N O W

Washington State

National Organization for Women

Position Paper

Equal Protection Under the Law
Equal Protection Under the Law

Washington State NOW supports efforts to end violence against women and their families in the areas of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Violence against women and children is an enormous problem in our country and in our state. Statistically most women will experience some form of violence in their lifetime. In fact, violence, such as domestic violence, is among the leading causes of death and injury for women.

§ According to the FBI, husbands or boyfriends kill approximately 1400 women in the US each year.

§ In 1995, sixty-five domestic violence related deaths were reported in Washington.

§ According to the most conservative estimates, two to four million women of all races and classes are battered each year. At least 170,000 of these violent incidents are serious enough to require hospitalization, emergency care, or a doctor’s attention.

§ In King County in 1995, there were 5576 reported Domestic Violence incidents. This was up 4.4 % from 1994 when all other categories of crimes decreased.

§ Approximately 17% of pregnant women report having been battered, and the results include miscarriages, stillbirths, and a two to four times greater likelihood of bearing a low birth weight baby.

§ Nationally 132,000 women report that they have been victims of rape or attempted rape. Moreover, more than half of these women knew their attackers. It is estimated that two to six times that many women are raped, but do not report it.

§ In 1997, one out of every 25 children in the state of Washington was referred to Child Protective Services for alleged child abuse and neglect.

§ Children who have witnessed violence at home are also five times more likely to commit or suffer violence when they become adults.

 Women and their children who are attempting to escape the cycle of violence face a number of barriers. It is common for abusive partners to feel threatened by a woman’s efforts to gain job skills that will allow her independence and self-esteem. Their sabotage can take many forms, such as failing to provide needed childcare or making harassing visits to classrooms and job sites. Women have been fired from jobs where abusive partners have harassed them. Other women have had to quit their jobs in order to protect themselves and their children. Many women and children move, sometimes out of state to obtain safety – yet the protection orders issued in the original state are not enforceable by the new state of residence. Children are frequently interviewed multiple times and as result unintentionally re-victimized when the child has been a victim of abuse or a witness to violence in the home.

Washington State NOW supports equal protection under the law for all of our citizens including women and children. We will be following legislation during the 1999 legislative session to accomplish the following:

1. Modify Washington State’s unemployment compensation laws to allow claimant’s to qualify for unemployment by adding a clause to the statute that would allow the individual to receive unemployment when they leave work due to domestic violence or stalking.

2. Assure that the Full Faith and Credit clause of the US Constitution is enforced, by modifying our laws to assure that protection orders issued by another state are enforced within our state

3. Modify current statutes regarding child victims and witnesses to protect the child from undue harassment or embarrassment and unnecessary repetition of questions.

4. Provide funds to obtain specialized training for investigative interviews conducted by law enforcement, prosecutors and child protective services. Training should include items such as developmental and communication abilities of children, nature and consequences of victimization, methods and techniques for eliciting complete information. In addition, multidisciplinary coordination of investigation of these abuse cases should be encouraged.

 Sources:

Bullock, Linda F and Judith McFarlane, "The Birth Weight/Battering Connection," Journal of American Nursing, September 1989

Children’s Administration Overview paper, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, Dec 2, 1998.

Farell, Roy G, MD, "Doing our part to fight domestic violence", Seattle Times, Jan 6, 1999

Federal Bureau of Investigation Statistics, 1992

National Organization for Women Issues Paper, "Violence Against Women in the United States.

Raphael, Jody, "Prisoners of Abuse: Domestic Violence and Welfare Receipt", Taylor Institute, 1996


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