Full Text of HJR0023 96th General Assembly
HJ0023 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Violence Against Women Act was enacted in 1994 | 3 |
| in response to the domestic battery events occurring across the | 4 |
| nation; and
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| WHEREAS, Violence against women is a major cause of reduced | 6 |
| quality of life, distress, injury, and death for women and has | 7 |
| serious secondary effects for families, communities, and the | 8 |
| economy; and
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| WHEREAS,
Violence against women takes many forms, | 10 |
| including battering, sexual harassment, and rape;
and
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| WHEREAS, More than one in five adult women experience at | 12 |
| least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood; as | 13 |
| many as one of every two women are affected by sexual | 14 |
| harassment over the course of their working lives; and | 15 |
| approximately one in eight women have experienced a sexual | 16 |
| assault in their lifetimes; and
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| WHEREAS, Research reveals a high prevalence of acute and | 18 |
| chronic mental and physical health consequences resulting from | 19 |
| violence against women;
and
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| WHEREAS, Being assaulted by or witnessing assaults toward |
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| family members in childhood or adolescence increases the | 2 |
| likelihood of mental health problems, substance abuse, and | 3 |
| involvement in abusive relationships for both women and men; | 4 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Gender and gender relations play critical roles in | 6 |
| directing violence toward women;
and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, Understanding violence against women requires | 8 |
| examining the power inequalities between men and women, | 9 |
| including legal, economic, and physical power inequalities;
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| and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Women living in poverty are at especially high | 12 |
| risk for all types of violence-particularly severe and life | 13 |
| threatening assaults;
and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, Psychologists, as researchers, service providers, | 15 |
| and policy advocates, have important roles to play in educating | 16 |
| the public and preventing and treating violence against women;
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| and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, Levels of assaultive and lethal violence against | 19 |
| women remain high, despite two decades of increased awareness | 20 |
| and legislation;
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| WHEREAS, The federal Violence Against Women Act is a staple | 2 |
| in the movement to confront violence against women and family | 3 |
| members; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, Cuts in the federal budget have adversely affected | 5 |
| the Violence Against Women Act;
therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 7 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 8 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the Congressional | 9 |
| members of the State of Illinois and the entire United States | 10 |
| Congress to continue funding the federal Violence Against Women | 11 |
| Act; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this Resolution be | 13 |
| forwarded to the Illinois Congressional delegation, the | 14 |
| Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the | 15 |
| Majority Leader of the United States Senate.
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