II
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. J. RES. 178
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
OCTOBER 27 (legislative day, OCTOBER 13), 1993
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
JOINT RESOLUTION
Designating October 1993 and October 1994 as ‘‘National
Domestic Violence Awareness Month’’.
Whereas it is estimated that a woman is battered every 15
seconds in America;
Whereas domestic violence is the single largest cause of in-
jury to women in the United States, affecting 6,000,000
women;
Whereas rural and urban women of all racial, social, reli-
gious, ethnic, and economic groups of all ages, physical
abilities and lifestyles are affected by domestic violence;
•HJ 178 RFS
Whereas increasing evidence indicates that there are large
numbers of immigrant women trapped in violent homes,
isolated by abusive spouses who use the threat of depor-
tation to maintain power and control over them;
Whereas violence escalates in both frequency and severity
over time, becoming greatest at and after separation,
when women are 75 percent more likely to be killed;
Whereas 40 percent of female homicide victims in 1991 were
killed by their husbands or boyfriends;
Whereas in 1991, at least 21,000 domestic crimes against
women were reported to the police each week;
Whereas one-fifth of all reported aggravated assaults—as-
saults where the victim suffered serious bodily injury—
occur in domestic violence situations;
Whereas 74 percent of employed battered women are har-
assed by their abusive partners at work, causing 54 per-
cent to miss at least 3 full days of work a month and
20 percent to lose their jobs;
Whereas 35 percent of medical emergency visits by women
are the result of domestic violence, and 25–45 percent of
all battered women are battered during pregnancy;
Whereas one-third of the domestic violence incidents involve
felonies such as rape, robbery, and aggravated assault;
Whereas in 50 percent of families where the wife is being
abused, the children of that family are also being abused;
Whereas some individuals in our law enforcement, medical,
religious, mental health, and judicial systems continue to
think of spousal abuse as a ‘‘private’’ matter and are
hesitant to intervene and treat domestic assault as a
crime;
•HJ 178 RFS
Whereas in 1991 over 450,000 women, plus their children,
were provided emergency shelter in domestic violence
shelters and safehomes;
Whereas 40 percent of women in need of shelter may be
turned away due to lack of shelter space;
Whereas the nationwide efforts to help the victims of domes-
tic violence need to be expanded and coordinated;
Whereas there is a need to increase the public awareness and
understanding of domestic violence and the needs of bat-
tered women and their children; and
Whereas the dedication and successes of those working to end
domestic violence and the strength of the survivors of do-
mestic violence should be recognized: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That each of the months October 1993 and October 1994
is designated as ‘‘National Domestic Violence Awareness
Month’’. The President is authorized and requested to
issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United
States to observe this month by becoming more aware of
the tragedy of domestic violence, supporting those who are
working to end domestic violence, and participating in
other appropriate efforts.
Passed the House of Representatives October 26,
1993.
Attest:
DONNALD K. ANDERSON,
Clerk.