The publication is reproduced in full below:
AND STILL I RISE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green) for 30 minutes.
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, and still I rise. And I rise on this occasion to bring to the attention of this House H. Res. 746, the Original National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Resolution of 2021.
H. Res. 746 expresses support for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and that Congress should continue to raise awareness of this issue.
This resolution has 160 original cosponsors including 18 Republicans. It is a bipartisan resolution. I am honored to say that the lead cosponsor from Louisiana, Mr. Garret Graves, is a person who has been very helpful in helping to get this resolution presented and get signatures of persons who would be supportive.
Domestic violence is a more prolific problem than many realize. Domestic violence is a problem that too often is concealed. Many people don't report the fact that they are being abused. People are locked in. They find themselves having to live with abuse because the abuse is being perpetrated by someone that they love and someone whom they care for but someone who does not care as much for them.
Nearly one in three college women say they have been in an abusive dating relationship. Ninety-two percent of homeless women experience severe physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lifetimes.
A 2020 survey by the National Network to End Domestic Violence reported that 76,525 violence victims were served by domestic violence shelters and programs around the Nation in a single day. Additionally, 11,047 requests for services went unmet--went unmet--because of a lack of resources. We have to do more to help the victims of domestic violence. Congress can do more to help the victims of domestic violence. Congress should do more to help the victims of domestic violence.
Domestic violence impacts individuals of any gender. One in four women and one in seven men ages 18 and older will experience domestic violence at some point in their lives. Women ages 18 to 34 experience the highest rates per capita of intimate partner violence.
Domestic violence impacts individuals of any race. African-American women experience intimate partner violence at a rate 35 percent higher than that of White women and about 2.5 times the rate of women of other races.
{time} 1930
Twenty-one to 55 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander women report experiencing domestic violence; that is, physical assault, sexual assault, or both, during their lifetimes.
37.1 percent of Latinx females are victimized by intimate partner violence in a lifetime. One in three Native American women will be raped, and 6 in 10 will be physically assaulted in their lifetimes.
Domestic violence impacts individuals of any sexual orientation. Sixty-one percent of bisexual women, 43.8 percent of lesbian women, 37.3 of bisexual men, and 26 percent of homosexual men experience intimate partner violence during their lifetimes.
Too often, children are affected by domestic violence and sexual assault. One in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90 percent of these children are eyewitnesses to such violence.
Children exposed to domestic violence are more likely to attempt suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away from home, and become victims of human trafficking. Our children are suffering. Those who witness these acts of domestic violence need help. We need to provide more counseling for children.
Even when this tragedy occurs, it is shameful for children to have to witness it. But more tragic than that, when children themselves are victimized, they have to carry that memory with them for a lifetime.
One in 10 District of Columbia high school students reported experiencing physical violence from a dating partner in the past year. Half of youth who have been victims of both dating violence and rape attempt suicide, compared to 12.5 percent of non-abused girls and 5.4 percent of non-abused boys.
One large study found that men exposed to physical abuse, sexual abuse, and adult domestic violence as children were almost four times more likely than other men to have perpetrated domestic violence as adults.
The point to be made is, those who suffer from domestic violence and abuse are likely to perpetrate domestic violence and abuse; not all, but a good many.
There is a need for primary schools, secondary schools, and postsecondary schools to educate students about the issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Education is the means by which many can avoid becoming victims. We must do more to educate our young.
The term domestic violence is often inadequate because it fails to capture the full extent of the impacts that the event can have on a victim's life. The average cost of intimate partner violence over a victim's lifetime for medical and mental healthcare services is about
$103,000-plus--that is for women--and $23,000-plus for men.
The term domestic violence also fails to capture how, in some instances, domestic violence literally means domestic murder because, on average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or their boyfriends in the United States every day.
Most murdered transgender women are killed by intimate partners.
However, in spite of all of this, there is hope. Survivors of domestic violence are strong, courageous, and resilient, but they need help. Surviving the physical and mental abuse requires more than simply relocating. Many times, counseling is needed.
The strength that they have is something that we can admire, but that strength can be fortified if they can have proper counseling so that they can get the assistance that they need, not only to stabilize themselves mentally, but also to understand that they are not the reason for the violence being perpetrated upon them. Too often, the victims believe that they are responsible for the actions of the persons who are abusing them. They need help.
This is what we can do. We can help to make sure people understand that victims are not responsible for what perpetrators do.
A recently released multistate study shows that the Nation's domestic violence shelters are addressing victims urgent and long-term needs, and are helping victims protect themselves and their children. Domestic violence advocates provide lifesaving essential services. There is a need to increase, not reduce funding for programs aimed at intervening in and preventing domestic violence in the United States.
So therefore, I am so proud tonight to say that we should resolve that the goals and ideals of Domestic Violence Awareness Month are important; that these goals and ideals should be pursued; that this House of Representatives can do more to help the victims of domestic violence.
I would also add that this resolution expresses the sense that the House of Representatives--that Congress--should continue to raise awareness of domestic violence and its devastating effects on individuals, families, communities, and support programs designed to end domestic violence in the United States.
Madam Speaker, people ought not have to live in fear because they happen to be in an abusive relationship. Yes, people can take their issues to the police. Women can. But too often they have to debate within themselves the consequences of going to the police, the authorities, because they understand, many of them, that they have no other place to turn to.
But thank God this Congress has provided enough money for shelters so that many can leave the environment where the abuse is being perpetrated.
This is a serious issue that we should all be concerned with. If we allow the perpetration and perpetuation of domestic violence to continue, it does not bode well for the fiber and fabric of our country. This is a great country, and a great country can protect people who are being abused in their own homes.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 200
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
House Representatives' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
Alerts Sign-up