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Hearing Before the Seleot Oommittee on Ohildren, Youth, and Families House of Representatives One Hundredth Congress First Session

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Hearing Before the Seleot Oommittee on Ohildren, Youth, and Families House of Representatives One Hundredth Congress First Session If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. WOMEN, VIOLENCE, AND THE LAW HEARING BEFORE THE SELEOT OOMMITTEE ON OHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDREDTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, SEPTEMBER 16, 1987 Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families JUL 28 1988 A CQ U I S IT iON S U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1988 .he Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20402 1I·........ r SELECT COMMITrEE ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES GEORGE MILLER, California, Chairman WILLIAM LEHMAN, Florida DAN COATS, Indiana PATRICIA SCHROEDER, Colorado THOMAS J. BLILEY, JR., Virginia LINDY (MRS. HALE) BOGGS, Louisiana FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia MATTHEW F. McHUGH, New York NANCY L. JOHNSON, Connecticut TED WEISS, New York BARBARA F. VUCANOVICH, Nevada BERYL ANTHONY, JR., Arkansas JACK F. KEMP, New York BARBARA BOXER, California GEORGE C. WORTLEY, New York SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan RON PACKARD, California BRUCE A. MORRISON, Connecticut BEAU BOULTER, Texas J. ROY ROWLAND, Georgia J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois GERRY SIKORSKI, Minnesota CLYDE C. HOLLOWAY, Louisiana ALAN WHEAT, Missouri FRED GRANDY, Iowa MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California LANE EVANS, llIinois RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois THOMAS C. SAWYER, Ohio DAVID E. SKAGGS, Colorado COMMITl'EE STAFF ANN ROSEWATER, Staff Director MARK SOUDER, Minority Staff Director CAROL M. STATUTO, Minority Deputy Staff Director <II) U.S. Department oj Justice 112785 National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating it. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official pOSition or poliCies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this ~eG material has been granted by Public Domain U.S. House of Re~resentatives to the National Criminal Justice Referencp. SeNice (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permis­ sion of the ~ owner. CONTENTS Page Hearing held in Washington, DC, on September 16, 1987 ...................................... 1 Statement of: Ewing, Dr. Charles Patrick, associate professor of law and psychology, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY .................................................. .. 111 Hart, Barbara, J., Esq., staff counsel, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Reading, P A ....................................................................... 76 Holtzman, Elizabeth, district attorney, Kings County, Ny ............................ 29 Martin, Sheila S., Washington, DC ...................................................................... 16 Lee, Rana, community education developer for Marin Abused Women Services, Novato, CA ........................................................................................... 5 Pope, Det. Lt. Darrell H., commanding officer (retired), Sex Crime Unit, Michigan State Police, Pensacola, FL ............................................................. 143 Sears, Alan E., former executive director, Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, legal counsel, Citizens for Decency Through Law, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ ...................................................................................................... .. 49 Walker, Lenore E., Ed.D., A.B.P.P., president and psychologist, Walker & Associates, Denver, CO ....................................................................................... 127 Prepared statements, letters, supplemental materials, et cetera: Coats, Hon. Dan, a Representative in Congress from the State of Indiana, and ranking minority member, submitting a fact sheet.............................. 178 Ewing, Dr. Charles Patrick, associate professor of law and psychology, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, prepared statement of ......... 116 Hart, Barbara J., Esq., staff counsel, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Reading, P A, prepared statement of.. .......................... 80 Holtzman, Elizabeth, district attorney, Kings County, New York, pre- pared statement of .............................................................................................. 33 Lee, Rana, community education developer for Marin Abused Women Services, Novato, CA, prepared statement of................................................ .. 9 Martin, Sheila, S. Washington, DC, prepared statement of........................... .. 18 Miller, Hon. George, a Representative in Congress from the State of California and chairman, Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families: Opening Statement of .................................................................................... .. 2 Polluting the Censorship Debate, a summary and critique of the final report of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography, July 1986 chapters 2 and 8 .................................................................................. 158 "Women, Violence, and the Law," a fact sheet ........................................ .. 3 Pope, Det. Lt. Darrell H., commanding officer (retired), Sex Crime Unit, Michigan State Police, Pensacola, FL ............................................................ .. 147 Schroeder, Elizabeth, special assistant, district attorney, letter to Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families, dated December 21,1987. 187 Sears, Alan E., legal counsel, ,Citizens for Decency Through Law, Inc., Scott'ldale, AZ: "Effects of Portrayals of Female Sexuality and Violence Against Women on Perceptions of Women", article entitled ............................ .. 67 Prepared statement of .................................................................................... 55 Stewart, James K., director, National Institute of Justice ............................. 172 Walker, Lenore, E., Ed.D., A.B.P.P. president and psychologist, Walker & " Associates, Denver, CO, prepared statement of............................................ .. 131 (III) WOMEN, VIOLENCE, AND THE LAW WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1987 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SELECT COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES, Washington, DC. The Select Committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:15 a.m., in room 304, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. George Miller (chairman of the select committee) presiding .. Present: Representatives Miller, Boxer, Sawyer, Coats, Wolf, Johnson, Wortley, and Grandy. Staff present: Ann Rosewater, staff director; Ginny duRivage, professional staff; Tim Gilligan, research assistant; Carol Statuto, minority deputy staff director; Evelyn Anderes, staff assistant (mi­ nority); and Joan Godley, committee clerk. Chairman MILLER. The Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families will come to order. The purpose of today's hearing is to start to cover the subject matter of women, violence, and the law. Violence against women is an everyday occurrence in America. How our legal system treats those women who are the victims is the subject of today's hearing before the Select Committee on Chil­ dren, Youth, and Families. In the United States, a woman is beaten every 18 seconds. Every 3% minutes, a woman is a victim of rape or attempted rape. While we might expect, in 1987, that crime and violence draw no distinctions between men and women, our expectations are wrong. Nearly two-thirds of the violent crimes committed against men are committed by strangers. In contrast, more than half of all the vio­ lent crimes against women are committed by people they know, in­ cluding family members. When I first expressed concern about domestic violence a decade ago, one of my colleagues accused me of trying "to take the fun out of marriage." I am pleased to say that since then, Congress has en­ acted the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act and other programs to assist victims of rape and battery, including the "Sexual Abuse Act of 1986," which allows prosecution by spouses who have been raped on Federal territory. But violence committed behind closed doors still gets an incon­ sistent response from our justice system, when it gets any response at all. While domestic violence is considered a crime in most States, many police and judges continue to view spousal abuse as a purely private matter. And the vast majority of domestic disputes still do (1) 2 not result in arrest, despite evidence that arrest is their best deter­ rent. Legal studies also show that in the majority of rape cases, the better the victim knows the assailant, the less likelihood he will be prosecuted. And in 35 States, where a husband and wife are living together, there are still many circumstances under which spousal rape is not a crime. In cases of "date" rape, a woman saying "no" to sex is not sufficient proof of non consent in the eyes of the law. Women victims may be doubly jeopardized if they try to protect themselves. A battered wife who kills her husband to protect the lives of her children or herself is more likely to be convicted of murder than the husband who beats his wife to death. Today's topic ha'3 been ignored for far too long. Because it is nei­ ther comfortable nor pleasant, it has been hidden by a cloak of si­ lence. For that reason, I am particularly impressed with the courage of our two witnesses, one from my home State of California, who have agreed to come forward and share their personal experiences with us. We will also hear from scholars and legal experts, and we are especially pleased to welcome as one of our witnesses,
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