National Hot Line to Be Set Up for Domestic Violence Victims
A national toll-free hot line is being established to counsel domestic violence victims and help them find shelter.
The Texas Council on Family Violence, which operates 62 shelters for battered women and a statewide hot line, has been awarded $1 million to establish the national system, Donna Shalala, secretary of health and human services, said Friday.
Funds for maintaining the operation will be subject to annual appropriations by Congress.
“The most urgent need for victims who begin the process of escaping the violence is to know they can be safe, that they are not alone,” Shalala said.
Authorized by the 1994 crime bill, the hot line will be accessible in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands by the end of February, 1996.
It will provide crisis counseling and medical, shelter and legal referrals.
Earlier this year, the White House released statistics showing that 3 million to 4 million women are victims of domestic violence every year and one-third of all American women who are killed die at the hands of a husband or boyfriend.
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