretary of State. (Applause.)
I thank Secretary Albright for her leadership, her courage
and, on a personal note, her friendship. And I am delighted that she has
agreed to serve as the new chair for the President's Interagency Council
on Women, ably assisted on the issues by Teresa Loar and Tim Wirth and
others of you here.
We all know that countless responsibilities face our new
Secretary of State and all of us. Our foreign policy does not lack for
challenges. We must continue to reduce weapons of mass destruction. We
must realize the century's dream of a wholly united, democratic and
peaceful Europe. We must work to capture new opportunities in Asia, to
seize opportunities for peace in the Middle East and other areas that are
strategic not only to the United States but to the entire globe. We must
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work with our partners in Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere to build
an inclusive and expanding global economy. We must safeguard our people
from the threats of terrorism, extremism, international crime, drugs, and
environmental degradation.
While all of these require our attention and commitment,
today I have come to advance a simple idea. That is the seamless
inclusion of girls' and women's needs in American foreign policy.
Despite the work they do, the families they raise, the communities they
hold together, too many of the world's women, particularly in developing
nations, live on the outskirts of opportunity and equality. But let me
be clear: This challenge is not confined to the developing world. We
still have plenty of work to do here in the United States and in other
advanced economies of the world to ensure that women have a full stake in
democracy. One goal in every country should be to see that all citizens,
regardless of race or gender or ethnicity or religion, have a full place
at their society's table.
If you'll forgive just a slight diversion -- yesterday I was
in Arkansas. I visited people who had been hit by a terrible tornado in
the morning. Even before that disaster struck, these were people already
working overtime to build good lives, to reach their aspirations. The
full benefits of American society were still a long way away for them.
After this tornado, all that they had worked for, all they had hoped for
seems lost.
Later that day I spoke at an event that helps raise funds to
send single parents, primarily women, to college or vocational school. I
heard stories from five women who told us what it had meant that their
society, in the form of those who had raised these funds, reached out and
told them that they could make something of their own lives, they could
go to college, they could support themselves and their children. They
had heard the message that is even still too often conveyed in America:
that they weren't worth very much, that nobody really cared too much
about them.
As one young woman said, five years ago I was in a battered
women's shelter in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I had nothing. I not only
didn't have a car, I didn't have a driver's license, and my face looked
as though it had been run over by a truck. All of a sudden there were
people there who convinced me that I could make something of myself and
care for my nine-month-old son. I thought to myself, how can these
people believe in me, that I could go to college, that I could support
myself? How could these people care about me when my own husband didn't
care about me?
Those stories, as I heard them, reminded me of stories that
I have heard around the world. As women in Bangladesh or India or
Nicaragua or Chile stood up and told me what it meant to them to have
someone believe that they, too, could make a living for their family;
that the skills they had would be valued in the marketplace; that their
children, especially their daughters, could have a better life. The
women last night were helped to return to school. And today they are
citizens of the United States in the fullest sense of that word.
Whatever disparities of wealth exist in our country and
around the world means that people are left by the side of the road,
detoured off the Information Highway, unable to take advantage of
democracy's opportunities. What America must do for its own sake, as
well as for the sake of its leadership in the world we are in today and
that we are entering tomorrow, is to promote democracy and civil society
in every nation, SO that all citizens every man, woman, and child
can live up to their God-given potential.
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But one may ask, well, it's fine for me to care about the
women of Arkansas, but why should I or any American care about women in
developing countries and around the world? Why should women, as
Secretary Albright just eloquently explained, be a concern of ours and
our foreign policy here in the United States? Well, what the Secretary
said and what this administration believes is that if half of the world's
citizens are undervalued, underpaid, undereducated, underrepresented, fed
less, fed worse, not heard, put down, we cannot sustain the democratic
values and the way of life we have come to cherish.
If as a nation Americans care about opening foreign markets
for American goods and services, if we care about making our country
secure in the face of new threats, if we care about widening the circle
of peace and prosperity, then we must address the conditions and
circumstances of the world's women.
You in this room know better than anyone else that our world
is in a time of great transformation, heralding ever more democracies,
leading, we hope, to ever more peace. But the great promise of this time
is not without its challenges. Global competition, the information
revolution, the rapid pace of change all create pressures on every
society, from governments down to families. And these pressures pose
unavoidable questions for us as we approach the 21st century. How do we
figure out ways to balance individual and community rights and
responsibilities? How do parents raise children in the face of the
influences of the mass media and consumer culture? What do we make of
what seems to be a conflict in many instances between personal identity
and the work available in an age of globalization and high technology?
What about the roles of women in society? How will people preserve their
ethnic pride and value their national citizenship? And how will nations
protect their sovereignty while cooperating regionally and globally with
others?
Thinking about these questions and how a free nation like
ours will respond to them, we may need to be reminded that democracy is
not just about legally protected rights, elections, or free market
economies. It is about the internalization of democratic values in
people's hearts and minds. It is about how, in the absence of either hot
or cold wars, democracy is rooted in people's everyday lives.
Given the changes that are going on around us, we can no
longer gauge our interests around the world solely through power blocs
and vast arsenals. Across the globe, here at home, at the end of the
Cold War, we have been free to focus on issues that edge right up to our
own front doors. How do we educate our children? How do we ensure that
families have proper health care? How do we ensure that democracies and
free markets produce citizens, not just consumers?
I have said before that at this time of challenge around the
globe, we know we will continue to cope with what is often thought of as
the traditional balance of power among countries. But I would also argue
that we must now add to that balance of power equation, often called
realpolitik, the idea that real-life politik may be just as intimately
connected with whether or not democracies survive and flourish.
These issues that we speak of today should not be considered
women's issues. But certainly it is fair to say that women often, by
necessity, become the world's experts on the hazards and vicissitudes of
life. And they, therefore, often understand and appreciate more clearly
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that they have a vested interest in ensuring that their societies and
governments address these real-life challenges.
I have seen for myself on continent after continent the
solutions that women are forging -- new mothers in JogJakarta, Indonesia,
who gather every week to learn about family planning and better nutrition
for their children; doctors and nurses in Belarus and Ukraine who are
caring for the children of Chernobyl; women from Santiago to San Diego
who are working on issues as diverse as education, crime, and the
environment. These issues are central to our global democratic
interests. For what distinguishes democracy is fair and genuine
participation in every aspect of life.
It should be too obvious to point out, but unfortunately it
isn't, that giving women a stronger voice and fuller say over their
futures is intimately related to the health of democracies because women
are the majority in most countries and the world over.
America's credo should ring clearly: A democracy without
the full participation of women is a contradiction in terms. To reach
its full potential, it must include all of its citizens. Clearly,
whether we succeed in strengthening democratic values around the world is
of special consequence to women, who in our country and elsewhere are
still striving to attain, and even define their rightful place in
government, the economy, and civil society, and to claim their rightful
share of personal, political, economic and civic power.
Raising the status of women and girls and investing in their
potential means insuring that they have the tools of opportunity
available to them. Education, health care, credit and jobs, legal
protections and the right to participate fully in the political life of
their countries. And that is why the United States must continue its
bipartisan tradition of supporting initiatives that move our world closer
to these goals.
Today, more than 600 million women worldwide are denied the
opportunity of an education. Women make up two-thirds of those who can
neither read nor write. Yet the single most important investment any
developing nation can make is in the education of girls and women. We
are discovering that in country after country the benefits of educating
women go far beyond the classroom and the schoolhouse. They go to
stronger families, better health, nutrition, wages, and levels of
political participation.
I have seen how the support of the United States for the
education of women and girls worldwide is paying off. I have seen how
similar social investments, also many supported by the United States, can
make a difference in countries as diverse as Brazil, the Philippines,
Nepal, and Pakistan.
Certainly, as I travel around the world and as many of you
do likewise, we have seen with our own eyes that investing in girls and
women helps to transform communities which in turn can transform
societies. Women will not flourish and neither will democracy if they
continue to be undervalued inside and outside the home.
I have had many experts in economic development around the
world say to me that women's work is not part of the economies of
countries, that women do not participate in the economic markets of
countries. And yet I have seen with my own eyes as I've traveled through
urban areas and remote rural ones that women are bearing often the bulk
of the load of the work that must be done to plant crops, to harvest
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them, to make it possible for small enterprises to flourish in market
stalls. So I know that women are working. Their contributions may not
be counted in the gross domestic product of their societies, but they are
of value. If all the women in the world tomorrow said they would not
work outside the home, the economies of every country would collapse.
And it is time -- (applause) -- it is time that we honored and counted
the contributions that women make, both in the home and outside.
