PRINTER'S NO. 2789
No. 464 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY BEBKO-JONES, BARRAR, BELFANTI, BENNINGHOFF,
BELARDI, BISHOP, BOYD, BUNT, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, RAMALEY,
FICHTER, FORCIER, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GABIG, GRUCELA, GEIST,
GEORGE, GINGRICH, ADOLPH, GOOD, GOODMAN, BUXTON, READSHAW,
HARHART, ROEBUCK, MANN, MANDERINO, MARSICO, CAUSER, McGILL,
McILHATTAN, MILLARD, S. MILLER, MUNDY, NAILOR, O'NEILL,
PALLONE, PAYNE, SANTONI, SATHER, SCAVELLO, SCHRODER, SHANER,
B. SMITH, SONNEY, STABACK, SURRA, COSTA, E. Z. TAYLOR,
WOJNAROSKI, TIGUE, CLYMER, CORRIGAN, CRAHALLA, CREIGHTON,
CRUZ, DALEY, DeLUCA, DENLINGER, ROHRER, DeWEESE, DiGIROLAMO,
DONATUCCI, J. EVANS, FABRIZIO, ROSS, RUBLEY, HENNESSEY,
HERMAN, HERSHEY, HESS, JAMES, KOTIK, LEDERER, SAINATO,
DERMODY, PICKETT, KENNEY, GILLESPIE, REED, PYLE, MICOZZIE,
STERN, THOMAS, WATSON AND PISTELLA, OCTOBER 17, 2005
To Calendar under Rule 35-Uncontested Calendar October 17, 2005
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the month of October 2005 as "Domestic Violence
2 Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Domestic violence transcends all social, age-
4 related, economic, racial and ethnic barriers; and
5 WHEREAS, It is estimated that nearly 6 million women are
6 physically abused each year throughout the United States; and
7 WHEREAS, According to statistics gathered by the Federal
8 Bureau of Investigation, a woman is beaten approximately every
9 12 seconds; and
10 WHEREAS, According to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against
11 Domestic Violence, on average, an adult or child dies every
12 three days in this Commonwealth as the result of domestic
1 violence; and
2 WHEREAS, Nearly 100,000 victims request and receive services
3 for domestic violence-related incidents each year in this
4 Commonwealth; and
5 WHEREAS, In 1992 the estimated total annual medical cost of
6 domestic violence in this Commonwealth was $326.6 million; and
7 WHEREAS, A National Institute of Justice study estimates that
8 domestic violence accounts for almost 15% of total crime costs
9 or $67 billion per year; and
10 WHEREAS, The costs of intimate partner violence exceed $5.8
11 billion each year, $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical
12 and mental health care services paid largely by employers; and
13 WHEREAS, According to the American Institute on Domestic
14 Violence, victims of intimate partner violence lose a total of 8
15 million days of paid work each year, the equivalent of more than
16 32,000 full-time jobs; and
17 WHEREAS, Studies show that battered women who work face a
18 high likelihood of losing their jobs because of domestic
19 violence: 55% missed work and more than 60% were late for work;
20 and
21 WHEREAS, An estimated 3.3 to 10 million children in the
22 United States are at risk for witnessing domestic violence
23 annually and have an increased risk of being abused themselves;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, Available evidence from shelters and domestic
26 violence programs indicates that 50% to 60% of child witnesses
27 to domestic violence have been physically abused; and
28 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to
29 institute universal screening for domestic violence; and
30 WHEREAS, All Pennsylvanians should be made aware of the
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1 multitude of symptoms and signs associated with domestic
2 violence; therefore be it
3 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
4 month of October 2005 as "Domestic Violence Awareness Month" in
5 Pennsylvania and encourage all Pennsylvanians to learn more
6 about causes, signs, prevention and treatment for domestic
7 violence.
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