Joe Pitts: “preserving and strengthening marriage in America is not just a values issue, it is a safety issue, especially for women.…”

“preserving and strengthening marriage in America is not just a values issue, it is a safety issue, especially for women. According to Federal statistics, women are much more likely to be victims of domestic abuse if they are not married. In fact, domestic partner or spouse abuse against women is almost three times as high among cohabiting couples as it is among all married, divorced, and separated couples combined. If we simply compare married couples to couples who just live together, violence against women is five times as high for those who are not married. Clearly, women are safest when they are living in healthy, committed marriages. To most Americans, this sounds like common sense, but for the most at-risk women in America, I mean poor women, our welfare laws create a strong disincentive against marriage. Mr. Speaker, that needs to change. I hope that when we reauthorize our welfare laws later this year that we will address this. America's families and America's women deserve no less.”