Investing in women also means investing in their health and,
in turn, in the health of their families. I am especially pleased that
the United States has provided assistance through the United States
Agency for International Development to assure that women, children, and
families have access to a full spectrum of low-cost, high-yield health
care services -- from safe birthing kits for expectant mothers, to basic
immunizations for infants, to oral rehydration therapy to treat children
suffering from diarrhea.
I want to say a special word about family planning and its
importance in this larger effort. Family planning is fundamental to
letting women take responsibility for themselves and their children.
Right now, however, roughly 100 million women worldwide cannot get or are
not using family planning services because they are poor, uneducated, or
do not have access to care. Some 20 million women will seek unsafe
abortions. Of these women, some may become disabled for life, some will
have other health problems, but fundamentally, the rate of unsafe
abortions is in itself a tragedy. High abortion rates do not represent
women's equality; they represent a failure on all our parts to help women
prevent unwanted pregnancies in the first place. If we really care about
reducing abortions and fostering strong families, we must not back away
from America's commitment to family planning efforts overseas.
(Applause.)
If we really care about making women equal partners in
societies the world over, we must do everything in our power to fight
violence against women, whether it is a hidden crime of domestic abuse or
a blatant tactic of war.
No single social investment is a panacea for women or for
developing countries. Nor should every just cause of the world be
America's to embrace.
But I do believe that as long as discrimination and
inequities persist in a broad-scale way against women, a stable,
prosperous world will be far from a reality.
Taken together, our investments in social development are
vital to strengthening free market interests, spreading our democratic
ideal and enhancing our security.
Over time, America has learned that our ideals and interests
cannot be divorced from the political, economic and social cross-currents
swirling around us. I hope we have also learned that engagement with the
world represents opportunities at home as well as obligations abroad.
Let me just give you one modest example. I spoke recently
at a conference sponsored by USAID called Lessons Without Borders. At
the conference, Baltimore's Mayor, Kurt Schmoke, told how government
leaders from his city had gone to Africa to learn about simple, low-cost
strategies used on that continent to encourage parents to immunize their
children. Now similar programs are in place in Baltimore, with community
clinics, a vaccination van, door-to-door visits and the resulting higher
immunizations rates for children under three.
We can learn from our neighbors around the world. And many
of the lesson we can learn, we will find, are lessons that have been
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helped to be taught by our own foreign policy engagement -- less than one
percent of our budget, yet countless lives can be improved and we can
improve lives here at home.
Before I close, I want to say a word about my forthcoming
trip to Africa. I was very honored to be asked to make this trip because
I think that America's engagement in the world must include an engagement
with sub-Saharan Africa. Contemporary history is a story that citizens
and countries are writing. And there is a new story that must be told.
Every region is contributing its own chapter.
Africa has a remarkable story if we will only pay attention
to it. It is moving toward democracy. In the last six years, the number
of democracies have jumped from five to 23. Africa is growing
economically, moving from suffocating state-controlled economies to open
markets that can give full life and scope to human endeavor.
Last year, 30 countries reported positive economic growth.
Africa is beginning to forge a new relationship with the United States --
one based not just on aid but on shared ideals, mutual responsibilities,
integration into the world economy, and partnerships designed to resolve
conflicts and to meet common challenges. To be sure, many of the African
democracies are new and therefore fragile. Hope remains tenuous. Too
much of the continent continues to be riven by disease, malnutrition,
poverty, injustice, corruption, perilous conflicts and their terrible
aftermath, refugee crises that trap women and children especially in
lives that go from bad to worse.
And yet -- and yet, in spite of these challenges, for the
first time, we can say that, at this moment in history, there are in
Africa grounds for far more hope than despair. And with the support of
the United States, we can solidify that hope.
I will be privileged to visit Senegal, South Africa,
Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Uganda and Eritrea. And I am pleased that so many of
the ambassadors from those countries and other countries in Africa are
with us today.
I hope to witness first hand and to highlight each country's
efforts to build democracy and a strong civil society. I will focus
particularly on grassroots initiatives and on efforts that affect women
and children.
I hope this trip will give the American people a renewed
sense of the importance of our commitment to Africa. I hope it will lay
out exactly why we must do our utmost to support democracy and social
investment in Africa and to strengthen Africa's place in the community of
nations.
And I hope it will show that American engagement must be
measured not just in aid dollars or humanitarian efforts in the wake of
tragedy and crisis, but in the democratic values we reinforce, in the
human rights we defend, and in the conflicts we help resolve
preventively.
There are, to be sure, issues of America's national security
at stake. Instability in Africa, whether it is rooted in war, in
terrorism, in organized crime, in disease, in environmental degradation
or poverty, it touches us too.
There are also economic issues at stake. Right now, the
United States holds only 7 percent of the African market of 600 million
people. By forging stronger economic ties with Africa, we will do much
to secure the prosperity of our own people as well.
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But finally, our greatest reasons for engagement with Africa
are built on a positive foundation. Africa is on the move, with a new
generation of leaders, the fresh air of political reform, and thriving
multi-ethnic societies.
As we look at the future for America's engagement around the
world, we can see that wherever we help to seed the ground for democracy,
wherever we reach out to people out of mutual respect to help them help
themselves, wherever we understand clearly that in this time of
interdependence and interconnection that we all have a stake in the
success of the other, we will make progress together. Whether it comes
to assisting and working with our friends in the new democracies in
Africa, or understanding the importance of our commitment to women and
girls, America's interests are at stake.
But far more importantly, America's values are at stake. If
we act upon those values, we will help to lead the world into the kind of
new future we envision as possible for our children and all the children
around the globe.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
END
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S*T*O*P Violence Against Women
In Kentucky, bartcred women revelling baside their local communities had little
protection against their abusers. Protective orders in one county were often not
enforced in other counties because records of such orders were not readily available.
To respond 10 this problem. Public Safety Commissioner Mike Troop's office enabled
protective orders to be recorded on the Law Informational Nerwork of Kentucky
(LINK), a system which was designed to enable law enforcement officers throughout
Kenucky to have instant access 10 arrest records and other criminal justice-related
information. Now these officers also have instant access to protection orders issued
throughout the state. As a result, enforcement of these orders has increased
drumatically.
The Provision
The Department of Justice S*T*O*P Violence Against Women Grant Program
provided $26 million in 1995 directly to states and Indian tribes through the discretionary
grant program, as a first step in helping restructure the criminal justice system's response to
crimes of violence against women. States, territorics. and tribes can use Violence Against
Women Act funding to:
develop and enhance victim services programs (including domestic violence
shelters):
train law enforcement officers;
expand the number of personnel in law enforcement and prosccution agencies
to target violence against women;
develop more cffective policies, protocols, orders and services to prevent
violent crime against women; and
apply advanced technology to improve communications and data collection
systems to identify and track arrests, protection, and prosecution.
The_Impact
The S*T*O*P grant program requires and encourages collaboration between victim
advocates. prosecurors, and police - those who encounter vicuims of domestic and sexual
violence. Each state and territory has developed a comprehensive strategy for combating
domestic violence and sexual assault in consultation with representatives from law
enforcement, prosecution and victim service programs.
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As a condition to receiving grants, states must certify that they will incur full out-of-
pocket costs of forensic medical examinations for vietims of sexual assault. They must also
certify that within two years, victims of sexual assault will bear no costs associated with the
filing of criminal charges or protection orders.
Recause of the condition for receiving grants, several states have passed laws or
changed their administrative procedures to fund all forensic medical examinations for victims
of sexual assault, thereby ensuring that criminal investigations in sexual assoult cases are
funded like all other criminal investigations - by the state and not by the victim.
S*T*O*P funding could provide such improvements as:
Crisis centers and battered women's shelters serving tens of thousands of
victims a year;
Hundreds of new prosecutors for specialized domestic violence or sexual
assault units; or
Hundreds of volunteer coordinators 10 help run domestic violence hot-lines.
The Success
By the end of July 1995, the Department of Justice awarded $426,364 to each state
and major territory. Following these awards, more than 350 delegates from all of the states
and territories participated in the Violence Against Women Conference on July 27-29, 1995.
Representatives from law enforcement, prosecution, victim services, and state government
shared information about the best practices and strategies w enhance collaboration and
develop a coordinated response to violent crimes against women.
The Department also has awarded approximately $1 million to tribal governments
through the S*T*O*P Violence Against Indian Women Discretionary Grant Program, with
the goal of strengthening the response of tribal coun systems to violent crimes against
women
The Future
Over the next five years, a total of $800 million in S*T*O*P grant funds is
authorized. The formula grants to states will be allocated according to population. with each
state guaranteed a base amount.
