Jerry Moran: “Today marks the last day, this last day of October, as the last day of the month for national domestic violence…”

“Today marks the last day, this last day of October, as the last day of the month for national domestic violence awareness. Though society has made great strides in bringing attention to the crime of domestic violence, over 4 million individuals of this country continue to find themselves victims of physical, psychological and sexual abuse. While our Nation's attention is currently occupied by security threats both here and abroad, domestic violence is an issue that this country must continue to address. Domestic violence rarely makes the headlines, primarily because most of the abuse occurs behind closed doors. In most instances, the victim knows the attacker. Over 50 percent of the victims are battered by a boy or girlfriend. Over 30 percent are assaulted by spouses, and around 15 percent are attacked by ex-spouses. Many victims are reluctant to report these incidents to anyone because of fear of reprisal. There are many theories to explain why individuals use violence against their partners. Some explanations include dysfunctional families, inadequate communication skills, stress, chemical dependency and economic hardship. Though these issues may be associated with battering, they are not the causes, and merely removing these factors will not end domestic violence. Batterers begin and continue to have abusive behavior because violence is an effective method of gaining and keeping control over another person.”