Bill Text: TX HR23 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Recognizing October 2021 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-07-14 - Filed [HR23 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR23-Introduced.html
| 87S10848 BK-D | ||
| By: Hull | H.R. No. 23 | |
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| WHEREAS, Every October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month | ||
| mobilizes people around the country to join in efforts to end | ||
| domestic violence in their communities; and | ||
| WHEREAS, More than 10 million women and men are physically | ||
| abused by an intimate partner in the United States each year; | ||
| domestic violence encompasses a pattern of behaviors used to gain | ||
| or maintain power and control over a victim, and in many cases, | ||
| physical violence reinforces other forms of psychological and | ||
| emotional abuse such as threats, intimidation, and isolation; | ||
| severe intimate partner violence can include instances of physical | ||
| assault, rape, and stalking that leave victims with injuries, | ||
| post-traumatic stress disorder, and other lasting impacts; and | ||
| WHEREAS, While young women are most frequently the victims of | ||
| intimate partner violence, women, men, and children of every age, | ||
| race, background, and circumstance can fall victim to abuse at the | ||
| hands of a family member; the damage caused by domestic violence | ||
| extends beyond direct victims to include children who are witnesses | ||
| to violence in their own homes, and studies have shown that children | ||
| exposed to family violence are at higher risk for mental health | ||
| conditions like anxiety and depression, for developing substance | ||
| abuse disorders and certain diseases in adulthood, and for becoming | ||
| either a victim or a perpetrator of abuse themselves; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Domestic Violence Awareness Month evolved from the | ||
| "Day of Unity" first observed by the National Coalition Against | ||
| Domestic Violence in October 1981; the goal of the observance was to | ||
| connect advocates across the nation who were working to break the | ||
| cycle of domestic violence and abuse, and it soon expanded into an | ||
| entire week of activities at the local, state, and national levels; | ||
| the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month took place in October | ||
| 1987, the same year that the first national toll-free hotline for | ||
| victims of domestic violence was established; and | ||
| WHEREAS, During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, | ||
| advocates, supporters, and survivors gather together to raise | ||
| public awareness of domestic violence, to celebrate the progress | ||
| that has been made, and to call attention to the work that must be | ||
| done to protect future victims of this devastating crime; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
| Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby recognize October 2021 as | ||
| Domestic Violence Awareness Month and encourage Texans to learn | ||
| more about how they can stand up against domestic violence in their | ||
| communities. | ||