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Federal Offense of Interstate Domestic Violence
In November of 1994, Christopher Bailey of St. Alhans, West Virginia bear his wife
Sonya unill she collapsed. Then he put her in the trunk of their compact car and
drove for five days through West Virginia and Kentucky before taking her to an
emergency room. Along the way he wishdrew over $2400 in cash from their bank
accounts, and purchased various supplies, including sweat pants and adult diapers for
Sonya. Sanya Bailey suffered irreversible brain damage and remains in a permanent
vegetative state.
The Provisions
The Violence Against Women Act establishes new federal offenses in cases like this
one where an abuser crosses state lines to violate a protection order or injure. harass or
intimidate a spouse or intimate partner. These new federal remedies are important tools in
cases where movement across state lines makes state prosecution difficult and where state
law penalties may not be tough enough. They also offer important benefits for victims,
including strengthened restitution provisions and an opportunity to address the court
concerning the danger posed by a defendant prior to any pre-trial release.
The Impact
Victims of domestic violence often seek safery and shelter with friends and relatives
living clsewhere. The Violence Against Women Act Insures that the law follows an abuser
who crosses state lines and will provide victims with protection throughout the United States.
The Success
On May 23, 1995 the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West
Virginia won the nation's first conviction under the Violence Against Women Act. And on
September 1. Christopher Bailey was sentenced to life in prison for the abuse and kidnapping
of his wife Sonya.
This case illustrates the value of federal action against interstate domestic violence.
Bailey was arrested in Kentucky, but local police dropped the charges because they were
unable to document what had occurred in their jurisdiction. Under West Virginia law. he
might have received less than a two-year sentence for his brutal assault.
The United States Anorney for the Eastern District of California won the nation's
second conviction under the Violence Against Women Act in December 1995. Ricky Steele
beat his domestic partner in Oregon, and then forced her to drive with him to California. On
December 11, 1995 Steele was sentenced to 87 months in prison and was ordered to pay
restitution of $1.018 for interstate domestic violence.
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The Future
Federal prosecutors have initiated other cases under the Violence Against Women
Act. In the third reported case brought under the Interstate domestic violence provision, on
November 8, 1995. prosecutors in the Southern District of Ohio charged Derck Page with
beating his girlfriend in Ohio and then kidnapping and transporting her to Pennsylvania.
Must recently, on December 19, 1995, Wayne Hayes was indicted in the Eastern
District of New York on charges of traveling interstate with the intention of violating court
orders that prohibited repeated harassment of his ex-wife, and repeatedly mailing threatening
communications to her. The indictment marks the first use of the Violence Against Women
Act provision that prohibits traveling across a statc line in order to violate certain protection
orders.
The Department of Justice continues to work with state and local law enforcement to
combat interstate domestic violence and identify cases where use of these new federal
remedies is the most appropriate response.
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Similar Crimes Evidence in Sex Offense Cases
Joey Sanza raped and murdered Theresa Cha when she rame to meet her husband in
the building where Sanza worked. There was extensive physical and circumstantial
evidence of Sunza's commission of the crime, and the jury was informed about three
other rapes that he had commined in another state. Sanza's other offenses were
relevans to help confirm his identiry as Theresa Cha's attacker by showing his
propensity and capactty 10 commit sexually violent crimes. Nevertheless, Sanza's
conviction for raping and murdering Theresa Cha was reversed on appeal because the
jury was rold of his other crimes. People V. Sanza, 509 N.Y.S.2d 311 (App. Div.
1986).
The Provision
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 enacted general rules
of admissibility in federal sexual assault and child molestation cases for evidence that the
defendant has committed other similar offenses. These evidence rules facilitate the effective
prosecution of habitual sex offenders. They provide the basis for informed decisions by
juries regarding questions of propensity to commit future crimes in light of the defendant's
past conduct.
The Impact
This reform has broader import as a model for law reforms by the states, which
prosecute the vast majority of sexual offenses. California has recently enacted an evidence
provision for its sexual offense cases that is modeled on the Federal Rules. The Department
of Justice facilitated dus reform through provision of technical assistance and participation in
California legislative hearings.
The Success
Rules for federal sexual offense cases went into effect on July 10, 1995, Federal
prosecutors have begun to seek the admission of evidence under these new rules in
appropriate cases.
The Future
The Department of Justice will (1) seek to ensure judicial interpretations and
applications of the new federal evidence rules that are faithful in Congress's intent in
enacting this reform. and (2) continue to assist and encourage additional states to adopt
comparable reforms.
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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 Q rwice-convicted sex offender who moved
in ucross the street from her family. Promising 10 show her his new puppy,
the defendant lured Megan to his home and subsequently raped and killed her.
Her body was laicr found nearby. At the time, there were no state law
provisions for norifying local law enforcement or the community concerning a
sex offender's criminal history or presence in the neighborhood.
The Provision
The Jacob Weaerling Crimes gainst 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 violem crimes.
Community notification concerning the location of registered offenders is permitted where
necessary for public safety.
The Impact
Most states have some form of sex offender registration bus few regularly verify an
offender's address. The Jacob Wetterling guidelines will provide minimum national
standards and will help state law enforcement agencies communicate with each other
regarding SCX offenders who cross state lines.
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 mulesters.
The Success
The Department of Justice published proposed guidclines for state registration systems
in April 1995. Following one extension of time, the comment period closed on October 30,
1995. The final guidelines arc under expedited review by the Department and will be Issued
in the very ncar furure.
The Department of Justice has also participated in state and federal litigation
defending the validity of "Megan's Law," the New Jersey sex offender registration and
notification system. The Department has participated in several legal challenges to Megan's
Law, seeking to protect the federal interest in promoting state sex offender registration laws.
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On July 25, 1995. the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld Mcgan's Law. adopting the
position advocated by the state and the federal government that Megan's Law is
constitutional. The U.S. Coun of Appeals for the Third Circuit Court heard oral arguments
on Mcgan's Law in October, and the Department of Justice is awaiting the court's decision.
The Department also has participated in litigation defending the validating of sex
offender registration and notification systems in New York and Connecticut.
The Future
The Department of Justice will work to encourage and assist the states to adopt
effective RCX offender registration systems. The Department will also continue to participate
in litigation defending the constitutionality of state registration systems.
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Background Checks for Child Care Providers
In 1972, Eric James Long was convicted of molesting a child. In 1980, he
was convicted of molessing n second child he coached in soccer for a county
recreation department. In 1985, he pleaded guilty TO child abuse and sex
offense charges related to allegazions that he had abused numerous children at
the school where he worked as и gymnassics instructor and in his
neighborhood. The school, which had hired Long in 1978, had no knowledge
of his offenses. and no means existed for obtaining criminal history information
on employees or prospective employees. Washington Post, Feb. 5. a Al,
Sept. 6, at C7 (1985).
The Provision
The National Child Protection Act, enacted in 1993, establishes a national background
check system that enables child care providers in determine whether employees and
prospective employees have criminal records involving child abuse offenses. As a result of
amendments adopted by the Violent Crime and Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994,
the National Child Protection Act system also covers background checks for elder care and
providers of care to persons with disabilities.
The Success
The FBI issued guidelines in July that implement the National Child Protection Act.
Currently. 38 states have approved statutes that will enable them to access national criminal
history records information in child care background checks. Eight states have approved
statutes of this type relating to care of the elderly. and 13 states have approved statutes
relating to providers of care in persons with disabilities.
One hundred million dollars has been appropriated in fiscal year 1995 for the National
Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP). NCHIP assists states in improving the
accessibility and completeness of records that may be relevant in background checks under
the National Child Protection Act and other laws. The funding includes $88 million for
direct awards to states to automate and improve their criminal history records. The
Department of Justice has awarded grants totaling more than $69 million to 47 states as part
of NCHIP, and it is expected that every state will receive an NCHIP award this fiscal year.
The Future
The Department of Justice will continue to encourage and assist states 10 adopt and
obtain approval of statutes enabling them to participate fully in the background check system
under the National Child Protection Act, and to provide funding assistance as appropriated to
states to automate and upgrade criminal records relevant to such background checks.
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Federal Remedies for Battered Immigrant Women and Their Children
Cecilia. from South America. has been married 10 Jose, a lawful permanent resident,
for 18 years. Together they have eight children born in the United States, ranging in
age from one TO 18. While Jose once began the process of obtaining lawful
permanent resident staius for Cecilia, he later withdrew the petition. Throughout
their relationship, Jose has been physically violent to Cecilia. His abuse of her was
both physical and menual. He hit her in the abdomen when she was pregnant, and at
other times bruised and bear her. Jose also restrained her physical freedom and
access to financial assets. He threatened to kill her if she ever left him. Jose was
physically abusive to the children also, and is believed 10 have sexually abused a
least two of them. Nevertheless, Cecilia was afraid to leave because of her
dependence on her husband IU obtain lowful permanent resident status jry her.
