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1994.03.11 : Domestic Violence

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:             Contact:  HHS Press Office
Friday, March 11, 1994, 1 p.m. EST           (202) 690-6343


                  DOMESTIC ABUSE AGAINST WOMEN
               IS EPIDEMIC IN AMERICA, SHALALA SAYS

     Saying that domestic abuse against women is "terrorism in the
home," HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today called for "a national
awakening to this unacknowledged epidemic in America."

     "Domestic violence is a leading cause of injury to women in
America," Secretary Shalala said.  "In our hospital emergency
rooms, some 20 to 30 percent of women arrive because of physical
abuse by their partner."

     As many as four million instances of domestic abuse against
women occur each year in the United States, according to the
Commonwealth Fund.  This is approximately the same as the number of
women who give birth in a year, Shalala noted.

     "One in four women will be assaulted by a domestic partner in
her lifetime," she said.  "Yet even with these facts before us,
domestic violence has remained an unacknowledged epidemic, a
personal and social catastrophe that is too often kept secret.  

  "Domestic abuse against women is a nightmare in progress across
our land," she said.  "It is time for America to wake up to the
very real consequences of this violence."

     Confronting domestic abuse will be a high priority at HHS
under her leadership, and her commitment is shared by the Clinton
administration, Shalala said.  "Never before have you had the
secretary of HHS and the attorney general of the United States so
committed to preventing family violence," she said.

     Shalala said HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
an agency of the U.S. Public Health Service, is launching new
efforts this year to improve data collection on domestic violence,
as well as identify effective ways to prevent family violence and
explore new ways to communicate the problem to the public.
  
     Other new assistance to help families in crisis, including
prevention of domestic abuse, begins this year under the Family
Preservation and Support Act, Shalala said.  The legislation,
passed with administration leadership in 1993, authorizes $930
million over five years.

    In addition, Senate-passed crime legislation includes the
"Violence Against Women Act," which would authorize $1.8 billion
over five years to assist police and prosecutors, and provide aid
to shelters and community prevention programs.  The bill would also
authorize a national hotline for victims of domestic abuse.

     Shalala said abusive situations often remain secret because
women lose self-confidence and self-esteem as violent relationships
continue.

     "Put simply and honestly, domestic violence is terrorism in
the home, and that's what we should call it," Shalala said.  "We
must begin today to rescue women and their children from shame and
from harm."

     Shalala called on physicians to continue efforts to identify
abuse.  At present, only 8 percent of women who are physically
abused in the home tell their doctors, according to a 1993 survey
by the Commonwealth Fund.  Health professionals need to learn to
recognize abuse and refer patients to appropriate social service
agencies and shelters when needed, she said.

     She also called for law enforcement policies that would "take
the control out of the hands of the abusers."

     "We need tough laws that don't treat the victim like a
criminal," Shalala said.  "We need police departments in every
community to be responsible for filing complaints on behalf of the
victim, so the abuser cannot threaten retaliation to force her to
drop the charge."

     Shalala spoke in Washington, D.C., at the American Medical
Association's National Conference on Family Violence and Justice.
"We have to elevate this issue to the national stage, and that
means all of us have to take responsibility for doing even more in
our own areas," she told the conference.