2023 House Resolution 144

Whereas, According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), Domestic Violence Awareness Month was launched nationwide in October 1981 as a way to connect and unite individuals and organizations working on domestic violence issues and raise awareness for those issues; and

Whereas, NCADV defines domestic violence as the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse; and

Whereas, Domestic violence impacts individuals in every community of our state, regardless of age, economic status, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or nationality; and

Whereas, Perpetrators of domestic violence intentionally engage in a pattern of behavior to exert coercive control in intimate partner relationships, violating the fundamental human rights of those they abuse; and

Whereas, According to the NCADV, 36.1 percent of Michigan women and 25.8 percent of Michigan men experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner rape, and/or intimate partner stalking in their lives. In fact, in just a single day in 2019, 16 Michigan domestic violence programs provided services to 417 adult and child survivors. Another 376 requests for services went unmet due to lack of resources. In 2019, 57,018 incidents of domestic violence were reported to Michigan police. Many others went unreported. In 2019, there were forty-four reported domestic violence murders in Michigan; and

Whereas, While throughout the last three decades, much progress has been made to support domestic violence victims and survivors and to hold abusers accountable, continued awareness, education, and action are crucial to intervention in, and prevention of, domestic violence; and

Whereas, We must work together to educate our entire population about what can be done to prevent domestic violence, hold perpetrators accountable, support the individual and unique needs of survivors, and ensure that survivors are not victimized; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare October 2023 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the state of Michigan.