Cerilia and the children did finally leave Jose. She currently lives in PCMT of both her
husband and the INS. She is having a difficult time finding housing and a means of
supporting herself.
The Provision
The Violence Against Women Act establishes new federal remedies for abused
immigrant spouses and children. Specifically, battered women are now eligible to apply for
permanent resident status for themselves and their children and are no longer forced to rely
on their abusive husbands to apply for such status.
The Impact
Inunigrant women and children who are battered face unique obstacles. In addition to
the physical violence, the threat of deportation or release of information about legal status
has been used as a control mechanism to instill fear and dependency and to lock the abused
person into the relationship. Prior to the new federal statute, immigrant spouses were
dependent on their citizen or permanent resident spouses to pctition on their behalf for
permanent resident status. Spouses could withdraw the request at any time.
The Success
The Immigration and Naturalization Service has finalized regulations to implement the
new federal statute, thus establishing the procedures for self-petitioning by the abused
spouse.
The Future
Under the new law, women like Cecilia will be able to file their own petitions for
lawful permanent resident status for themselves and for their children.
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Confidential Communications for Rape Victims
In June 1994, the state supreme coun ordered the YWCA in Springfield,
Massachusetts, which administers a rape crisis counseling program, to provide
confidential files to defense counsel in 0 rape case. Although the YWCA sought in
protect the victim's privacy and initially defied the coun order, the center evenually
turned over the records as consempt penalties mounted. The center's anomey said
that while legal advocates have been seeking and winning legal protections for rape
counselors, only a few states grans rape counselors a restimonial privilege comparable
to that of a doctor or priest. She said "Rape crisis centers can't function without
confidentiality. [V]icrims must choose between prosecution and healing. If they
choose prosecusion. they must suffer in silence" as defendants gain access to
information they have confided to their counselors. (Washington Post. June 24, 1994)
The Provision
The Vintence Against Women Act requires the Department of Justice to study and
evaluate the manner in which states have taken steps to protect the confidentiality of
communications between sexual assault and/or domestic violence victims and their
counselors.
The Impact
Often when a woman who has been victimized by sexual assault or domestic violence
'seeks help from 3 counselor to deal with the crime's shartering cffect on her life, she finds
herself victimized again when a defense attorncy issues subpoenas for her counseling records.
Because many sexual assault and domestic violence counselors are not psychologists or
psychotherapists, they cannot claim testimonial privileges found in most state statutes.
Victims must be able to communicate freely with their counselors. secure in the
knowledge that the private thoughts they reveal during counseling will remain confidential.
Without assurances of confidentiality, sexual assault and domestic violence victims will
continue to be reluctant to contact rape crisis centers or battered women's shelters, and to
report crime and otherwise aid in the prosecution of their attackers. Establishing statutory
testimonial privileges for sexual assault and domestic violence counselors will help ensure
that these important communications will remain confidential.
To date, 27 states and District of Columbia have enacted statutes that protect these
confidential communications. These statutes differ in the degree to which confidential
communications arc protected from disclosure and in whether they address both sexual
assault counselors and domestic violence counselors.
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The Success
The Department has completed its report which includes a state-by-state survey and
will soon release the results. The Department has also developed model statutes that provide
the maximum protection possible for the confidentiality of such communications.
The Future
The Department of Justice will disseminate model legislation and report, to
governors, attorneys general and legislators in states where these communications are not
protected, encourage those states to adopt legislation The Department plans to engage in
efforts to raise the awareness of vicums, advocates. counselors and anorneys. and evaluate
the necessity for Judicial training on this issue. The Department will also review the Judicial
Conference of the United States's report, if any, on the need for amendments 10 the Federal
Rules of Evidence to guarantee that the confidentiality of communications between sexual
assault victims and their counselors will be adequately protected in federal court proceedings.
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Full Faith and Credit
In February 1993. a woman living in Metropolis, Illinois went 10 court to obtain a
protection order against her abusive live-in boyfriend. Upon her return home from
court. police searched the woman's home 10 check that her boyfriend was not on the
premises and that her safery was assured. After the police departed, the buyfriend left
his hiding place in the ceiling of the woman's home and threatened her. The
boyfriend was not arrested because the police had no: witnessed the violation of the
protection order. A few months later, he severely beat her.
Officials as the Metropolis Domestic Violence Center immediately and coverity
relocated the woman 10 Puducah, Kenucky, a larger town just over the Ohio River
from Metropolis. Shortly thereafter. the woman was beaten and her Paducah
apartment was destroyed by arson. The woman's boyfriend was convicted and sent TU
jail for the heating.
After 0 few months in jail in April 1995, he was released and followed the woman 10
a Paducah gas station. He then kidnapped, beat and sexually assaulsed her. When
the woman was found in Kentucky. local police declined to arrest the boyfriend
because they deemed the Illinois protection order TO be invalid within the Kentucky
borders. The woman's boyfriend was never arrested for the assuult and the woman
was told her only rclief would be in seek an emergency protection order in a Kentucky
court.
When the Metropolis Domestic Violence Center questioned the Paducah Police as to
why the woman's Illinois protection order had not been upheld under the Full Faith
and Credit provision of the Violence Against Women Act, they responded that they
had never heard of such a provision. As a result. the Illinois Anorney General
issued a TWO page fact sheet describing the major provisions of the Violence Against
Women Act. including Full Faith and Credit. The sheet has since been posted on the
bulletin boards of local police stations. The woman has relocated again but continues
to live in fear for her safety although the police are aware of her situation.
The Provision
The Violence Against Women Act provides that a civil protection order issued by the
coun of one state or tribe shall be accorded full faith and credit by the coun of another state
or Indian Tribe. and shall be cnforced as if it were the order of the court of the second state
or tribe. Failure by the issuing state to satisfy due process requirements will not entitle a
protection order to full faith and credit. Murual protection orders are not entitled to full faith
and credit if a cross or counter petition, complaint or other written pleading has not been
filed seeking such a protection order or if a cross or counter perition has been filed and the
order was issued upon a showing of mutual abusc. The issuing court must have had both
personal and subject matter jurisdiction and the respondent must have received reasonable
notice and an opportunity to be heard for the provision to bE in effect.
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The Impact
Prior to the enactment of the Vialence Against Women Act, a victim with a protection
order often could not use that order as the basis for protection if the victim wen: to work,
traveled or moved to most other states. Under this provision, the second state must afford
full faith and credit to an order issued by another jurisdiction, even if the victim otherwise
would be ineligible for protection in the new state, A victim does not have to wair for
abuse to occur in the new state nor does a victim need to be concerned if he or she cannot
meet tts jurisdictional requirements. Furthermore, a victim does not have to register a
protection order in the new state - the protection order of the issuing state should provide
continuous protection to the victim.
The Success
The Department has made the implementation of full faith and credit a top priority.
An internal working group has been established and guidance on the full faith and credit
provision of Violence Against Women Act has been distributed to all U.S. Anorneys'
offices.
The Department has awarded funding to the Battered Women's Justice Project for a
cooperative agreement to support the development of models. tools, technical assistance,
training. and a resource clearinghouse to facilitate the implementation of the full faith and
credit provision of Violence Against Women Act.
The Department has awarded funding to the state of Kentucky for a regional pilor
-project to test interstate and intrastate verification systems for facilitating the street level
enforcement of protection orders.
The Future
The Department of Justice has adopted an aggressive multi-faceted implementation
campaign involving federal leadership through outreach. research and the provision of
training. technical assistance and opportunities for collaboration at the national and state or
district levels.
In addition, the National Crime Information Center Protection Order File, which the
FBI is working to have states linked to by 1998, will provide information on protection
orders for use in domestic abuse cases and interface with the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System to support the identification of persons who are prohibited from
purchasing a firearm. This system will further facilitate the implementation of full faith and
credit for protection orders.
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Firearms Disability Provision
On October 18, 1994, Robert M. Goben, of South Dakota. become subject to a coun
order restraining him from harassing or threatening his estranged wife.
Consequently. a new federal law applied that prohibited Mr. Goben from possessing a
firearm while the restraining order remained in effect. Approximately five months
later, while still subject TO the restraining order, local police discovered that Mr.
Goben possessed a loaded 22-culiber magnum revolver. Mr. Guben was arrested
and on September 11, 1995, plcd guilry to illegally possessing a firearm in violation
of federal Law.
