FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
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The White House - Office of the Press Secretary
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President Bush Proclaims October Domestic Violence Month |
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Remarks by the President on Domestic Violence Prevention
The East Room
3:13 P.M. EDT
Fact Sheet
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming and welcome to the White House. In a
few moments, I will sign a proclamation naming October National Domestic
Violence Awareness Month. I do so to focus attention on this urgent and very
important issue. I will announce two new initiatives we are launching to combat
domestic violence in our country.
A home, a family should be a place of support, should be a peaceful place --
not a place of cruelty and brutality. Domestic violence betrays the most basic
duties of life, it violates the law, it's wrong, it is a crime that must be
confronted by individuals, by communities and by government.
All of you here today have taken up the vital cause -- the really important
cause -- of defending the vulnerable from domestic violence. Too often its
victims suffer in secret and in silence. You make it easier for them to step out
of the shadows and get the help and love they need. Your compassion is saving
lives. Your country is grateful. Thank you for what you do.
I appreciate Tommy Thompson being here. He's the Secretary of Health and
Human Services. Many of the initiatives on family violence come from his
department. As governor of Wisconsin, he made a name for dealing with domestic
violence, and has carried his passion, as have I, to Washington, D.C. to help.
I appreciate Jack Potter, who is the Postmaster General. There's a reason he
is here -- it has something to do with a stamp that I'll be describing here.
(Laughter.) I appreciate very much Diane Stuart, the Director of the Office of
Violence Against Women, from the Department of Justice. Thank you for coming.
Thank you for being a leader.
We've got a special senator here with us today, a person who flew all the way
back from his home state of Colorado. He's here because he sponsored the
legislation creating the Stop Family Violence stamp. I'm honored that you've
come back, Senator Campbell. Ben Nighthorse Campbell is a compassionate, decent
human being and I'm proud to call him, friend. Thanks for coming.
I want to thank Sheryl Kates, who is the executive director of the National
Domestic Violence Hotline and the Texas Council on Family Violence. She's on the
stage with me. The hotline received its one-millionth call in August. That's a
lot of calls, but it's a lot of help, as well. And I want to thank Sheryl for
being here -- my fellow Texan. (Laughter.) Lynn Rosenthal is the executive
director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Lynn is with us, as
well, here. Thank you for coming. And Rita Smith, the executive director of the
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, is on the stage, as well. These
three women are leaders in the attempt to make somebody's life better, and I
really appreciate you all coming.
As well, we've got Monique Blais is with us today. Monique brought her
mother, Marci, to the White House. (Laughter.) The reason Monique is here is
that she designed the art work for the Stop Family Violence stamp. And I really
appreciate your talents, and when people see the stamp they'll -- when I say
"talent," they'll know what I mean when I say "talent," because it's really a
great piece of work. We want to thank you for coming. And I want to thank you
all for being here.
Domestic violence cuts across every line of geography and income. Abuse is
found in every community in our country -- every community -- and it must be
fought in every community. Hundreds of thousands of incidents of domestic
violence are reported every year. The sad news is, many go unreported. About a
third of women murdered each year in America are killed by this type of
violence. And nearly half the households where domestic violence occurs also has
a child under 12 years old. There's more than one victim.
Women and children are facing dangers in this country, and they need strong
allies. That's what we're here to talk about. I'm not only here to thank you for
being strong allies, I'm asking others around our country to work with the
people here. There's plenty of opportunities for our fellow citizens to step
forth and be a partner in helping save and heal lives.
Fortunately, there are people, victims who can find help. That's the good
news about America. The bad news is there's too much domestic violence. The good
news is, people can find help. Faith-based and community groups provide refuge
and counseling and good legal advice. And a lot of time, an abused woman needs
good, solid legal advice.
Industry groups are recycling old cell phones. It's an interesting
contribution, isn't it? They're saying, here's an opportunity for you to be able
to call to get help. Lifetime television -- I know some folks representing
Lifetime television are here -- is promoting domestic violence awareness in its
programming and public service campaigns, and we thank you for that. Part of
making sure that we help save lives is to educate people about the opportunities
available.
