Congressman Mike Michaud

FEATURES

Everyone Must be a Part of the Solution

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and communities across the nation are taking steps to raise awareness of both domestic violence and sexual assault.

I recently had the honor of joining advocates and students at the University of Maine’s Take Back the Night event as well as the YWCA of Central Maine’s Week Without Violence observance.  Together, we added our voices to the national commitment to rid our communities of these crimes.  Such violence takes a serious toll on our fellow Americans, and we all have a role in preventing it.

The national statistics on domestic violence and sexual assault are truly startling. 

One out of six women and one in 33 men has experienced a sexual assault or attempted assault as an adult or a child.  In 2001, 588,490 women and 103,220 men were victims of intimate partner violence.  Studies also show that each year millions of our children are exposed to domestic violence.  Such children are more likely to attempt suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away from home, and become victims and perpetrators of violence in their own relationships. 

And while these national statistics are frightening, it’s clear that Mainers are not immune to these problems. 

In 2005, Maine's sexual assault support centers served over 1,500 victims and survivors of sexual assault, having over 9,000 contacts with those clients.  And according to the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, every 104 minutes someone in Maine experiences domestic assault. 

While organizations throughout Maine and across the country are doing an amazing job addressing these issues, evidence clearly suggests that we still have work to do.  That’s why it’s so important to not only raise awareness, but to also ensure that our communities have the tools they need to combat these horrible crimes.

In Congress, I have joined a broad bipartisan coalition of my colleagues in advocating for fully funding programs that assist victims and promote prevention.  As part of our recent efforts, we created a critical new program called the Sexual Assault Services Program (SASP).  SASP is designed to address the needs of millions of women, men and children who are victims of sexual assault and, for the first time, provide a direct and dedicated funding stream for sexual assault crisis centers. 

In addition to creating programs to help curb sexual assault, my colleagues and I also created a number of new programs aimed specifically at curbing domestic violence and the various problems related to it.  For example, a number of the new programs will specifically address the effects that domestic violence has on our children.  These important new programs will save lives, rebuild families, and prevent future crimes. 

In the end, however, it is important that we back these initiatives up with adequate resources if we are going to make a difference.  I will continue my fight to ensure that these programs are a priority in our federal budget because we all have a stake in this struggle against violence, and everyone must be a part of the solution. 

If you or someone you know needs help, the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MECASA) and Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence (MCEDV) are available 24 hours a day to assist you.  They can be reached at:

MECASA: 1-800-871-7741 or www.mecasa.org
MCEDV: 1-866-83-4HELP or www.mcedv.org

10/19/2006 2:40:57 PM