Commander’s Proclamation
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Our campaign against domestic violence in the Army is ongoing. But
each year, along with citizens and public officials across the
United States, we declare the month of October as Domestic Violence
Prevention Month, in order to call attention to the problem, and to
re-commit ourselves to our goal.
Our campaign against domestic violence will succeed. Several years
ago, all military services stepped up their efforts to end domestic
violence, and the Army led the way. As time goes on, we are
beginning to see some results: the numbers of cases have been in
decline since the mid-1990’s. We note with cautious optimism that
the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has
reported a significant decrease in domestic violence against women
in the U.S. between 1993 and 1998
(http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/ipv.txt). But the numbers
remain terribly high — 1 million cases of intimate partner violence
in 1998. And the rate of domestic violence is also troubling, at
7.7 per thousand women and 1.5 per thousand men in the general
population.
Our leadership is important. What we succeed in applying to the
needs of the military can have positive results in the civilian
community as well. Everyone at this installation must be a role
model for what is right and just when it comes to domestic violence.
We must continue to build strong partnerships with the civilian
community, so we can use Army teamwork to share our best prevention
efforts.
Our command commitment to domestic violence prevention is total.
Violence that occurs in our military families undermines our
military objectives. Such violence, according to the latest study,
is witnessed by children in 43% of all reported cases. In other
words, violence between intimate partners does violence to the
children in the home. One more reason our campaign against domestic
violence must succeed.
Abraham Lincoln’s famous saying, “A house divided against itself
cannot stand” has a serious meaning in the campaign against domestic
violence: not only does domestic violence tear homes apart, it also
tears at the entire military community. Each and every one of us
must take a role in prevention: in this crucial issue, no one is an
innocent bystander.
Our campaign for 2000, therefore, declares, “There is No Room for
Domestic Violence in the Army Family.”
To further our campaign, I hereby proclaim October 2000 as Domestic
Violence Prevention Month at (Name of Installation) and call on
every member of this community to join in the campaign.
(Signature of the Installation Commander.)
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