A bill to expand research for women in trauma.

Summary: Expanding Research for Women in Trauma Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to makes grants and enter into contracts for violence against women prevention research initiatives.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding Research for Women in 
Trauma Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Most studies of violence against women currently focus 
        on physical abuse or rape, primarily because they are easier to 
        identify and measure and are potentially lethal, however, 
        almost all battered women describe psychological abuse as the 
        most harmful.
            (2) Most available research on violence against women has 
        focused on young to middle-aged white women living in the 
        community although available data shows that incarcerated 
        women, women living in poverty, women belonging to minority 
        ethnic and language groups, older women, and women with mental 
        and physical disabilities report especially high rates of 
        victimization.
            (3) Victims of violence are at increased risk for a number 
        of physical and mental health problems, for example, in primary 
        care practice, women who have been raped report more symptoms 
        of illness and more negative health behaviors than 
        nonvictimized women.
            (4) Effective methods for screening to identify women 
        affected by violence are prerequisite to understanding the 
        outcomes of abuse-sensitive medical care, for example, the 
        effect of medical attention to violence on perceived health 
        utilization of health services over time, and patient 
        satisfaction.
            (5) Violence against women occurs in a sociocultural 
        context. More research should be conducted to identify 
        sociocultural factors that promote and maintain violence 
        against women and to learn how sociocultural factors, such as 
        gender roles and poverty, mediate the effects of interpersonal 
        victimization.
            (6) There are a number of community-based and legal system 
        interventions available to victims of interpersonal violence. 
        However, there is little evaluation research on the 
        effectiveness of these interventions, especially for various 
        subpopulations of women. More research needs to be conducted on 
        the effectiveness of legal and community-based interventions, 
        not only those with the goal of changing the behavior of 
        assailants but also those with the goal of helping women take 
        safety-promoting actions.
            (7) Much of the research on violence against women examines 
        continuing rates of physical or psychological abuse as outcome 
        measures and measures the behavior of the perpetrators, not 
        something over which the woman has direct and immediate 
        control. However, research on the women's attempts to manage 
        and end the violence in their lives is rare.
            (8) Much of the extant research has focused on violence 
        against women in the streets (sexual assault) or in their homes 
        (domestic violence and battering). However, consistent focus on 
        violence against women in work-related (violence by partners in 
        these settings and by coworkers and colleagues) and educational 
        contexts has been more limited.

SEC. 3. RESEARCH INITIATIVES.

    Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 399O. VIOLENCE PREVENTION RESEARCH INITIATIVES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the Director 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Director of the 
National Institute of Mental Health, the Director of the Office of 
Research on Women's Health, the Director of the Office of Women's 
Health, the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the 
Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the 
Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
the Director of the Office of Behavioral and Social Science, the 
Director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, and 
the Director of the National Center on Minority Health and Health 
Disparities shall make grants and enter into contracts to--
            ``(1) increase research on the psychological sequelae of 
        violence against women;
            ``(2) expand research on special populations and their risk 
        for violence, including adolescents, older women, ethnic 
        minorities, women with disabilities, and other affected 
        populations;
            ``(3) increase research on violence against women as a risk 
        factor for various mental and physical health problems;
            ``(4) develop and test effective methods of screening for 
        violence in all points of entry to the health care system, 
        including mental health, emergency medicine, and primary care;
            ``(5) expand and enhance research on socioeconomic and 
        sociocultural correlates of violence, such as the factors that 
        create the predisposition toward violent behavior, situational 
        variables that trigger the expression of violence, and social 
        processes that allow violence to continue without negative 
        consequences to the perpetrator;
            ``(6) develop systematic and quantifiable measures to 
        evaluate treatment programs for victims and perpetrators of 
        violence;
            ``(7) conduct research to increase better understanding of 
        the complex process victimized women go through in attempting 
        to manage and end the violence in their lives and focus on 
        resilience and coping mechanisms; and
            ``(8) develop standardized questions concerning rape, 
        battering, and sexual harassment in work-related and 
        educational contexts to be routinely included in governmentally 
        sponsored national surveys in order to obtain a fuller and more 
        accurate assessment of the nature, prevalence, and effect of 
        multiple forms of violence against women in these settings.
    ``(b) Maximum Amount.--The Secretary shall not award a grant under 
this section in an amount which exceeds $500,000.
    ``(c) Duration.--The Secretary shall award grants under this 
section for a period not to exceed 5 years.
    ``(d) Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each eligible entity desiring a grant 
        under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary 
        at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such 
        information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
            ``(2) Contents.--Each application submitted pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) describe the activities for which assistance 
                under this section is sought; and
                    ``(B) provide such additional assurances as the 
                Secretary determines to be essential to ensure 
                compliance with the requirements of this section.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, such sums as may be 
necessary.''.