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REMARKS BY:	DONNA E. SHALALA, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
PLACE:		 "A Journey of Survival" Exhibit and Domestic Violence Awareness Month Reception, Washington D.C.
DATE:		October 6, 1998

Domestic Violence

Thank you Senator Wellstone for all of your -- and Sheila's -- efforts on behalf of women. Sheila has been an equal partner in these efforts -- and an unequaled fighter for the rights of battered women in Minnesota and around the country. As a member of the Advisory Council on Violence Against Women which I co-chair with Attorney General Reno, Sheila has proven that Marian Wright Edelman was right: "You really can change the world if you care enough." And, for all that Sheila has fought for, and all that she has achieved on behalf of women, we all owe her a great debt.

It's an honor to be here with all of you commemorating National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, celebrating the healing power of art -- and celebrating the vision of an artist who wanted to change the world. Cathy Salser's project should rock our world. It's an eye-opening and empowering expose of domestic violence. The exhibit opens the window to the private terror, tears and the trauma of domestic violence.

But it also opens the window to the power of the human spirit, and to the immense fortitude of all the survivors who have recovered their life and their souls through art. With titles like "I Am." "My Vision of Hope." And "The First Step." The message is crystal clear: Strength and survival, hope and healing. Those are the messages this exhibit will bring to communities across the country. I can't think of a better way to raise the awareness -- and raise the consciousness - of our country.

It's been 15 years since Attorney General William French Smith reported that battery is the single major cause of injury for women. It's been five years since this Administration and this country pledged to create a seamless system of support, protection and prevention of domestic violence -- a system where no woman or child can fall through the cracks.

I'm proud of what we have accomplished during these past five years, with the help and leadership of Senator Wellstone and all of our friends in the Congress. We've established a national domestic violence hot-line in Austin, Texas, to give women the help they need when they need it. We've increased funding for shelters by 50 percent. We've hardened penalties for abusers. We've strengthened training for police, prosecutors and judges. We've increased the grants for communities to develop their own education, awareness and prevention programs. And in my Department, we are continuing our work with health care professionals to help them identify the signs of domestic violence, to help them provide better treatment and referrals. And, to help us put an end to this tragedy.

Because domestic violence is not just a family matter, it's a community matter and it matters to our nation. We can only put an end to it if we continue to work with criminal justice professionals, with health professionals and with all the others who provide services to women who have been abused.

We must continue to harness our federal, state and local resources and enlist the help of everyone in our communities, businesses, churches, relatives, friends, neighbors and every single person who cares enough to ask the right questions, who cares enough to provide education, support, referrals, refuge -- or to simply share our talents.

Seven years ago, Cathy Salser committed to help domestic violence survivors heal through art. And, today with this exhibit, all of us can celebrate the incredible results of her commitment. Like the artwork from the anonymous artist whose piece is called "I Am." She writes, "I am a butterfly that is coming out from the world I have been in."

That's the best metaphor for the work we see here today: The artful beauty of a butterfly emerging from a cocoon of fear and intimidation.

Someday, if we keep working together, if we keep encouraging the work and the commitment of heroes here today, we won't have any more victims - just survivors. That's our greatest wish on this day, and always. Thank you.

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