H.Res. 1644: Supporting the goals and ideals of October as "National Domestic Violence Awareness Month".

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H. Res. 1644 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC>

119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1644

Supporting the goals and ideals of October as ``National Domestic Violence Awareness Month''.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 29, 2026

Mr. Green of Texas (for himself, Ms. Balint, Ms. Barragan, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Bell, Mr. Bera, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Budzinski, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Case, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Chu, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Ms. DelBene, Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Dexter, Mrs. Dingell, Ms. Elfreth, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Fletcher, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Frost, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Gottheimer, Ms. Norton, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Ivey, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Lynch, Mrs. McClain Delaney, Ms. McClellan, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Mrvan, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Olszewski, Mr. Peters, Ms. Pettersen, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Ross, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Scholten, Ms. Simon, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Stanton, Mrs. Sykes, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Torres of New York, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Walkinshaw, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Brown, Mr. Casten, Mr. Cisneros, Mr. Deluzio, Mrs. Grijalva, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Matsui, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Menefee, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Ms. Velazquez, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

RESOLUTION

Supporting the goals and ideals of October as ``National Domestic Violence Awareness Month''.

Whereas this resolution may be cited as the ``Original National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Resolution of 2026''; Whereas according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the definition of ``domestic violence'' is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, or other abusive behaviors as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another; Whereas a society that tolerates the hurt, pain, suffering, distress, anguish, trauma, and grief of domestic violence perpetuates the injury and grief of domestic violence; Whereas a just society embraces the moral imperative to eliminate, not mitigate, domestic violence; Whereas intimate partner violence affects people of all ages as well as all racial, ethnic, gender, economic, and religious backgrounds; Whereas survivors of domestic violence are strong, courageous, and resilient; Whereas an average of 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States, amounting to more than 12,000,000 individuals over the course of a single year; Whereas in 2025, the National Domestic Violence Hotline served more than 700,000 people through calls, chats, and texts, and self-service options; Whereas of the reported abuse types, 95 percent of those who contacted the National Domestic Violence Hotline disclosed emotional abuse, 68 percent stated they experienced physical abuse, 41 percent described economic or financial abuse, 26 percent revealed digital abuse, and 20 percent detailed sexual abuse; Whereas 77 percent of those who contacted the National Domestic Violence Hotline identified as victims or survivors, while 10 percent identified as friends, family members, or other helpers, and 14 percent identified as other, such as those working with survivors or even those causing the harm; Whereas women are disproportionately the victims of domestic violence, as approximately more than 1 in 3 women will experience intimate partner violence or stalking during their lifetimes, compared to 1 in 6 men; Whereas young women ages 18 to 34 experience the highest rates, per capita, of intimate partner violence; Whereas approximately 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men who were victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner first experienced these or other forms of violence before age 18; Whereas about 44 percent of Native American women and 14 percent of Native American men will be raped in their lifetimes, and more than half experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes; Whereas approximately 40 percent of African American women experience domestic violence in their lifetimes, compared to 30.2 percent of White women, and are 3 times more likely to die from intimate partner abuse; Whereas in research conducted by the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, 21 to 55 percent of Asian women reported experiencing intimate physical or sexual violence (or both) during their lifetimes; Whereas according to the National Intimate and Sexual Violence Survey, 42.1 percent of Hispanic women are victimized by intimate partner violence, defined by contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking, in their lifetimes; Whereas according to the National Intimate and Sexual Violence Survey, almost half of White women, 48 percent, are victimized by intimate partner violence, defined by contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking, in their lifetimes; Whereas transgender individuals are 2.2 times more at risk of physical intimate partner violence and 2.5 times more at risk of sexual intimate partner violence than cisgender individuals; Whereas 69.3 percent of bisexual women, 56.3 percent of lesbian women, 46.1 percent of bisexual men, and 47.7 percent of gay men