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Beating Back Domestic Violence

October 25, 2007
Op-Eds

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and communities across the nation and here in the Texas Tenth are holding public awareness events to shed light on domestic violence in America. While I wish for the day when these events are unnecessary, they are vital to educate American’s about the blight of domestic violence.

As a member of the bi-partisan Victim’s Rights Caucus in Congress, I work with my colleagues from around the nation to bring domestic violence issues to the forefront in Congress. The goals of the caucus are simple. First, we represent crime victims in America through introduction of bi-partisan legislation which reflects the interests, rights and needs of crime victims. Protection of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) funding is also a priority of the Victim’s Rights Caucus. The money in the VOCA fund comes from money collected from Federal Court judgments, not taxpayers’ dollars. There are approximately 4,400 agencies which depend on the VOCA funding. These agencies service nearly 3.6 million victims each year. The Administration’s previous attempt to zero out the Crime Victims Fund would have seriously depleted funds for crime victim service providers and their clients. Our bi-partisan caucus has twice successfully prevented this attempt to eliminate the Crime Victims Fund.

Second, we provide an ongoing forum for pro-active discussions between Congress and national, state and local victim assistance organizations to enhance education, advocacy, and initiatives which promote justice for victims. Finally, we seek opportunities for public education initiatives to help people in the United States to understand the impact of crime on victims, families and communities, and encourage their involvement in crime prevention, victim assistance, and overall community safety. I am proud to be a member of the Victim’s Rights Caucus which truly provides a necessary and loud-clear voice for victims in Congress.

One major initiative the Caucus works on is the protection of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA was originally enacted in 1994, and established grant programs for state, local, and Indian tribal governments. Today, VAWA encourages collaboration among law enforcement, judicial personnel, and public-private service providers to victims of domestic and sexual violence. Another goal of VAWA is to increase public awareness of domestic violence, address the needs of sexual and domestic violence victims, and develop studies and reports about the effectiveness of approaches used for certain grants in combating violence.

In Texas alone, 120 victims were killed as a result of domestic violence in 2006. The sad fact is despite statistics like this, vital domestic violence programs suffer from limited resources, which is simply unacceptable. When our friends and neighbors are in need of assistance they should not be met with a closed door. Funding for domestic violence programs should always be a priority for local, state, and the federal government.

Crime victims are our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends and neighbors. They deserve our support and vital services to help them cope during horrific periods in their lives. I encourage everyone to attend an event that recognizes and honors domestic violence victims and those who serve them this month. Only through education and awareness will our community be able to prevent domestic violence and respond more effectively to its victims.