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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2019
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speech of
HON. KENDRA S. HORN
of oklahoma
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of
the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1585) to
reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, and for
other purposes:
Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma. Mr. Chair, I am honored to have
supported the 2019 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act
(VAWA). This vitally important legislation continues and expands
critical protections for families and women facing abuse.
As an Oklahoman and member of the Native American Caucus, I am
grateful this legislation expands protection for our Native women,
children, and law enforcement. House Resolution 1585 improves tribal
access to federal crime information databases. It creates new
mechanisms that let us hold non-Native abusers of Natives accountable.
It reaffirms that tribal governments can prosecute those non-Natives in
cases of domestic and intimate partner violence, and it expands those
protections to children. Native children are 50 times more likely to be
abused, according to the National Congress of American Indians, and 60
percent of the non-Native-on-Native abuse crimes tried since 2013 have
involved children.
Health care is one of the most important issues in my district. H.R.
1585 creates more opportunities and access to survivors. It
reauthorizes critical grants providers use to treat patients, and it
broadens the reach of these grants to develop services to address the
safety, medical, and mental health needs of survivors, while
maintaining the grants' local focus on providing funds to state
domestic and sexual violence coalitions.
We need to work every day to support survivors and provide the
services they and their families need. When we work with survivors,
though, we must examine the root of the problem and study long-term
effects. We, as policymakers, understand survivors have undergone
trauma, but we do not focus enough on the lasting effect trauma can
have on health--both mental and physical. We need to acknowledge
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
ACE scores are determined through a ten-question quiz that is based
on a list of experiences people might see or undergo before turning 18.
It includes sexual abuse, neglect, and incarceration of a parent or
family member.
If a person has experienced four or more of these adverse
experiences, they are 700 percent more likely to be diagnosed with
depression. They are more likely to have attempted suicide. Severe
obesity, diabetes, cancer, and stroke all become more likely the higher
one's ACEs score. Oklahoma's average score is 4.8. It is no coincidence
that we rank poorly for health outcomes.
I am proud of local providers in my own district including the
Palomar Family Justice Center, that use ACEs data to interrupt the
cycle of abuse. I am also proud of the Potts Family Foundation, which
has been a leader in our community on the conversation about trauma.
We must take an evidence-based approach. We must understand the
nature and impact of trauma to best serve those who have suffered.
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