Political Quotes

“I rise to speak today to mark several important developments in our Nation's fight to end domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. First, I recently had the honor of addressing domestic violence advocates from across the country who have convened in Washington, DC, to attend the annual meeting of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. These are the women and men on the front lines, transforming the Violence Against Women Act from words on a piece of paper into real solutions for battered women and children. These advocates witness the terrible toll of family violence. They, in essence, know the statistics by heart. Statistics like 20 percent of all nonfatal violence against females over 12 years of age were committed by intimate partners, according to government statistics released in February 2003. Or the statistics that tell us that in 2000 alone, 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner. These advocates experience what the studies confirm; that is, in almost half of the households with domestic violence, there are children under the age of 12. In the face of such daunting numbers, I was pleased to tell these advocates that our fight for an independent and separate Violence Against Women Office is over.”