Business Strengthening America is a private organization of business leaders
who are responding to a call I gave them earlier, after September the 11th. I
said, why don't you become an active participant, as responsible business
leaders, in helping meet our society's needs? They've joined forces with
Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. Those two groups are working to
raise awareness of the issues in the workplace, and as importantly, they're
encouraging employees to become volunteers in the effort to help those who have
been abused.
I want to thank the responsible corporate leaders in America for hearing the
call that in a responsible society you've got to behave responsibly yourself,
and encourage others to follow their heart.
The fight against domestic violence is a national movement. I urge people to
join the movement. Part of an awareness month is not only making people aware,
but a call to service. Today all of us up here are calling people to service, to
serve your community and your country. If you want to love your neighbor like
you'd like to be loved yourself, there's ample opportunity to do so in the fight
against domestic violence.
Our government is engaged in the fight, as it should be. Government has got a
duty to treat domestic violence as a serious crime, as part of our duty. If you
treat something as a serious crime, then there must be serious consequences;
otherwise it's not very serious. Last year federal prosecutors for violence
against women crimes increased -- federal prosecutions increased by 35 percent.
Our prosecutors are doing their job. They're finding the abusers, and they're
throwing the book at them. And that's important.
People who commit must understand with certainty there is a consequence. One
way to change behavior is to make it clear to people in our society, if you
break the law, if you beat up a woman, if you abuse your wife, you will be held
to account. There must be certainty in the law, and we must have prosecutors who
understand that we expect them to be tough. And they are.
The administration has also increased funding for the Justice Department's
violence against women programs by $100 million this year. We're now spending
money at the highest levels in our nation's history, and it's money well spent.
Programs which help local communities combat domestic violence and sexual
assault and stalking, and helps the victims of those crimes are now funded at
$390 million a year.
And I want to thank Ben and the member of the Congress for working to see
that our appropriations request was met.
I'm going to talk about two other measures that I think will help in the
fight against domestic violence. First, I've directed $20 million in 2004 to
help communities create family justice centers, where victims of domestic
violence can find the services they need in one place, one central location. Too
often, the services designed to help victims are uncoordinated and scattered
throughout communities.
Imagine what it would be like if you were an abused person trying to find
help and you went from one place to another. With laws and police and all the
rules of a regulations of a free society, it must be confusing and
disheartening. The victim has been so traumatized, and then she has to tell her
story over and over again, which repeats the trauma. There's a better way to do
this. There's a better way to help people who need help in our society.
San Diego figured it out. They've got a city attorney named Casey Gwinn --
who's right there -- who recognized that there's a more compassionate way to
help people who have been abused. And so he did something about it. He created
what's called the San Diego Family Justice Center. It's a full-service center
for domestic violence victims, where police officers and prosecutors and
probation officers and civil attorneys and counselors and doctors and victims
advocates and chaplains all come together to help somebody. The runaround is
over in San Diego. There's a central location where somebody who desperately
needs help can find compassion and help.
Victims can pick up food vouchers; they can get help with transportation;
they can file for a temporary restraining order against their abusers; they can
sign up for supervised visitation programs to keep their children safe; they can
get their cell phone there. They can find help.
The San Diego Family Justice Center opened a year ago. It has already served
thousands of victims. They tell me the story of Caitlin Effgen, who is a brave
woman who lives in San Diego. It's probably, unfortunately, a typical story I'm
about to tell you. What's atypical is that she found help in a brand new way of
helping victims of domestic violence. Her boyfriend started hitting her. She
tried to break up with him and he began to stalk her. In other words, he was not
only abusing her one way, he decided to abuse her another, as well. And she went
to the authorities and got a restraining order, which, as the experts will tell
you, sometimes it works and sometimes it didn't -- because, in her case, the
boyfriend continued to harass her, just wouldn't leave her alone.
You can imagine the fear she felt. He plead guilty to charges, but he still
stalked and haunted her mind. And then she discovered the center. They helped
her get counseling. They got another restraining order. A victim's advocate
joined her and her dad in court. She got all the help she needed. I can imagine
the relief that she must have felt when somebody who heard the call to love a
neighbor, did just that.
The guy ended up in -- behind bars, which is the right thing to do. I
congratulate the San Diego law enforcement officers. But more important, she got
to remember what life was like without her misery. Those are her words, not
mine. She found compassion. The funding I've set aside will help begin a
national movement toward more of these centers. Twelve will be funded through
this initiative. When they work, there's another twelve, and maybe even more.
