H. Res. 817 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
October 26, 2009. 
Whereas domestic violence affects people of all ages as well 
as racial, ethnic, gender, economic, and religious back-
grounds; 
Whereas females are disproportionately victims and one in 
four women will experience domestic violence at some 
point in her life; 
Whereas on average, more than three women are murdered 
by their husbands or boyfriends in the United States 
every day; 
Whereas in 2005, 1,181 women were murdered by an inti-
mate partner constituting 78 percent of all intimate part-
ner homicides that year; 
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 life-
times; 
Whereas the cost of intimate partner violence exceeds 
$5,800,000,000 each year, $4,100,000 of which is for di-
rect medical and mental health care services;
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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 some landlords deny housing to victims of domestic 
violence who have protection orders or evict victims of do-
mestic violence for seeking help after a domestic violence 
incident, such as by calling 911, or who have other indi-
cations 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 chil-
dren were almost four 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 
2003; 
Whereas 13 percent of teenage girls who have been in a rela-
tionship report being hit or hurt by their partners and 
one in four teenage girls has been in a relationship in
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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 at-
tempts 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, dat-
ing violence, and stalking; 
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 that the 
Nation’s domestic violence shelters are addressing vic-
tims’ 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 vio-
lence shelters and programs around the Nation in a sin-
gle day; 
Whereas an additional 8,927 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 individuals and organizations that are dedicated to 
preventing and ending domestic violence should be recog-
nized: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—