III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 282 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness 

Month and expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should 

raise awareness of domestic violence in the United States and its devastating effects on families. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 20, 2005 

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. JOHNSON, Mrs. MURRAY, 

Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. BAYH, Mr. KOHL, Mrs. CLINTON, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. AKAKA, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. 

SPECTER, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. TALENT, Mr. KERRY, Mr. BYRD, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. FEINGOLD, and Mr. SALAZAR) submitted the following resolution which was referred to the Committee on 

the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and expressing the sense of the 

Senate that Congress should raise awareness of domestic 

violence in the United States and its devastating effects 

on families. 

Whereas 2005 marks the 11th anniversary of the enactment 

of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (Public Law 

103–322, 108 Stat. 1902); 

Whereas since the passage of the Violence Against Women 

Act of 1994, communities have made significant progress 
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in reducing domestic violence such that between 1993 

and 2001, the incidents of nonfatal domestic violence fell 

49 percent; 

Whereas the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 cost 

$15.50 per woman to implement, and has been estimated 

to save $159 per woman, totaling a savings of nearly 

$14,800,000,000 since its creation in averted costs of victimization; 

Whereas since it was created by the Violence Against Women 

Act of 1994, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has 

been used to answer over 1,000,000 calls; 

Whereas States have passed over 660 State laws pertaining 

to domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault; 

Whereas the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 has helped 

make strides toward breaking the cycle of violence, but 

there remains much work to be done; 

Whereas the Senate recently passed the Violence Against 

Women Act of 2005 which reauthorized critical components of the original Act and established additional protections for battered immigrants and victims of human 

trafficking in order to further combat domestic violence 

and sexual assault; 

Whereas domestic violence affects women, men, and children 

of all racial, social, religious, ethnic, and economic groups 

in the United States; 

Whereas protecting the economic security of victims can help 

break the cycle of domestic violence; 

Whereas abusers frequently seek to control their partners by 

actively interfering with the ability of their partners to 

work, including by preventing their partners from going 

to work and harassing their partners at work; 
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Whereas only 28 States and the District of Columbia have 

laws that explicitly provide unemployment insurance to 

victims of domestic violence under certain circumstances; 

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

their husbands or boyfriends in the United States every 

day; 

Whereas women who have been abused are much more likely 

to suffer from chronic pain, diabetes, depression, unintended pregnancies, substance abuse, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS; 

Whereas only about 10 percent of primary care physicians 

routinely screen for domestic violence during new patient 

visits, and 9 percent routinely screen during periodic 

checkups; 

Whereas each year, about 324,000 pregnant women in the 

United States are battered by the men in their lives, 

leading to pregnancy complications, such as low-weight 

gain, anemia, infections, and first and second trimester 

bleeding; 

Whereas every 2 minutes, someone in the United States is 

sexually assaulted; 

Whereas almost 25 percent of women surveyed had been 

raped or physically assaulted by a spouse or boyfriend at 

some point in their lives; 

Whereas in 2002 alone, 250,000 women and girls older than 

the age of 12 were raped or sexually assaulted; 

Whereas 64 percent of women have reported being raped, 

physically assaulted, or stalked since age 18 by their current or former intimate partner; 
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Whereas 1 out of every 12 women has been stalked in her 

lifetime; 

Whereas approximately 503,000 women are stalked by an intimate partner annually in the United States; 

Whereas the influence of cultural norms, economics, language 

barriers, and limited access to legal services and information may render some immigrant women particularly vulnerable to abuse; 

Whereas 1 in 5 adolescent girls in the United States becomes 

a victim of physical or sexual abuse, or both, in a dating 

relationship; 

Whereas 40 percent of girls ages 14 to 17 report knowing 

someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend; 

Whereas approximately 8,800,000 children in the United 

States witness domestic violence each year; 

Whereas witnessing domestic violence increases the risk of 

developing long-term physical and mental health problems, future struggles with substance abuse, and experiencing domestic abuse as a victim; 

Whereas a boy who witnesses his father’s domestic violence 

is 10 times more likely to engage in domestic violence 

than a boy from a nonviolent home; 

Whereas almost 37 percent of all women who sought care in 

hospital emergency rooms for violence-related injuries 

were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or 

girlfriend; 

Whereas the cost of domestic violence, including rape, physical assault, and stalking, exceeds $5,800,000,000 each 
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year, of which $4,100,000,000 is spent on direct medical 

and mental health care services; 

Whereas 44 percent of the mayors of the United States have 

identified domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness; 

Whereas over 50 percent of abused women lose at least 3 

days of work per month due to domestic violence, 60 percent of battered women endure reprimands for arriving 

late to work and displaying other work-related problems 

associated with abuse, and 70 percent report difficulties 

in performing their work due to the effects of domestic 

violence; 

Whereas existing statistical data suggests that forced prostitution, trafficking for sex, and sex tourism has increased throughout the world; 

Whereas the need to increase the public awareness and understanding of domestic violence and the needs of battered women and their children continues to exist; 

Whereas the month of October 2005 has been recognized as 

National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a month 

for activities furthering awareness of domestic violence; 

and 

Whereas the dedication and successes of those working tirelessly to end domestic violence and the strength of the 

survivors of domestic violence should be recognized: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of National 

3 Domestic Violence Awareness Month; and 
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1 (2) expresses the sense of the Senate that Con2 gress should continue to raise awareness of domestic 

3 violence in the United States and its devastating im4 pact on families. 

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