[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 192 (Monday, October 5, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 53271-53272]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26798]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 192 / Monday, October 5, 1998 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 53271]]
Proclamation 7129 of September 30, 1998
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, 1998
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Domestic violence is a leading cause of injury to
American women, and teenage girls between the ages of
16 and 19 experience one of the highest rates of such
violence. A woman is battered every 15 seconds in the
United States, and 30 percent of female murder victims
are killed by current or former partners. Equally
disturbing is the impact of domestic violence on
children. Witnessing such violence has a devastating
emotional effect on children, and between 50 and 70
percent of men who abuse their female partners abuse
their children as well. From inner cities to rural
communities, domestic violence affects individuals of
every age, culture, class, gender, race, and religion.
Combatting the violence that threatens many of our
Nation's families is among my highest priorities as
President. Through the Violence Against Women Act
(VAWA), included in the historic Crime Bill I signed
into law, we have more than tripled funding for
programs that combat domestic violence and sexual
abuse--investing over half a billion dollars since
1994. The Violence Against Women Office at the
Department of Justice, which coordinates the Federal
Government's implementation of the Act, is leading a
comprehensive national effort to combine tough Federal
laws with assistance to State and local programs
designed to fight domestic violence and aid its
victims. With VAWA grants, communities across our
country have been able to hire more prosecutors and
improve domestic violence training among police
officers, prosecutors, and health and social service
professionals.
My Administration has also worked to enact other
important legislation that sends the clear message that
family violence is a serious crime. The Interstate
Stalking Punishment and Prevention Act of 1996 stiffens
the penalties against perpetrators who pursue women
across State lines to stalk, threaten, or abuse them;
and an extension of the Brady Law prohibits anyone
convicted of a domestic violence offense from owning a
firearm. Since 1996, the 24-hour National Domestic
Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE) we established has
provided immediate crisis intervention, counseling, and
referrals for those in need, responding to as many as
10,000 calls each month.
In observing the month of October as National Domestic
Violence Awareness Month, we also recognize the
dedicated efforts of professionals and volunteers who
take up this cause every day, offering protection,
guidance, encouragement, and compassion to the
survivors of family violence. We reaffirm our pledge to
strengthen our collective national response to crimes
of domestic violence. Most important, we strengthen our
commitment to raise public awareness of the frequency
of domestic violence, recognize the signs of such
violence, and intervene before it escalates. If we are
ever to erase the pain of these heinous crimes, we must
help victims become survivors and, once and for all,
end the scourge of violence in America's homes.
[[Page 53272]]
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim October 1998 as National
Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I call upon
government officials, law enforcement agencies, health
professionals, educators, community leaders, and the
American people to join together to end the domestic
violence that threatens so many of our people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-third.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 98-26798
Filed 10-2-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
