Commission on the status of women, the strongest Womens Commission in the country. Lets give that a cheer. [cheering] the president the lifelong advocate for women and girls and has acted as a champion for policy change in education and community and economic development. She just stepped off a plane from india, so please help me welcome president rhianna zawart hi, everyone. I am very honored be here and to represent the strongest commission in the country. Im joined tonight by our Vice President , commissioners. Can we give it up for our commissioners . [applause] the reason why this commission and this department is so important is because every day we live the theme of this month which is building pathways to safety. According to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence, an average of 20 americans experience Domestic Violence every minute. That is 10 million victims in a single year in the u. S. And according to the coalition, Domestic Violence survivors receive 8 million l
Have to be really confident and sure about what we are doing, and we are. Theyre still people in forces out there who are perpetuating myths about Domestic Violence and to need our help to become more aware. They still think Domestic Violence isnt actually that big of a deal, that it is a contained issue, that it is special interest or it is private or it is personal, it is about anger or it is about alcoholism, and that theres nothing we can do because its about individual people and individual people are who they are. Some people are just inherently more violent and others are inherently more submissive. We are here every single month, and especially in october to take those myths and grind them to a pulp and flush them. We know they are not true. We are here 30 years later using this platform to say Domestic Violence, it is personal, it is private, and it is social. Is political. We are showing that this is an issue that we pay a tremendous price, an unacceptable price for allowing
Out max and tom, and your families, and the other families of the tragedies for attending here, and for just your unbelievable dedication turning your tragedy into, hopefully, some positive action that can prevent tragedies for other families. It is just remarkable what so many of the families have done in reaction to so many of these tragedies, which really dates back to about 1998 is where we really had sort of the first directed attack. I know in your testimony, were talking about 710 shootings since columbine in 1999. In columbine, 13 people were killed 12 students, one teacher. 20 more were injured. Sandy hook in 2012. 26 killed. Two were injured. Parkland, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, 17 killed and 17 injured. The death and casualty toll was simply unbelievable, quite honestly. I grew up in the 50s and 60s. We were concerned about the nuclear holocaust. We would hold drills, and talk under our desks. We never had to worry about someone entering our school and opening
The title of this hearing is examining state and federal recommendations for enhancing School Safety against targeted violence. First of all, i want to welcome everybody to the hearing room. I certainly want to thank our eyewitnesses for taking the time, for your testimony, and in particular, i want to shout out max and tom, and your families, and the other families of the tragedies for attending here, and for just your unbelievable dedication turning your tragedy into, hopefully, some positive action that can prevent tragedies for other families. It is just remarkable what so many of the families have done in reaction to so many of these tragedies, which really dates back to about 1998 is where we really had sort of the first directed attack. I know in your testimony, were talking about 710 shootings since columbine in 1999. In columbine, 13 people were killed 12 students, one teacher. 20 more were injured. Sandy hook in 2012. 26 killed. Two were injured. Parkland, at Marjory Stoneman
Im interested in keeping them safe not only as a get on and off school buses but in keeping them safe in the streets as they go to school. It is true that school buses have a relatively safe safety record. It is also true that children are injured every day or every year in bus related crashes. More than, i believe, and most accidents, we owe it to our children, to these students, to examine why these fatalities occur and what can be done to prevent them. There are school buses in my own district. Most take other modes of transportation, including walking, biking or riding in a car, going on public transportation. Children are often at greater risk outside the school bus than inside it. We have figure showing 264 students who died in School Transportation related accidents in the last 10 years. 97 were struck by a vehicle while walking near the bus. We are going to hear today from what congress can do to stop violations by drivers who illegally Pass School Buses loading or unloading pa