Every Woman in America Deserves Sanctuary from Violence

[Larkspur]

Statement by Howard Dean
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_statement_domesticviolence

American women have a great deal riding on the next presidential election. One in three women will experience violence in her lifetime, including battery, rape, and other abuse. As a physician, I have seen first-hand the devastating effects of abuse, and I believe every woman in America deserves sanctuary from violence.

During my tenure as Governor of Vermont, we educated the public about violence against women and improved the community response to abuse. We provided state employees who were victims of abuse with access to a 24-hour domestic violence resource hotline and gave them time off to seek counseling, medical assistance, or alternate housing. In addition, we required abusers to pay child support and living expenses to spouses who requested court protection and had no other means of support. Vermont was the first state in the nation to institute a statewide protocol for abuse investigations, which led to a decline in the incidence of physical and sexual abuse of children by nearly half. A Dean administration will institute the critical protections that women and young children need to be safe, healthy, and productive.

The record of the Bush Administration is far different. Two thirds of women currently on TANF (welfare reform) have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence, yet the Bush administration proposes spending close to $1.2 billion enacting Marriage Promotion programs that encourage women to marry or stay married to these abusive men. President Bush is unwavering in his support of legislation that outlaws certain safe abortion procedures, even in cases of incest and rape, and shamelessly supports the Unborn Victims of Violence Act which does nothing to actually help pregnant women who are being abused and instead gives a fetus at any stage of pregnancy legal rights separate from the pregnant woman.
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and sign the petition http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=domesticviolence

The parts I highlighted in bold hits the nail on the head. Thanks, Gov. Marriage Promotion does not solve poverty or help women in abusive situations. It's a program based on Xtian Fundamentalist ideology and blatant misogyny.

My mother became a widow with 3 kids under 18 to raise. I remember asking her why she never remarried. She wasn't dating anyone, but as a kid, I saw my peers' parents remarry, so I asked the obvious question to my mom. My mother said that most men don't want to take care of another man's children, and that's why she didn't seek marriage. I think that she really loved my dad and no other man interested her and she didn't want to marry someone for their paycheck.

Marriage is a bond between two people who love each other, and should not be treated as a legal form of prostitution.

[cally]

1. That's a powerful statement!

Is that true that 2/3 of women on welfare have experienced domestic violence? Anyone know where that statistic comes from?

It leads to all sorts of ideas about how to help women on welfare and how to break the cycle of poverty.