Vice President Joe Biden often catches a lot of guff from right wing commentators and even the mainstream media, but you cannot accuse him of being passionless. When he feels strongly about an issue, he let’s you know exactly where he stands and doesn’t back down.
Yesterday, the Vice President was speaking on a subject that he has been on the forefront of for decades: domestic violence. In 1990, while still in the Senate, Biden introduced and was instrumental in getting passed the Violence Against Women Act. Friday, as he spoke to a group of the nation’s leading medical, public health, and domestic violence experts, he noted:
“All of you in this room who are doctors, nurses, researchers, social workers from all across the country, the fact that we are talking today about domestic violence as a public health epidemic is because of you. We have come such a long way in our fight against this epidemic, but we have to keep making the case even stronger for prevention and intervention.”
The Vice President also said that domestic violence has a much larger impact on overall health than many realize:
“According to the CDC and other research, the chronic stress from domestic violence is toxic to the body. It’s associated with long-term health problems like asthma, diabetes, anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug abuse.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that nearly one-third of women in America will experience domestic abuse and violence during their lifetimes. Biden made sure to let every woman who blames herself for the abuse she suffers know that she is not to at fault for what happens to her:
“It is never, never, never, never, never the victim’s fault.”
Biden also made mention of the 2016 budget proposal which has been released by House Republicans. The Vice President warned it would slash funding from programs that combat violence against women:
“It will not pass, God willing. (If it did), all those programs I just mentioned that benefit victimized women, they will be gone.”
Say what you will about Joe Biden, but the man is one of the strongest advocates in the United States for issues which affect women. And as the father of a girl, I for one am eternally thankful for him.
This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.