The Provision
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 makes it unlawful for
any person subject to a court order restraining that person from harassing. stalking, or
threatening an intimate partner or the child of an intimate partner. to possess firearms or
ammunition. Intimate partners include spouses or former spouses but not girl friends or boy
friends with whom the defendant has not cohabited. This. like other federal firearms
disabilities, exempts on-dury, federal or state law enforcement officers and members of the
military.
The Impact
The firearms disability provision provides security to victims who can now TCS1
assured that their abusers can be arrested if they attempt to purchase or possess firearms
during the period of the restraining order.
The Success
On January 22, 1995. Mr. Goben was sentenced to twelve months in prison followed
by two years of supervised release during which time he is to have DO contact with his now
former wife. Following the Goben case, federal prosecutors in the Northern District of Iowa
brought another case under the new federal law. On October 24, 1995. Shawn A. Hungate,
25, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, was charged with illegally possessing a firearm while subject to a
restraining order. According to the complaint, while subject to a "no contact order."
Hungate purchased a firearm at a Wai-Man in Fort Dodge. When purchasing the firearm,
Hungate allegedly answered "No" to a question on a government form regarding whether he
was subject to a restraining order. The complaint also alleges that Hungate shor himself in
the shoulder with the fircarm and proceeded to his wite's place of employment and began
yelling for her. If convicted on the firearms charge, Mr. Hungate faces up to ten years in
prison and a $250,000 fine or both.
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The Future
The Department of Justice is working with state and local law cnforcement groups to
implement the spirit as well as the letter of the firearms disability provision without
hampering law enforcement. In that regard, the Department of Justice is developing
guidelines for application of the provision to Department of Justice law enforcement officers,
which might serve as a model to local law enforcement.
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Grants to Encourage Arrest Policles
Police officers traditionally have been reluctant to become involved in domestic
violence disputes, largely because such calls for police assistance are among the most
complex and sensitive - and potentially dangerous - situations police must respond
10. Law enforcement officers may not take affirmative steps on behalf of the victim
because they have not been mained to identify patterns of abuse or 10 provide
immediate support and protections a victim requires (e.g., short and long-term
medical care, safe shelser, counseling. safery planning, legal advocacy, and long-term
treatment for the banerer).
Additionally, officers who are the "first responders" are often withous the benefit of
the clarity and authority that a departmental protocol for responding to such incidents
offers. & clear policy on arrest can mitigate this problem, which often puts police
officers in difficuls situations.
However, the arrest of a perpetrator at the scene will not necessarily stop the
violence, nor guarantee the safery of the victim. A strong pro or mandatory arrest
policy must be accompanied by a community and criminal justice system which also
takes u strong stand against domestic violence and makes every attempt 10 provide
safety for the victim.
The Provision
The Department's Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies, a new program funded in
Fiscal Year 1996, helps states, localities and tribal governments treat domestic violence as a
serious criminal offense. This program recognizes that for mandatory arrest to be a fully
effective intervention. it must be part of a coordinated. integrated criminal justice response to
domestic violence with consistent fullow-through by victim service providers, prosecutors,
and judges.
The Impact
Mandatory arrest and pro arrest policies are critical elements of an overall community
strategy to address domestic violence. A mandatory arrest policy requires that police must
arrest a domestic assault offender whenever the officer determines that a crime has been
committed and probable cause for arrest exists. The primary goal of these policies and the
immediate and primary responsibility of the arresting officer must be to ensure the safety of
the victim.
Currently, 27 states and the District of Columbia have adopted laws requiring the
arrest of a person when there is probable cause that he or she has assaulted a family member
or has violated R domestic violence protection order. Pro arrest or mandatory arrest policies
convey a message to the victim. the family, and the community that domestic violence is a
serious crime that will not be tolerated.
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The Future
The Department of Justice is currently developing proposed program regulations
which will be published in the Federal Register if FY96 funding is provided for this
program. Final regulations and an application kit will be published shortly after the
conument period is closed.
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Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement
If a domestic violence victim in rural areas of Western Massachusetts decides she
wants to obtain assistance, she may face many obstacles. With very few patrol police
officers in small rural communities, it may be 100 late once a call for assistance is
answered. And if a victim were to report dumestic violence, she would live with the
fear that an entire right-knis community will know about the abuse. Lartly, suff or the
local domestic violence shelser and sexual assault program, New England Learning
Center for Women in Transition, in Greenfield, Massachusens, speaks of problems
maintaining the confidentiality of their shelter within this small community.
The Provision
This Fiscal Year 1996 grant program addresses the issues of domestic violence and
child abuse in rural states. These grants will encourage development of collaborative efforts.
creation of training programs for "front-line" agencies and personnel (such as law
enforcement, shelter workers, health care providers, and clergy), creation of public
awareness and community education campaigns. and expansion of direct services for rural
and Native American victims and their children. A varlety of entities, including states. tribal
and local governments. and public and private organizations in rural states. are eligible to
receive funding.
The Impact
Few statistics exist on the extent of domestic violence and child abuse in rural
communities. The limited statistics available reflect only the women and children who have
succeeded in accessing services. but there is no reason to assume that these problems are less
common in niral areas. Instead, it is more likely that the isolation and culture of rural
communities discourage victims from reporting abuse.
Geographic isolation, culturally close communities. and lack of domestic violence
information and services (including availability of civil and criminal remedies) are among the
problems unique to rural areas. Victims in rural areas also may not rust an "outside"
system to protect them from their abusers and may continue to live in emotional isolation
rather than seeking help. Rural areas in the United States also are experiencing growth in
immigrant communities. which may be further isolated as a result of language and cultural
barriers.
The Future
The Department is developing an application kit which will he disseminated once
FY96 funding for the program is approved.
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Community Oriented Pollcing Services to Combat Domestic Violence
When Jackle, a 39-year-old assistant in an Alexandria, Virginia consulting
firm, went to the hospital with a black eye and cuts needing stitches In 1992,
she told the nurse that her husband had caused her injuries. Jackie asked the
nurse not to call the police because she feared retaliation from her husband.
But once the police came. she said, they made is easy for her to get help.
They charged her husband with abuse and later escored her back home and to
the ctry's shelter for battered women. With counseling from the shelter, Jackie
was able 10 get 0 protective order from the court and return to her apartment
without her husband being there. The court ordered him into an anger
management program. and she and her three children continued to receive free
counseling from the shelter. "Had I not known cbout the shelter, I would
probably be in a violens relationship today, intrie said. Washington Post,
Sepr. 9, at B4 (1995).
The Provision
To fulfill part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement ACT of 1994. the
COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Office works to place an additional 100,000
law enforcement officers on the street and promote community policing. The Community
Policing to Combat Domestic Violence Program, initiated as part of the COPS Office,
provides law cnforcement agencies with a unique opportunity to execute well-planned.
innovative strategies employing community policing to combat domestic violence. To be
eligible for this funding, police departments and sheriffs offices must partner with non-profit,
non-governmental victim service programs. domestic violence shelters, or community service
groups to coordinate efforts to fight domestic abuse. Twenty million dollars is available
through this grant program to all state, local, Indian Tribal, and other public and private law
enforcement agencies which are committed 10 using community policing to address domestic
violence.
The Impact
Domestic violence was the second highest reported crime for COPS FAST grant
applicants. second only to property crimes. As a few jurisdictions have already learned,
community policing, M strategy which emphasizes problem solving and community
partnership, can be an effective weapon in the fight against domestic violence.
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The Success
Less than 12 months after its inception. the COPS office authorized funds to add more
than 25,000 community law enforcement officers on the street - a quarter of the goal after
just one year of the six-year program. As of March of 1996, funds for more than 33,000
officers had been authorized. Flexible and innovative COPS grants have helped fiscally-
strained departments pay for new technology and equipment, as well as administrative staff
and officer overtime to free up more rank and file officers to walk the beat. The COPS
program customer response center has cur red tape, simplified procedures, and delivered
funds directly to police departments with no middleman.
The latest innovative COPS initiative. the Community Oriented Policing to Combat
Domestic Violence Program, has generated tremendous interest. in response to thousands of
inquiries from law enforcement agencies nationwide, the Department subled the amount of
funds available under this COPS program from $10 million to $20 million.
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U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, D.C. 20530
THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT
Almost , million American women ages 12 years and older annually were raped, robbed or
assaulted or were the victim of a threatened or attempted violens crime in 1992 and 1993.
Almost three-quarters of these attacks were committed by someone the victim knew.
