IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 594 

Supporting the goals and ideals of October as ‘‘National Domestic Violence 

Awareness Month’’ and expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should continue to raise awareness of domestic violence and its devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities, and support programs designed to end domestic violence in the 

United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 31, 2017 

Mr. POE of Texas (for himself and Mr. AL GREEN of Texas) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education 

and the Workforce 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of October as ‘‘National 

Domestic Violence Awareness Month’’ and expressing the 

sense of the House of Representatives that Congress 

should continue to raise awareness of domestic violence 

and its devastating effects on individuals, families, and 

communities, and support programs designed to end domestic violence in the United States. 

Whereas females are disproportionately victims of domestic 

violence, as 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence at some point in her life; 


SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 594 IH 

Whereas, on average, more than 3 women are murdered by 

their husbands or boyfriends in the United States every 

day; 

Whereas women ages 18 to 24 experience the highest rates, 

per capita, of intimate partner violence; 

Whereas about 1 in 5 women who ever experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, first experienced some form of partner violence between 11 and 

17 years of age; 

Whereas nearly 1 in 3 college women say they have been in 

an abusive dating relationship; 

Whereas 1 out of 3 Native American women will be raped 

and 6 out of 10 will be physically assaulted in their lifetimes; 

Whereas the cost of intimate partner violence exceeds 

$5,800,000,000 each year, $4,100,000 of which is for direct medical and mental health care services; 

Whereas of females killed with a firearm, almost two-thirds 

were killed by their intimate partners; 

Whereas one-quarter to one-half of domestic violence victims 

report that they have lost a job due, at least in part, to 

domestic violence; 

Whereas some landlords deny housing to victims of domestic 

violence who have protection orders or evict victims of domestic violence for seeking help after a domestic violence 

incident, such as by calling 911, or who have other indications that they are domestic violence victims; 

Whereas 92 percent of homeless women experience severe 

physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lifetimes; 


SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 594 IH 

Whereas 81 percent of women who are stalked by a current 

or former male partner are also physically abused by that 

partner; 

Whereas 99 percent of abusive relationships include financial 

abuse, causing the survivors to stay or return to the abusive relationship; 

Whereas more than 8,000,000 days of paid work each year 

are lost due to domestic violence issues; 

Whereas 96 percent of employed domestic violence victims experience problems at work due to abuse; 

Whereas 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year and 90 percent of these children are eyewitnesses to violence; 

Whereas at least 15,500,000 children live in families in which 

partner violence occurred at least once in the past year; 

Whereas children exposed to domestic violence are more likely 

to attempt suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away 

from home, and become a victim of human trafficking; 

Whereas one large study found that men exposed to physical 

abuse, sexual abuse, and adult domestic violence as children were almost 4 times more likely than other men to 

have perpetrated domestic violence as adults; 

Whereas 1 in 10 high school students experienced physical violence from a dating partner in the past year; 

Whereas 13 percent of teenage girls who have been in a relationship report being hit or hurt by their partners; 

Whereas adolescent girls who reported dating violence were 

60 percent more likely to report one or more suicide attempts in the past year; 


SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 594 IH 

Whereas there is a need for middle schools, secondary 

schools, and postsecondary schools to educate students 

about the issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking; 

Whereas a recently released multistate study shows that the 

Nation’s domestic violence shelters are addressing victims’ urgent and long-term needs and are helping victims 

protect themselves and their children; 

Whereas a 2016 National Census Survey reported that 

72,959 violence victims were served by domestic violence 

shelters and programs around the Nation in a single day; 

Whereas an additional 11,991 people requested help that day, 

but due to lack of resources, they were unable to be 

served; 

Whereas there is a need to increase funding for programs 

aimed at intervening and preventing domestic violence in 

the United States; and 

Whereas domestic shelters and programs experience increased 

demands for service, 80 percent report cuts in funding: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of National 

3 Domestic Violence Awareness Month; and 

4 (2) expresses the sense of the House of Rep5 resentatives that Congress should continue to raise 

6 awareness of domestic violence and its devastating 

7 effects on individuals, families, and communities, 


SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 594 IH 

1 and support programs designed to end domestic vio2 lence in the United States. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS