1Recognizing the month of October 2014 as "Domestic Violence
2Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.

3WHEREAS, Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior
4used to establish power and control over an intimate partner;
5and

6WHEREAS, Domestic violence often causes emotional harm to
7victims, their children, other family members, friends,
8neighbors and coworkers; and

9WHEREAS, Domestic violence affects men and women in all
10racial, ethnic, religious, educational, social and economic
11backgrounds; and

1WHEREAS, Domestic violence takes many forms, whereby victims
2are often subjected to abuse, harassment, threats, vandalism,
3trespassing, burglary, theft and stalking; and

4WHEREAS, Domestic violence is often escalated, causing
5victims to suffer physical and emotional trauma, anxiety,
6stress, sleep deprivation, loss of confidence, fear and, in some
7cases, injury and death by suicide or homicide; and

8WHEREAS, Domestic violence is one of the most chronically
9underreported crimes; and

10WHEREAS, There are many barriers to detecting domestic
11violence; and

12WHEREAS, One in every four women and one in every nine men
13will experience domestic violence in his or her lifetime; and

14WHEREAS, One in six women and one in 33 men have experienced
15an attempted or completed rape; and

16WHEREAS, Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are
17physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the
18United States; and

19WHEREAS, Thirty to sixty percent of perpetrators of intimate
20partner violence also abuse children in the home; and

21WHEREAS, Intimate partner violence results in more than 18.5
22million mental health care visits each year; and

23WHEREAS, The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8
24billion each year, $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical
25and mental health services; and

26WHEREAS, Less than 20% of victims who report an injury from
27intimate partner violence seek medical treatment following the
28injury; and

29WHEREAS, Children who witness domestic violence in their
30homes are 74% more likely to commit criminal assaults as adults;

1and

2WHEREAS, Victims of domestic violence lose almost 8 million
3days of paid work annually as a result of the violence; and

4WHEREAS, Each year, businesses forfeit about $100 million in
5lost wages, sick leave, absenteeism and nonproductivity; and

6WHEREAS, Only about 20% of those who experience intimate
7partner violence obtain protection from abuse orders; and

8WHEREAS, Each year, domestic violence programs in
9Pennsylvania provide services to approximately 95,000 victims of
10domestic violence; and

11WHEREAS, To increase victims' safety, authorities must
12carefully follow screening, reporting, documentation and
13referral requirements; and

14WHEREAS, At-risk individuals and families need victim
15education relating to their legal rights, judicial proceedings,
16advocacy, counseling and support services, shelter care and
17crisis intervention; therefore be it

18RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
19month of October 2014 as "Domestic Violence Awareness Month" in
20Pennsylvania.