Source: Department of Justice
National Crime Victimization Survey, August 1995
The Violence Against Women Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1994. was
landmark legislation -- combining tough new penalties with programs to prosecule offenders
and help women victims of violence. The Department of Justice has mude effective
implementation of the Act a top priority.
FIGHTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). possed as part of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, takes a comprehensive approach to
domestic violence and sexual assault, combining a broad array of legal and practical
reforms.
The Violence Against Women Act will improve the responses of police, prosecurs
and judges to these crimes, force sex offenders to pay restitution to their victims and
increase funding for battered women's shelters. And, under the Act, the authority of Q
"stay away" order obtained against an abuser will no longer stop at the state line.
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 penaltics for crossing state lines to abuse a spouse or
violate a protection order. Now, when it is appropriate, federal, state and local
proseculors can work together to determine who can bring the most effective
prosecutions. As of July, 1996, 14 federal cases have been brought under this
provision of the Act.
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The Violence Against Women Act includes a ban on firearm possession for
domestic abusers. It prohibits anyone facing a restraining order for domestic
abuse from possessing A firearm As of July, 1996, four 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 violance. 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 abusive inquiries regarding their private
sexual conduct.
THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE UOTLINE
The National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) is one solution that promises to
reach every community in the nation. A critical component of the Violence Against
Wumen 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 answered 24,170 calls for
help from residents of the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands. An analysis of first quarter activity reveals that 89% of calls place to
the Hotline's toll-free numbers -- 1-800-799-SAFE or 1-800-787-3224 (TDD) - were
made by women. Men place 11% of the calls. Additionally, 64% of the callers
identified themselves 36 victims of domestic violence; 19% family and friends of
victims; 3% batterers; and, the remaining 14% made up of professional service
providers and members of the press and public.
FUNDING TO THE STATES
In FY 95, the Department of Justice S*1*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 sureamlined
application kit, $426,346 was awarded to all 50 states and six territories in an
expedited process.
In FY 96, Congress appropriated $170 million to continue the S.T.O.P. program.
States are encouraged w 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 coun-rclated projects. Awards are planned by the end of
August.
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In FY 96, Congress appropriated $28 million for grants to Encourage Anest 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
the implementation of mandatory or pro-arrest policies relating to domestic violence
cascs. 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 cnforcement
officers, many of whom report that domestic violence incidents are the most dangerous
and difficult cncounters they experience on the jub. 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 Camphell as Director of the Violence
Against Women Office at the Department of Justice.
Also on March 21, 1995, the President announced the $26 million in S*T*O*P Grants
to states to holster 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 cnforcement 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.
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On July 27 - 29, 1995, the Department of Justice held the first ever Violence Against
Women Grantee's Conference. Representative from all 50 states and the territories
attended the conference where diey exchanged successes and considered challenges in
dealing with domestic violence in their communities and across state lines.
On August 18, 1995, Health and Human Services Secretary Dunna Shalala awarded $1
million to the Texas Council on Family Violence to set up a hotline for victims of
domestic violence. The hotline will operate 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 now federal law took place on May 23, 1995 in West
Virginia. On September I, 1995, the defendant was sentenced to life in prison for
interstate domestic violence and kidnapping.
Bonnie Campbell attended the Fourth World Conference on Wumen in Beijing.
CHINA 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 upen 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 non-profit, non-governmental 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 violance. and vidco presentations.
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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
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
Houine, 1-800-799-SAFE or 1-800-787-3224 (TDD). The Hotline is 8 nationwide, 24-
hour, toll-free number. The hotline provides immediate crisis intervention assistance
to Chose in need.
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 Wenerling Act in passing
the community notification requirement of Megan's Law, and on May 17, 1996. the
President, who has always heen 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 bank 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
$16 million to be awarded to 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.
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 in
End Violence Against Women. Each of the subgroups of the Advisory Council
developed a list specific 10 the field represented. The checklist will be published in
October. 1996.
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U.S. Department of Justice
STATES
Office of Justice Programs
Violence Against Women Office
Washington, D.C. 20531
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Michael O'Meara
FROM:
Bonnie J. Campbell, Director
DATE:
16 October 1997
RE:
TALKING POINTS FOR THE FIRST LADY
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
October 20-21, 1997
Inter-American Development Bank
Washington, D.C.
PREPARED BY:
Janna Sidley, Deputy Director
Diane Rosenfeld, Senior Counsel (202) 616-2845
*UNIVERSAL PROBLEM
THEMES OF THIS CONFERENCE ARE UNIVERSAL--WE STRUGGLE
WITH THEM EVERY DAY. THE PERVASIVE QUESTION OF HOW TO
STOP DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INVOLVES HOW TO SUPPORT WOMEN
AND CHILDREN WHO ARE VICTIMS OF IT; HOW TO STOP ITS
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TRANSFER FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION; AND HOW TO
ENVISION A SOCIETY WHERE WOMEN ARE EQUAL PARTICIPANTS,
UNFETTERED BY VIOLENCE IN THEIR HOMES.
*THE COMPOSITION OF THIS CONFERENCE SHOWS HOW DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE AFFECTS WOMEN EVERYWHERE--ALTHOUGH THERE ARE
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AMONG US, THERE IS NO CULTURE IN
WHICH VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS ACCEPTABLE IT IS OUR JOB
TO COLLABORATE ON WAYS TO STOP THIS VIOLENCE.
*DIFFERENT STARTING POINTS
*IN OUR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, THE VARYING LEGAL STATUS OF
WOMEN PUTS US AT DIFFERENT STARTING POINTS. WE HAVE
WORKED VERY HARD IN THE UNITED STATES TO PASS STRONG LAWS
AND TO CHANGE AGE-OLD ATTITUDES TOWARD THE
ACCEPTABILITY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
*THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT
IN 1994, PRESIDENT CLINTON SIGNED INTO LAW THE VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN ACT WHICH CREATES FEDERAL CRIMES FOR
CERTAIN ACTS OF VIOLENCE COMMITTED AGAINST WOMEN, AND
PROVIDES FEDERAL RESOURCES AND SUPPORT FOR STATE AND
LOCAL EFFORTS TO COMBAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
2
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* ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS OF THIS ACT IS THE
RECOGNITION THAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS DIFFERENT
THAN OTHER TYPES OF VIOLENCE IN SOCIETY-IT HAS DIFFERENT
CAUSES AND EFFECTS--AND THUS CALLS FOR DIFFERENT LAW
ENFORCEMENT RESPONSES AND INITIATIVES.
*THE PRESIDENT CREATED THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN OFFICE
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO HELP IMPLEMENT THIS'NEW
LEGISLATION.
*THROUGH THIS ACT, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS GIVEN OVER
$300 MILLION TO STATES, TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS AND TERRITORIES
TO BUILD A CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFRASTRUCTURE TO ADDRESS
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.
*THIS WILL ENABLE OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM TO HOLD
OFFENDERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR VIOLENT ACTS, AND TO
SAFEGUARD THE PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL BEING OF
ALL WOMEN.
*MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT SHOWS THAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, AND THAT OUR NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT CAN AND SHOULD PROVIDE LEADERSHIP IN THIS
AREA.
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005
*IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION (or, it takes a committed
community!)
THE KEY TO SUCCESS OF THIS EFFORT IS COLLABORATION AND
EDUCATION. THE BEST CHANGES WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE
RESULTED WHEN COMMUNITIES HAVE COME TOGETHER TO WORK
ON ENDING VIOLENCE. THESE EFFORTS INVOLVE PROSECUTORS,
JUDGES, ADVOCATES, LEGISLATORS, VICTIM/SURVIVORS, PUBLIC
OFFICIALS, CLERGY AND EDUCATORS.
*THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT DIDN'T JUST HAPPEN--
RATHER, IT REPRESENTS THE CULMINATION OF YEARS OF WORK.
SURVIVORS AND OTHER WOMEN JOINED TOGETHER AT THE GRASS
ROOTS LEVEL, AND WORKED TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD--
HEARD BY LAW MAKERS AND OTHERS WHO COULD MAKE A
DIFFERENCE
*HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
THE HISTORY OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT TO END DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES IS NOT THAT OLD. ENORMOUS
CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE HERE IN JUST THE PAST TWENTY FIVE
YEARS. AND THESE CHANGES WERE MADE BY WOMEN WORKING
TOGETHER TO HELP EACH OTHER ESCAPE VIOLENT AND ABUSIVE
SITUATIONS. IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT BATTERED WOMEN'S
SHELTERS WERE CREATED BY WOMEN FOR WOMEN, AND IT WAS
THE PROCESS OF WOMEN TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS
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THAT MADE LEGISLATORS AND GOVERNMENTS TO RESPOND TO
WOMEN'S UNIQUE YET VITAL NEEDS.
