Rep. Gwen Moore recounts her own rape in defense of Violence Against Women Act

Mar 28, 2012

In a dramatic move, Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) recounted a sexual assault she endured during a speech she made on the House floor in support of re-authorizing the Violence Against Women Act. “Violence against women is as American as apple pie,” she said. The Huffington Post reports:

As part of her floor speech pushing to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) on Wednesday, Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) told the story of her own history of being sexually assaulted during her childhood and then raped as a young woman.

“Violence against women is as American as apple pie,” she told colleagues. “I know, not only as a legislator, but from personal experience. Domestic violence has been a thread throughout my personal life, up to and including being a child repeatedly sexually assaulted, up to and including being an adult who’s been raped.”

The VAWA has been met with some resistance from Republicans. The bill would renew grants to U.S. domestic violence prevention and survivor support programs, would increase availability of legal assistance to victims and would extend assistance to battered undocumented immigrants and same-sex couples.

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