MisInformation ExchangeReturn to MisInformation Blog. Missing - Key information on unhealthy realities of violence against women in 'Healthy marriage' proposal(April 20, 2004) While government agencies like the Department of Justice and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service are excellent resources for statistics on violence against women,[1] the knowledge gained from this research appears to be 'missing' from current the Administration's 'Healthy Marriage' proposal. The proposal allocates $1.8 billion in federal and state funds to promote marriage as part of the reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).[2] The proposal implies that both women and children are 'healthier' as a result of marriage, yet ignores government agencies' own findings. For example, a 2000 report by the Centers for Disease Control and National Institute of Justice suggests in its policy implications section that: "Because most victimizations are perpetrated against women by current and former intimates and because women are more likely to be injured if their assailant is a current or former intimate, violence prevention strategies for women that focus on how they can protect themselves from intimate partners are needed."[3] However, as Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund) notes, the Administration's proposal lacks "essential protections such as . . . consultation or contract with a domestic or sexual violence organization to ensure that intimate violence is appropriately addressed and guarded against."[4] This is particularly serious for TANF recipients, as several studies have found that as many as 30 percent of women on welfare report abuse in a current relationship[5]. Similarly, the proposal does not account for the fact that growing up in a traditional two-parent marriage is not beneficial for children if the marriage is filled with conflict or abuse. In fact, family conflict and violence affect the mental health of children even more than marital disruption, divorce or separation, a recent Simmons Longitudinal Study found.[6] There are several factors that facilitate a woman's ability to leave an unhealthy relationship. Many of these factors revolve around the stability and mobility created by economic means, of which TANF recipients have few, and which the current focus on marriage promotion ignores. In fact, one of the first marriage promotion projects funded by the Bush Administration offers employment services only to male participants involved in the 12
week marriage education course.[7] In addition, as NCRW reported in MISSING: Information About Women's Lives (page 16), there are critical pieces of research on violence against women that the government has yet to publish. This research could support pending legislation to address
economic security measures such as unemployment insurance and emergency work leave that women need when leaving a violent relationship[8]. The currently pending Security and Financial Empowerment Act (SAFE) was introduced in the House and the Senate in October 2003 and addresses many workplace issues affecting victims of domestic violence. The Act also specifically grants permission to states to use TANF dollars to provide emergency benefits to an individual for the duration (30 days) of domestic violence-related leave from work. SAFE, much more than marriage promotion, addresses the realities of women's lives as it works to promote the economic security that women need to leave violent relationships. In conclusion, following the government's own research findings, a more viable solution to eliminating poverty and domestic violence is not marriage, as the current TANF proposal suggests, but a combination of job training, job and unemployment insurance security measures, educational opportunities, and child care subsidies that will enhance the economic well-being of battered women and their children. For More Information on the Hidden Dangers of Marriage Promotion See: Endnotes 1. U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice and the Center for Disease Control (2000, July) Extent, Nature and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Available at: http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/181867.pdf (PDF). [Return to text] 2. The White House (2002), Working Toward Independence: Promote Child Well-being and healthy marriages. Available at: www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/02/welfare-book-05.html. [Return to text] 3. U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice and the Center for Disease Control (2000, November). Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Available at: http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/183781.pdf (PDF). [Return to text] 4. Legal Momentum, formerly NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. (2003). Why NOW Legal Defense Opposes Federal Marriage Promotion in TANF Reauthorization. [Return to text] 5. Lawrence, Sharmila (2002). Domestic Violence and Welfare Policy: Research Findings That Can Inform Policies on Marriage and Child Well-Being. Research Forum on Children, Families and the New Federalism. National Center For Children in Poverty, Issue Brief.
Tolman, Richard and Jody Raphael (2000). A Review of the Research on Welfare and Domestic Violence. Journal of Social Issues 56(4).
Lyon, E. (2000). Welfare, Poverty and Abused Women: New Research and Its Implications. Policy and Practice Paper #10. Building Comprehensive Solutions to Domestic Violence. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. [Return to text] 6. Family Violence Prevention Fund (2004, February 6). Bush Marriage Promotion Plan Could Endanger Victims of Abuse, Advocates Say. Available at: http://endabuse.org/programs/printable/display.php3?NewsFlashID=495. [Return to text] 7. In February 2004, Legal Momentum filed a discrimination complaint against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding this program. http://www.legalmomentum.org/news/ib/04_apr/filed.shtml. [Return to text] 8. NCRW reported in Missing that the Attorney General is required under the 2000 Violence Against Women Act to conduct a national study of discrimination against domestic violence victims in the issuing or administration of insurance policies. The report was due in October 2001, contracted to the Women's Law Project in September 2001, and the second draft was approved in June 2003. As of March 2004, it had yet to be published. The recent legislation that would be affected by this report is entitled : Security and Financial Empowerment Act (SAFE). SAFE was reintroduced in the Senate and House on October 30, 2003 by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and Mark Dayton (D-MN) and Congresswomen Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). SAFE addresses many of the issues that women affected by domestic violence face in the work force, such as denial of unemployment benefits and health insurance discrimination. For more information on SAFE, see NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. [Return to text] Return to MisInformation Blog.  | 