* THE SHELTER MOVEMENT STARTED A CHAIN REACTION OF OTHER
ACTIVITIES--POLITICAL ACTIVISM AND INVOLVEMENT BY WOMEN
THAT HAS RESULTED IN INCREASED REPRESENTATION, NEW AND
STRONGER STATE LAWS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, BETTER
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, THE FIRST PIECE OF FEDERAL
LEGISLATION ON THIS ISSUE, AND AN OVERALL POSITIVE CHANGE IN
WOMEN'S ROLES IN SOCIETY.
*COLLABORATION AMONG COUNTRIES--INTERNATIONAL
ALLIANCES
*THE SAME NEED FOR COLLABORATION AMONG THE KEY PLAYERS
IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM PROVIDES A MODEL FOR COLLABORATION
AMONG OUR COUNTRIES. THIS CONFERENCE PRESENTS A UNIQUE
AND INVALUABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO WORK COLLECTIVELY,
SHARING EXPERIENCES, AND FORMULATING STRATEGIES TO END
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. IT IS TIME FOR US TO BUILD INTERNATIONAL
ALLIANCES TO PURSUE A GLOBAL VISION OF NON-VIOLENCE AND
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL. AFTER ALL, PEACE STARTS IN THE
HOME.
S
FRI 18:48 FAX 202 647 7018
002
in "reclaiming" a day,
Should mentioned be
in
PROCLAIM A DAY!
November 25th, an International day for an end to violence against women
speech
Women worldwide are beginning to celebrate November 25th as the International Day for
an End to Violence Against Women. The date was selected to commemorate the death of
the Miraval sisters, well-known political activists in the Dominican Republic who were
assassinated on November 25, 1960, by the security forces of the then dictator Trujillo. The
designation of such a day was first proposed by women attending the First Feminist
Encuentro for Latin America and the Caribbean in Bogota, Colombia, in July 1981.
Events commemorating the day have included the following:
In Chile in 1989, 35 women's organizations banded together to sponsor various initiatives,
including the sale of buttons with the slogan "Women don't cry, speak out" and the
distribution of badges and leaflets in market
places and squares. In addition to marching
with banners and slogans in a demonstration
of more than 200, women signed a petition
supporting the Campaign for an End to
Violence Against Women. To ensure wide-
spread coverage of these events, the
collective, Journalists Against Violence
Against Women, distributed information
packets to the communications media on the
subject.
In Bolivia, a three-day seminar was
organized in 1989 to discuss the socio-cultural
context of violence, its causes and legal
proceedings in cases of domestic violence. A
women's group, Women's Coordinator,
discussed with the La Paz police the
possibility of setting up an office specifically
for providing special attention and follow-up
for cases of physical abuse of women.
In Trinidad and Tobago, Women Working for
Social Progress (Workingwomen), a pressure
group for women's issues, organized and
participated in public demonstrations such as
candle-light vigils and a march to com-
ASW
memorate the International Day Against
Violence Against Women.
39
ACTIONS
10/17/97 FRI 18:49 FAX 202 647 7018
003
Puzzle
School textbooks
against domestic
Well-lit
violence
streets
and
parks
Women's Centres
Shelters for
More funds
women who have
for groups
been beaten
Laws
working to
protecting
combat
the rights
violence
of women
All-femalations police
Legal clinics
for women
Strong
needing help
legislation
Union for support
Women
Public
women
forums
Protection
on
against
O
violence
sexual
harrass-
lawyers
ment
Education
1016 a and
ASA
Putting Together Our Community
29
THE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL
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004
SCENE ONE
Development agency meeting
Isn't this violence thing a private
1 would definitely think that
matter between husband and wife? It
we as a development
seems to me that it's not a serious
agency should not get
development issue for an agency like
involved in such a
this to discuss in terms of funding!
personal matter.
I agree! It's inevitable that
women get into this kind of
Anyway, men have to get their
trouble. Most of the time
anger and anxiety out somehow!
they ask for it anyway!
We men have to cope with a lot
of stress in our daily lives
Adapted from Mujer Fempress, La mujer y el humor, 1987
COMMON ASSUMPTIONS
8
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005
SCENE ONE (continued)
The Reality...
It is a serious development issue when women do not attend training
courses to upgrade their skills because they fear beatings from their
husbands, when children suffer from malnutrition because their
mothers cannot eam additional income from increased productivity,
when women are forced to remain in back-breaking, exhausting
occupations because of lack of skills.
It is a serious development issue when women die from constant
beatings.
Violence is not a "personal matter". Everyone in the community needs
to get involved so that people no longer need to live in fear of their
lives. In particular, development agencies need to be aware of the
ways violence affects a community's development.
Assailants use "stress" as an excuse for violence just as they use
"drinking" as an excuse. Many people who are under extreme stress
do not assault their partners. Assailants who are stressed at work do
not attack their co-workers or bosses.
Women do not "ask" to be beaten. In an equal relationship, both
partners should be able to speak and act freely, without fear of being
abused physically.
9
REALITIES
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006
SCENE TWO
Government Ministry meeting
People from
Western countries
should not get
Violence against women isn't a problem for
involved in
people like us to worry about. It only occurs
traditional matters
in poorly educated, "dysfunctional" families
like this. In this
who live in the slums. It could never happen
country, men have
to anyone 1 know.
always been in
charge, especially in
the home!
00
ASW
It's just a bunch of
You know, there's nothing you can do
Western feminists that are
about a violent person's behaviour!
causing trouble over this
It's all in the genes! This sort of
violence thing in our
behaviour is passed on from father to
country. Before these
son. The government has more
outsiders came around
important things to worry about than
making trouble, violence
something we can't change anyway.
was never a problem!
COMMON ASSUMPTIONS
10
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0.
007
SCENE TWO (continued)
The Reality
Battering is extremely common, and happens in all types of situations.
The family can be rich or poor, educated or non-educated, employed or
unemployed, large or small in number. It happens in rural areas and in
urban areas, in small towns and large. Violence against women occurs
everywhere and at any time of the day or night.
It is not traditional in any country for women to be violently assaulted,
and even if it were, there is no reason for it to continue. Women in
every country of the world are organizing against violence in their own
societies. On occasion, women gather at international, regional or
national meetings to discuss and share strategies for action. This
strengthens the movement against violence and builds solidarity.
Violence against women is a problem in every country of the world - no
region is exempt. Women activists have struggled against the issue in
Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, and the
Middle East, joining their sisters in North America, Europe, Australia,
New Zealand and every other corner of the globe in a concerted effort
to get governments, communities, organizations and individuals
everywhere to become involved.
There is no proof whatsoever that violence is "all in the genes". Some
studies do show that children from violent homes are more likely to be
violent in their own homes as adults, though this has never been
proven conclusively.
11
REALITIES
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008
SCENE THREE
Town Hall meeting
This business of violence against
women is being taken way out of
proportion! It's just wildly exag-
gerated by feminists and anti-men
women! You can't tell me it's as
serious as people are saying
MEETING on
VIOLENCE
AGAMST
WOMEN..
TONIGHT
6J
It only happens when people
If it was all that serious
have been drinking. If men would
you'd see more about it
stop drinking then they would
in the papers and on
stop beating their wives.
TV!
It's not all that important. Let's be realistic. Violence has
always been around and women should expect a bit of it in
their lifetime.
COMMON ASSUMPTIONS
12
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009
SCENE THREE (continued)
The Reality
Battering is a pattern, a reign of force and terror. Once violence begins
in a relationship, it gets worse and more frequent over time.
Violence against women has been one of the world's best kept secrets.
But increasingly, women from all over are beginning to talk, and to tell
their stories of physical and mental intimidation to a world that is
becoming more aware of the problem. Gradually these stories are
finding their way into the media.
Assailants use drinking as one of many excuses for violence, and as a
way of putting responsibility for their violence elsewhere. There is a
50% correlation between substance abuse (drugs, alcohol, etc.) and
domestic violence, but no causal relationship. In other words, stopping
the assailant's drinking will not end his violence. Both problems must
be addressed individually.
No-one should "expect" to be beaten at any time in their life. For any-
one to say that violence "has always been around" and is therefore
excusable, is for that person to implicitly support the destruction of a
person's S most basic human right. the right to live. To allow such a
reign of force and terror in the lives of countless numbers of women is
unconscion-able.
13
REALITIES
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010
SCENE FOUR
Women's committee meeting
I'm sure he doesn't mean to
hurt her. I mean, he's a
Did you hear that Mabel's
professional man and
husband has been beating
always seems like such a
her again?
nice person!
