IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1637 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness 

Month 2010 and expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 

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 and practices designed to prevent and 

end domestic violence. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 

Mr. POE of Texas (for himself, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. LARSEN of 

Washington, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. COSTA, Mrs. DAHLKEMPER, Ms. FUDGE, 

Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. 

MICHAUD, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. POMEROY, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. 

RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SPRATT, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CONAWAY, and Mr. PAULSEN) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and Labor 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2010 and expressing the sense 

of the House of Representatives 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 and practices 

designed to prevent and end domestic violence. 


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Whereas domestic violence affects people of all ages as well 

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

Whereas females are disproportionately victims of domestic 

violence; 

Whereas 6 in 10 Native American women will be physically 

assaulted in their lifetimes; 

Whereas on average, more than 3 women are murdered by 

their husbands or boyfriends in the United States every 

day; 

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 a 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 women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest rates, 

per capita, of intimate partner violence; 

Whereas approximately 1 in 3 adolescent girls in the United 

States is a victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse 

from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence affecting youth; 

Whereas teen girls who are physically and sexually abused 

are up to 6 times more likely to become pregnant, and 


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more than 2 times as likely to report a sexually transmitted disease, than teen girls who are not abused; 

Whereas 1,500,000 high school students nationwide experienced physical abuse from a dating partner in a single 

year; 

Whereas young people who are physically abused perform 

worse in school, 20 percent received mostly D’s and F’s; 

Whereas adolescent girls who reported dating violence were 

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

Whereas primary prevention programs are a key part of addressing teen dating violence, and many successful community examples include education, community outreach, 

and social marketing campaigns that account for the cultural appropriateness of programs; 

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; 

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 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 according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, in 2003, the costs of intimate partner violence exceed $8,300,000,000 and $1,200,000,000 in the 

value of lost lives; 


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Whereas research shows that intimate partner violence costs 

a health plan $19,300,000 each year for every 100,000 

women between ages 18 to 64 enrolled; 

Whereas even 5 years after the abuse has ended, health care 

costs of women with a history of intimate partner violence remain 20 percent higher than those for women 

with no history of violence; 

Whereas in addition to the immediate trauma caused by 

abuse, domestic violence contributes to a number of 

chronic health problems, including depression, alcohol, 

substance abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases such 

as HIV/AIDS, and often limits the ability of women to 

manage other chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension; 

Whereas although doctors and nurses routinely screen for 

high blood pressure and high cholesterol, too few assess 

for domestic violence and the burden on health care costs 

would be reduced if routine assessment and intervention 

for domestic violence was part of a preventative health 

care strategy; 

Whereas men are the perpetrators in at least 85 percent of 

domestic violence cases and prevention programs must be 

expanded to address their needs; 

Whereas 88 percent of men in a national poll reported that 

they think that society should do more to respect women 

and girls; 

Whereas research demonstrates that men are willing to help 

prevent violence against women, particularly through 

shaping the attitudes of younger men and boys; 

Whereas a multi-State study shows conclusively that the Nation’s domestic violence shelters are addressing victims’ 


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urgent and long-term needs and are helping victims protect themselves and their children; 

Whereas there is a need to increase funding for programs 

aimed at intervening and preventing domestic violence in 

the United States; 

Whereas individuals and organizations that are dedicated to 

preventing and ending domestic violence should be recognized; and 

Whereas Health Cares About Domestic Violence Day 

(HCADV Day) is celebrated on the second Wednesday of 

October: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the House of Representatives— 

3 (A) supports the goals and ideals of Na4 tional Domestic Violence Awareness Month; and 

5 (B) recognizes Health Cares About Domes6 tic Violence Day (HCADV Day) as an aware7 ness-raising day to reach members of the health 

8 care community and educate them about the 

9 critical importance of assessing for domestic vi10 olence, as well as the long-term health implica11 tions of domestic violence and lifetime exposure 

12 to violence; and 

13 (2) it is the sense of the House of Representa14 tives that Congress should continue to raise aware15 ness of domestic violence in the United States and 

16 its devastating effects on families and communities, 


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1 and support programs designed to end domestic vio2 lence. 

Æ 


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