III 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 317 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness 

Month and expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should 

continue to raise awareness of domestic violence in the United States 

and its devastating effects on families and communities, and support 

programs designed to end domestic violence. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 21, 2009 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. KOHL, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. SPECTER, Ms. LANDRIEU, 

Ms. STABENOW, Mr. KAUFMAN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BROWN, and Mr. 

BURRIS) 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 continue to raise awareness 

of domestic violence in the United States and its devastating effects on families and communities, and support programs designed to end domestic violence. 

Whereas the President has designated October 2009 as ‘‘National Domestic Violence Awareness Month’’; 

Whereas domestic violence affects people of all ages as well 

as racial, ethnic, gender, economic, and religious backgrounds; 


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•SRES 317 IS 

Whereas females are disproportionately victims of domestic 

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

Whereas on average, more than 3 women are murdered by 

their husbands or boyfriends in the United States every 

day; 

Whereas in 2005, 1,181 women were murdered by an intimate partner, constituting 78 percent of all intimate 

partner homicides that year; 

Whereas a 2001 study by the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention found that female intimate partners are 

more likely to be murdered with a firearm than all other 

means combined; 

Whereas women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest rates, 

per capita, of intimate partner violence; 

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 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 of domestic violence victims report that 

they have lost a job due, at least in part, to domestic violence; 

Whereas the annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic 

violence is estimated at $727,800,000 with over 

7,900,000 paid workdays lost per year; 

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 


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•SRES 317 IS 

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; 

Whereas approximately 40 to 60 percent of men who abuse 

women also abuse children; 

Whereas approximately 15,500,000 children are exposed to 

domestic violence every year; 

Whereas children exposed to domestic violence are more likely 

to attempt suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away 

from home, and engage in teenage prostitution; 

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 nearly 1,500,000 high school students nationwide 

experienced physical abuse from a dating partner in a 

single year; 

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

1 in 4 teenage girls has been in a relationship in which 

she was pressured by her partner into performing sexual 

acts; 

Whereas adolescent girls who reported dating violence were 

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

Whereas there is a need for middle schools, secondary 

schools, and post-secondary schools to educate students 

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


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•SRES 317 IS 

Whereas 88 percent of men in a national poll reported that 

they think that our society should do more to respect 

women and girls; 

Whereas a recently released multi-State study shows conclusively 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 2008 National Census Survey reported that 

60,799 adults and children were served by domestic violence shelters and programs around the Nation in a single day; 

Whereas those same understaffed programs were unable to 

meet 8,927 requests for help that day; 

Whereas there is a need to increase funding for programs 

aimed at intervening and preventing domestic violence in 

the United States; and 

Whereas individuals and organizations that are dedicated to 

preventing and ending 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 

4 (2) expresses the sense of the Senate that Con5 gress should continue to raise awareness of domestic 

6 violence in the United States and its devastating ef7 fects on families and communities, and support pro8 grams designed to end domestic violence. 

Æ 


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