Maybe we can escalate the request. But the point is, we have found what can work
in order to provide efficient help to channel the compassion so somebody can get
their life back together. So I want to thank you for coming, Casey. Good job.
You're doing your duty as a public servant. (Applause.)
The second initiative will expand the good work of community and faith-based
groups as they provide counseling and mentoring and other services to children
who have witnessed domestic violence. The children who witness domestic violence
are prone to depression and anxiety. That's natural. You could imagine what it
would be like for a little child to witness such an act. They need help and
love. We have a moral obligation in our society to help relieve the suffering
and to show that there is a better life.
I like to remind people, you know, that -- I wish government could make
people love one another. I would sign the piece of legislation. (Laughter.) But
I know there are loving people who are willing to love. It's a -- by the way, a
lot of times it's from a higher law, it's not the law of government. And so what
we want to do is spend $5 billion -- $ 5 million this year on initiatives --
(laughter and applause.) A million here, a million there -- (laughter.) Let's
start small -- what do you think -- (laughter) -- to start an initiative called
Safe and Bright Futures for Children. That's what we want to start. The
Department of Health and Human Services will provide funding to community and
faith-based groups to help children escape the cycle of violence, to get
counseling, to get mentoring, to become involved in healthy activities like
sports or scouting or community services.
The money will support programs at sites all across America. We believe it
will be -- make a difference in lives. One such program is run by the Reverend
Cheryle Albert, who is with us today. She works with Safe Haven Interfaith
Partnership Against Domestic Violence in Boston, Massachusetts. Probably rooting
for the Red Sox, aren't you? (Laughter.) She teaches congregations about
domestic violence. She helps train them to help troubled families through crisis
intervention and counseling. Here's what she says: "The power behind domestic
violence is that it's a secret. We work with the faith community because we feel
it's the best way to break the silence."
When men and women face violence and injustice, it is important for our
government to understand that oftentimes, they turn to their churches or
synagogues or mosques for help -- as they should. These are places of love. They
exist because of love. They are wise to do so, and our government should not
fear the faith-based programs which help save lives. Matter of fact, we ought to
welcome the faith-based programs into helping people who suffer. (Applause.)
Oftentimes, it requires faith to help heal a heart and to help bring a
future, a bright future into some child's life. This initiative welcomes the
faith-based programs all across our society. This initiative takes taxpayers'
money to encourage faith-based programs to become important partners in the
fight against domestic violence.
I am not the least bit hesitant to encourage our government to use federal
tax money to rally the armies of compassion which exist in every society in
America. We must not fear faith in America. We must welcome faith in America to
help solve our problems. (Applause.)
Now, to the stamp. And the stamp will be placed out in the hall; you can see
it on the way out. The Safe and Bright Futures Program will be supported by the
sales of the stamp. There have been three such stamps. This is the third where
the revenues collected from the sales of the stamps, designed by one of our
nation's budding artists -- (laughter) -- will be -- will use that money. And as
I understand it, the stamp is for sale today? That's why the head of the Post
Office is here. (Laughter.)
And so anybody who wants to support effective programs in our fight against
domestic violence ought to buy the stamp. The money goes to these programs. And
it's a great way for people to use the mail and to express their desires to make
their communities a better place.
I want to thank you all for coming today. I want to thank you for your
commitment. For those who are involved with saving lives, it's a hard job. It's
got to be hard to provide a shoulder on to which someone can cry, or a
sympathetic ear for some child who wonders what their future is like. That can
only be accomplished, however, when loving Americans hear the call. If any
American is interested in serving, one good way to do so is to become involved
in these programs that are saving lives as the result of the brutal crime of
domestic violence.
The strength of our country is not our military, it's not our wallet -- the
strength of our country is the heart and soul of the American people. And today
I'm honored to be in the presence of Americans who serve your country and your
community by helping people who have been hurt.
May God bless your work. May God bless those who are victims of domestic
violence. And may God continue to bless our country. Thank you. (Applause.)
(The proclamation is signed.) (Applause.)
END 3:35 P.M. EDT
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