Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 105 Part 1.djvu/607

 PUBLIC LAW 102-114 —OCT. 3, 1991 105 STAT. 579 Public Law 102-114 , 102d Congress Joint Resolution '^ Designating October 1991 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 six million 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 31 per centum of female homicide victims in 1988 were killed by their husbands or bo5drriends; Whereas one-third of the domestic violence incidents involve felonies, 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 sissault as a crime; Whereas in 1987, over three hundred and seventy-five 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 increeised by one hundred and sixty-four thousand between 1983 and 1987; Whereas 40 per centum of 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 expanded and 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. 3, 1991 [S.J. Res. 73]

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