Published March 1996 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Combating Crimes of Violence Against Women
Rising with the escalating numbers of violent crimes in America are the crimes of brutality committed against women. Recognizing that disturbing trend, Congress, in 1994, passed landmark anticrime legislation that included provisions specifically targeting violence against women as a category of crime deserving special attention by law' enforcement. The statistics are compelling. For example, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, every six minutes in the United States a woman is raped. In addition, the FBI reports that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to American women between the ages of 15 and 44, greater than the combined total of car accidents, muggings, and rapes. To address these crimes, the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill set aside $1.6 billion -- funding made possible through the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund, created by my amendment to that bill -- for police, prosecutors, prevention programs, and victim assistance initiatives to address sexual violence or domestic abuse. In addition to providing funding that is supporting the establishment of resources such as women's shelters and domestic violence hotlines, the bill instituted tough new penalties for sex offenses. It also included a provision which makes it a federal offense with additional penalties to cross state lines to continue abusing a spouse or a partner, an important step toward protecting those women who suffer repeated batterings and who finally gather the courage to leave their abuser. Beyond the actions the law has spurred at the federal level, it is aiding state level efforts to combat violence against women. Last year, West Virginia received $426,000 as its first installment of federal funding under that new program. The state is expected to receive at least four more annual grants. Our state's initial steps to advance the goals of the law include the establishment of the "West Virginians Against Violence Committee," which will administer federal funds and oversee the development of programs throughout West Virginia to combat rape and abuse. The fallout from these crimes reaches far beyond ~hose women who are themselves the victims of rape or assault. It touches every woman who finds herself afraid to walk to her car after work, or reluctant to stop at the grocery store in the dark, and it affects every man who worries about the safety of his wife, daughter, coworker, or friend. It is, then, in all our best interests to turn back the rising tide of violence against women. Ensuring that the objectives of the violence-against- women provisions of the anti-crime law are realized is a logical starting point. March 27, 1996