PROCLAMATION 7230—SEPT. 30, 1999
113 STAT. 2153
tims with the information and assistance thej' need to escape destructive family environments. The cornerstone oi' this effort has been the
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was part of the historic
Crime Bill I signed into law in 1994. This hindmark legislation combined tough new penalties for offenders with funding for much-needed
shelters, counseling services, public education, and research to help
the victims of violence.
We also have established a toll-free National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-^00-799-SAFE) where staff responds to as many as 10,000 calls
each month; worked to raise awareness in ttie workplace and among
health care providers about domestic violence; and more than tripled
resources for programs to combat violence against women. To build on
the success of the VAWA and the Crime Bill, in May of this year I unveiled my proposal for additional legislation—the 21st Century Crime
Bill—^that will reauthorize the Violence Agains;t Women Act and toughen penalties for those who commit violent cirimes in the presence of
children.
We have increased funding for State maternal and child health programs that include child protection and family preservation services.
We have worked with the Congress to pass legislation that strengthens
law enforcement, enhances child predator tracking and protection
mechanisms, and supports child abuse prevention efforts in State and
local jurisdictions. And, at the end of last year, we launched the Children Exposed to Violence Initiative (CEVI), designed in part to reform
Federal and State laws to provide swift and certain punishment for
those who commit child abuse and neglect. CEVI will also strengthen
local programs in hopes of reducing the number of children who are
exposed to violence or become victims of violence themselves; it will
also encourage alliances that include government as a partner with
schools, communities, parents, and other famiily members in an effort
to prevent child abuse.
We can take heart in our progress and at the outpouring of concern and
compassion we see for the victims of domestic violence. Whether
members of the law enforcement community, health care professionals,
educators, religious and community leaders, policymakers, or concerned private citizens, Americans have united in the crusade against
domestic violence. With increased awareness, strengthened prevention,
and communities imited in common cause, we are making the reduction of domestic violence a reality and the dream of ending it one day
a possibility.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October
1999 as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I call upon
government officials, law enforcement agencies, health professionals,
educators, community leaders, and the American people to join together to end the domestic violence that threatens so many of our people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth
day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and nine-
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