Published May 1999 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Putting an End to Domestic Violence
Five years ago, the Congress approved one of the most far-reaching pieces of federal legislation ever devised to fight crime in the United States. That legislation sharpened the focus of the federal role in assisting law enforcement on the state and local levels -- the front lines of the war against crime. To help support the bill's many innovative programs, I created the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund, which authorized more than $30 billion for such priorities as putting more officers on the beat, developing comprehensive community-based approaches to combat crime and violence, and involving citizens in crime-prevention efforts. The Trust Fund also included funding for the Violence Against Women Act (VA W A), which expanded women's and children's access to shelters where they can find immediate protection from violence and receive help in making the kinds of life changes that may be necessary to permanently break away from an abuser. It also supported training to better enable police officers to identify abusers and assist abuse victims. The VA WA instituted a fundamental change in the criminal justice system's response to violent crimes committed against women. Since passage of the VA W A, the number of victims of domestic violence has been declining. In 1993, the year before the VA W A became law, more than one million women reported being a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault. By 1996, the last year for which complete statistics exist, that figure fell by 25 percent. In 1996, the number of women killed by someone with whom they had been in an intimate relationship saw a sharp reduction, down 60 percent when compared with 20 years earlier. However, the news is not all good. In a nationwide survey of women in late 1995 and early 1996, a disconcerting 25 percent of respondents said that they had been raped or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, someone whom they dated, or a cohabitating partner at some point during their lives. To help address this continuing problem, I am cosponsoring the second Violence Against Women Act, which would extend the program's funding and give law enforcement officials an expanded array of legal tools to help protect victims of domestic violence and improve legal services for victims. Given the prevalence of violence in our culture today, working to end violence against women is an uphill battle, but it is a battle well worth waging. May 19, 1999