experience intimate partner violence during their lifetimes; Whereas domestic violence poses serious threats to the physical safety, health, and lives of those who experience it; Whereas, in 2024, 2,381 women were killed by men in single victim/single offender incidents, with victims most often killed with a firearm and during an argument with a man; Whereas of women who die by homicide, 36 percent are killed by an intimate partner or former intimate partner; Whereas of total domestic violence homicides, nearly 9 in 10 victims knew their killers, and among female victims who knew their offenders, 57.6 percent were killed by a husband, intimate partner, or other intimate acquaintance; Whereas more than 6 times as many women were murdered by a man they knew than were killed by male strangers; Whereas 22.5 percent of women and 9.7 percent of men report having been stalked at some point in their lifetimes, most commonly by a current or former intimate partner among women and second most commonly among men; Whereas 81 percent of women who are stalked by a current or former male partner are also physically abused by that partner; Whereas the harmful effects of domestic violence extend beyond physical danger, creating barriers that undermine survivors' health, well-being, and economic stability; Whereas multiple nationwide studies suggest that there is a relationship between intimate partner violence, depression, and suicidal behavior; Whereas some domestic violence victims who have protection orders or other indications that they are victims are evicted from or denied access to housing; Whereas 57 percent of homeless women cite domestic violence as the reason for their homelessness, and 80 percent of homeless mothers experience this type of abuse at some point in their lifetimes; Whereas 99 percent of relationships with domestic violence include financial abuse, causing survivors to stay or return to the abusive relationship; Whereas the lifetime cost of intimate partner violence is approximately $103,767 per female victim and $23,414 per male victim, totaling nearly $3.6 trillion nationally; Whereas according to a survey conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, 53 percent of domestic violence victims report that they have lost a job due to domestic violence; Whereas 96 percent of employed domestic violence victims experience problems at work due to abuse; Whereas victims of domestic violence report hesitation to call law enforcement and access victim services due to fear of prosecution for unrelated activities, including immigration status; Whereas a report published by the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors found that 75.6 percent of survey respondents reported that immigrant survivors of domestic violence have concerns about contacting law enforcement, and 70.3 percent reported concerns about going to court in matters related to their abuser, with nearly half of advocates surveyed reporting that survivors ultimately chose not to contact law enforcement or go to court due to fear of arrest, detention, deportation, or other immigration enforcement; Whereas domestic violence has significant effects on the health, safety, and well-being of children; Whereas between 3.3 million and 10 million children are exposed to adult domestic violence annually, and child maltreatment occurs in 40 to 60 percent of cases; Whereas children exposed to domestic violence are more likely to attempt suicide, abuse drugs and alcohol, run away from home, and become victims of human trafficking; Whereas familial trafficking, the exploitation of children or relatives by parents, caregivers, or intimate partners, often occurs in households where domestic violence is present, creating multigenerational cycles of abuse; Whereas adults who report multiple types of childhood maltreatment are at greater risk of engaging in abusive or neglectful parenting; Whereas 1 in 10 high school students has experienced violence, either physical or sexual, from a dating partner in the past year; Whereas 50 percent of the youth who have been victims of both dating violence and rape attempt suicide, compared to 12.5 percent of non-abused girls and 5.4 percent of non-abused boys; Whereas there is a need for primary schools, secondary schools, and postsecondary schools to educate students about the issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking; Whereas nearly 1 in 3 college women say they have been in an abusive dating relationship; Whereas domestic violence shelters and victim service organizations play a critical role in supporting survivors by providing essential resources, protection, and assistance in rebuilding their lives; Whereas a 2025 survey by the National Network to End Domestic Violence reported that more than 84,000 domestic violence victims were served by domestic violence shelters and programs around the Nation in a single day; Whereas more than 13,000 requests for services went unmet that day due to lack of resources, funding, and/or staffing, and 58 percent of unmet requests were for housing needs; Whereas domestic violence advocates provide lifesaving, essential services; Whereas there is a need to increase, not reduce, funding for programs aimed at intervening in and preventing domestic violence in the United States; and Whereas October is an appropriate month for the observance of ``National Domestic Violence Awareness Month'': Now, therefore, be it Resolved,

This resolution may be cited as the ``Original National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Resolution of 2026''.

The House of Representatives-- (1) supports the goals and ideals of ``National Domestic Violence Awareness Month''; and (2) expresses the sense that Congress should continue to raise awareness of domestic violence and its devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities, and support programs designed to end domestic violence in the United States. <all>