PLAN
BOARD
OF
DIRECTORS
ASW GJ
Someone told me that women
are just as abusive and violent
I don't know why these
with their husbands as men are
women stay in violent
with their wives! We really
relationships anyway. Why
should be calling this spouse
don't they just leave?
abuse, not wife abuse!
1 would!
COMMON ASSUMPTIONS
14
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011
SCENE FOUR (continued)
The Reality
Battering is not just one physical attack. It is a number of tactics
(intimidation, threats, economic deprivation, psychological and sexual
abuse) used repeatedly. Physical violence is one of those tactics.
Men who batter are usually not violent towards anyone but their
wives/partners or their children. They can control themselves
sufficiently to pick a "safe" target. And they can be doctors, ministers,
psychologists, lawyers, teachers or any other kind of professional.
In over 95% of domestic assaults, the man is the assailant. This fact
makes many of us uncomfortable, but is no less true because of that
discomfort. There are rare cases where a woman batters a man. And
women have been known to kill their attacker after prolonged years of
battering. But violence in the home is overwhelmingly by men against
women.
Many battered women leave their abusers permanently, and despite
many obstacles, succeed in building a life free of violence. Almost all
battered women leave at least once. The batterer dramatically
escalates his violence when a woman leaves (or tries to), because it is
necessary for him to reassert control and ownership.
15
REALITIES
10/17/97 FRI 18:51 FAX 202 647 7018
012
SCENE FIVE
Foundation meeting
Honestly, when one considers the really
Yet I can't get it
important issues facing us today, like saving
out of my mind
the environment, working for peace, putting
that women are
food on the table, improving the educational
pretty essential
system. don't you think that violence
to all those
against women is a bit trivial?
issues
somehow..
ASW
I don't understand why women
don't get out there and run their
own shelters and programmes.
Why do we need to be
discussing yet another project
asking for money for a shelter for
battered women?
COMMON ASSUMPTIONS
16
10/17/97 FRI 18:51 FAX 202 647 7018
5.
013
SCENE FIVE (continued)
The Reality
Violence against women affects every part of
our lives. The well-being of women, their full
participation in their country's plans, policies
and programmes are essential if development
is to take place that will really benefit the
whole of the population. There will be no
peace, по stable environment, no educational
progress if women are afraid to take
leadership positions, and are suffering
physical and emotional abuse.
Battered women are often very active (and far
from helpless) on their own behalf. Their
efforts often fail however, because the batterer
continues to assault, and institutions, including
the police and courts, continue to refuse
protection. Many battered women's shelters
are run by women who have suffered from
physical violence themselves, and have fought
their way out of seemingly hopeless situations
to offer support and protection to other women
who need temporary help in finding their own
way out. Funders need to know these facts
when they sit down to consider requests for
money to support shelters.
17
REALITIES
010
10/17/97 FRI 18:47 FAX 202 647 7018
SCENE FOUR
Women's committee meeting
I'm sure he doesn't mean to
hurt her. 1 mean, he's a
Did you hear that Mabel's
professional man and
husband has been beating
always seems like such a
her again?
nice person!
PLAN
BOARD
OF
DIRECTORS
ASW I 6J
Someone told me that women
are just as abusive and violent
I don't know why these
with their husbands as men are
women stay in violent
with their wives! We really
relationships anyway. Why
should be calling this spouse
don't they just leave?
abuse, not wife abuse!
I would!
COMMON ASSUMPTIONS
14
10/17/97 FRI 18:47 FAX 202 647 7018
5.
011
SCENE FOUR (continued)
The Reality
Battering is not just one physical attack. It is a number of tactics
(intimidation, threats, economic deprivation, psychological and sexual
abuse) used repeatedly. Physical violence is one of those tactics.
Men who batter are usually not violent towards anyone but their
wives/partners or their children. They can control themselves
sufficiently to pick a "safe" target. And they can be doctors, ministers,
psychologists, lawyers, teachers or any other kind of professional.
In over 95% of domestic assaults, the man is the assailant. This fact
makes many of us uncomfortable, but is no less true because of that
discomfort. There are rare cases where a woman batters a man. And
women have been known to kill their attacker after prolonged years of
battering. But violence in the home is overwhelmingly by men against
women.
Many battered women leave their abusers permanently, and despite
many obstacles, succeed in building a life free of violence. Almost all
battered women leave at least once. The batterer dramatically
escalates his violence when a woman leaves (or tries to), because it is
necessary for him to reassert control and ownership.
15
REALITIES
10/17/97 FRI 18:47 FAX 202 647 7018
012
SCENE FIVE
Foundation meeting
Honestly, when one considers the really
important issues facing us today, like saving
Yet I can't get it
the environment, working for peace, putting
out of my mind
that women are
food on the table, improving the educational
system don't you think that violence
pretty essential
to all those
against women is a bit trivial?
issues
somehow
TOTAL
002
10/17/97 FRI 15:52 FAX 2026473507
EUR/EX
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
October 17, 1997
Office of the Senior
Coordinator for
International Women's
Issues
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Violence against women remains a widespread problem in Latin
America and the Caribbean region. The United States government
recognizes the effect this has on women and their ability to
participate in a meaningful way in society and applauds the
efforts made in many of the countries in the region to combat
this problem. To this end, we have initiated projects to assist
a number of these countries address this issue.
United States Embassies in Latin America have assisted a
number of organizations in domestic violence related projects.
USAID has funded many projects in Latin America that focus on
this issue. Its Partners of the Americas program provides
technical assistance, training exchanges and project assistance
grants to 60 "partnerships" linking a state or region of the U.S.
with an area in Latin America and the Caribbean.
USIA has a number of projects focusing on domestic violence in
Latin America.
Brazil: Partners of the Americas has provided training for
health care professionals, lawyers and police officers in
violence prevention techniques for women and children.
Participants formed a multi-disciplinary task force to develop a
crisis line and establish a training center at the Sexual Abuse
Center for professionals working with abused women and children.
The group is now documenting cases of domestic abuse and
providing referral services to victims.
In addition, after participating in a USIA sponsored professional
visit to the U.S., a public defender for the State of Sao Paulo
has convinced the Secretariat of Justice to create a Center for
the Victims of Violence. The Center will provide legal and
psychological services to the community, as well as conduct a
public affairs campaign to sensitize the people of Sao Paulo to
the problems of violence in their community. Victims of domestic
violence will also have access to services to help them cope with
their experiences from this Center.
Costa Rica: The Citizen Participation Project (part of Partners
of the Americas) in Costa Rica has held a series of workshops to
10/17/97 FRI 15:52 FAX 2026473507
EUR/EX
003
address the physical, psychological, social and legal
consequences of domestic violence. In October at the Conference
of Wives of Heads of State in Panama, the First Lady announced an
additional USAID grant of US$ 4.8 million to the Inter American
Institute for Human Rights. The Institute includes programs on
the human rights of women of which violence against women is an
important part.
Dominica: Under Partners of the Americas, the Dominica National
Council of Women will expand its domestic violence counseling
services to rural areas.
Guatemala: The U.S. Embassy has assisted with the training of
personnel for a centralized office to handle crime 24 hours a
day. Established and run by the government of Guatemala,
"Attencion de la Victima" is a victim services center that also
operates as a rape crisis center for women.
Honduras: The U.S. Embassy has provided technical assistance and
training to the Special Prosecutor's Office for Women's Rights.
All prosecutors, judges and police agents have received specific
training on how to treat abused women who have been victims of
domestic violence and are seeking legal services and protection.
USIA has produced a series of programs on domestic violence which
helped to create a favorable climate for passage of new
legislation this past August to protect women suffering domestic
violence.
Mexico: USAID is funding a project addressing violence against
women with the Instituto Mexicano de Investigacion de Familia y
Poblacion (IMIFAP). The results of this project will be
distributed to influential members of the Mexican Ministries of
Health and Education and will be incorporated into the Institutes
family life and sex education programs.
Peru: USAID's ReproSalud project works with community-based
organizations to help women act on their reproductive health
needs. Domestic violence was cited as one of women's important
health problems. It appears such violence can be a deterrent to
use of contraception. Many men oppose use of contraceptives by
their wives.
Another USAID project in Peru will help prepare advocates, judges
and scholars to address gender-related violence. Our Embassy
has also supported those NGOs that worked with the government to
draft recent revisions of the domestic violence law. These
revisions eliminated a provision in the law that allowed men to
escape prosecution for the crime of rape if the women he raped
agreed to marry him. It also eliminated provisions that absolved
all members involved in a gang rape if the woman agreed to marry
one of the men.