Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 103 Part 1.djvu/713

 PUBLIC LAW 101-112 —OCT. 6, 1989 103 STAT. 685 Public Law 101-112 101st Congress Joint Resolution Designating October 1989 as "National Domestic Violence Awareness Month". Whereas it is estimated that a woman is battered every fifteen seconds in America; Whereas domestic violence is the single largest cause of injury to women in the United States, affecting three million to four mil- lion women; Whereas urban and rural women of all racial, social, religious, ethnic, and economic groups, and of all ages, physical abilities, and lifestyles are affected by domestic violence; Whereas 30 per centum of female homicide victims in 1986 were killed by their husbands or bo3rfriends; Whereas one-third of the domestic violence incidents involve felo- nies, specifically, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault; Whereas in 50 per centum of families where the wife is being abused, the children of that family are also abused; Whereas some individuals in our law enforcement 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; Whereas in 1986, over three hundred and eleven thousand women, plus their children, were provided emergency shelter in domestic violence shelters and safehomes and the number of women and children that were sheltered by domestic violence programs in- creased by nearly one hundred thousand between 1983 and 1986; Whereas for every one woman sheltered nationwide, two women in need of shelter may be turned away due to a lack of shelter space; Whereas the nationwide efforts to help the victims of domestic violence need to be coordinated; Whereas there is a need to increase the public awareness and understanding of domestic violence and the needs of battered women and their children; and Whereas the dedication and successes of those working to end domestic violence and the strength of the survivors of domestic violence should be recognized: Now, therefore, be it Oct. 6, 1989 [S.J. Res. 133]

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