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Senator Collins Supports Senate Passage of Violence Against Women Act

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins today voted in favor of reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, which successfully passed the Senate with a final vote of 78-22.

On February 4, 2013, Senator Collins spoke on the Senate floor in support of the measure. Below is the text of her remarks, as prepared for delivery:

“I am honored to be an original co-sponsor of this bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Let me thank the two leaders of this bill, Senators Leahy and Crapo, for their work to ensure the Senate makes this Act a high priority in 2013.”

“I also want to acknowledge the many advocates who have so strongly delivered the message to Congress and the public that we must do more to prevent violence in our homes and in our communities. Our law enforcement officers, counselors, social workers, health-care professionals, public educators, and community service providers are truly on the front lines of the effort to help those who are victims of violence and to protect people from violence. Their advocacy on behalf of those victims has helped to make this bill a priority .I commend them for all that they do every day.”

“In the State of Maine, we are fortunate to have a low crime rate, but law enforcement officials tell me the two greatest areas of concern are domestic violence and drug abuse. Often, these two go hand-in-hand. A 2011 study by University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service found that 65 percent of victims of a violent crime in Maine believe the offender was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.”

“Over the last decade, occurrences of domestic violence have resulted in nearly half of all homicides in Maine. According to statistics from the Maine Department of Public Safety, there were 5,360 reported domestic assaults in 2011, a 4.7 percent increase from 2010.This equates to one domestic assault every hour and 38 minutes.”

“Nationally, one in four women and one in seven men experience severe physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner.”

“In addition, Maine’s ten-year average is 364 rapes per year; think about this, that is almost one rape per day in a state with a very low crime rate. And these are only the reported crimes.”

“According to the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, an estimated 13,000 Mainers will experience some form of sexual violence this year alone.”

“Currently, rape has the lowest reporting, arrest, and prosecution rates of all violent crimes in the U.S.”

“And so I am pleased that this year’s reauthorization bill also includes provisions of the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry, or SAFER Act, authored by Senator Cornyn. I commend him for his leadership on the SAFER Act, which I was pleased to cosponsor in the last Congress. This bipartisan bill would authorize the U.S. Attorney General to award grants to states and local governments to audit and reduce the backlog of untested rape kits. Some three hundred thousand to four hundred thousand of these kits are sitting in the possession of law enforcement agencies and could contain DNA evidence that could lead to prosecutions and help get rapists off the streets.”

“The SAFER Act provisions would also require the U.S. Attorney General to establish a registry to allow state and local governments to enter, track, and share sexual assault evidence in order to improve prosecution efforts.”

“The reauthorization bill that we introduced last week would help ensure that Maine and other states have the necessary resources to support the victims of violence and, wherever possible, prevent violence from occurring in the first place.”

“Elizabeth Saxl, the Executive Director of Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, wrote to me in support of the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization. Ms. Saxl noted in her letter that “By reauthorizing and making significant improvements to these important programs, this legislation will help fulfill the critical unmet needs of victims of violence and expand protections to currently under-protected populations.”

“The Violence Against Women Act has made a significant difference in combating domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, through grants to state and local governments and nonprofit organizations. Since its inception in 1994, the programs authorized under this law have provided state and local partners with more than $4.7 billion in assistance. This assistance helps to ensure the victims of violence get the help they need to recover, and has prevented incalculable suffering by stopping violent crimes before they happen.”

“It is extremely important to pass this reauthorization because all women and men, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability, deserve to be protected from physical violence and should be afforded equal protection under the law. “This is not -and cannot -be a partisan issue.”

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