This petition is important because:
• In 2010, U.S. state and local child protective services (CPS) received and estimated 3.3 million reports of children being abused or neglected (43.8 per 1,000)
• In 2010, an estimated 1,560 children died from child maltreatment (rate of 2.1 per 100,000 children)
• In 2010, 34% of victims were younger than 4 years of age, with children younger than 1 year having the highest rate of victimization (20.6 per 1,000 children)
• An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year
• 85% of domestic violence victims are women
• Almost 1/3 of female homicide victims that are reported in police records are killed by an intimate partner (femicide)
• 1 in 6 women and 1 in 19 men have experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime in which they felt fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed
• 46% of stalking victims experienced at least one unwanted contact per week
• 11% of stalking victims have been stalked for over 5 years
• 76% of intimate partner femicide victims have been stalked by their intimate partner
• 67% of intimate partner femicide victims have been physically abused by their intimate partner
• 54% of femicide victims reported stalking to police before they were killed by their stalkers
• There are 16,800 homicides and 2.2 million (medically treated) injuries due to intimate partner violence annually, which costs 37 billion.
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2013). Child Maltreatment (pdf). Retrieved from Centers for Disease
Control Website: http://cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/cm_datasheet.html.
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. (2013). Domestic Violence Facts (pdf). Retrieved from National Coalition
Against Domestic Violence Website: http://www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet(National).pdf.
Office of Violence Against Women (2012). Stalking Fact Sheet (pdf). Retrieved from US Dept. of Justice Office on Violence
Against Women Website: http://www.victimsofcrime.org/docs/src/stalking-fact-sheet-2012-large-print.pdf?sfvrsn=0.

It’s personal. Besides having a family member succumb to the devastating effects of domestic violence and femicide (homicide of women), I have experienced this myself. After studying hate crimes briefly, I wondered why domestic violence, stalking, and child abuse could not be considered as such. The essence of any of the above crimes is hate. These crimes are not rooted in love as some people are led to believe. Perpetrators of crimes involving violence against women and children are based on power, control, and manipulation. The current definition of a hate crime should be expanded and reinterpreted to include such offenses. Men (and women) who perpetrate these types of crimes should be placed on registries similar to those of sex offenders. I jokingly refer to the registry as the “Date Registry.” This would allow people the opportunity to “check up” on who’s who in the dating world. I’d like to think of it as a weapon against pain, wasted time, or possible homicide.

Hate crimes are motivated by bias. You may be thinking, “Where’s the bias or prejudice in domestic abuse?” Simply put, most people who abuse have done it before, and if not caught, will do it again. If a pattern of abuse is established through repeat offenses, then I purport that it can be said that this person is biased against the object of that (abuse) repeat offense—in this case women or children. In the traditional sense of the current definition, gender or age (ageism) may be applicable when considering bias for a hate crime. A more abstract argument is the viewpoint that age may be considered a disability when children are the objects of an abuser’s advances. The child, in not being able to care for himself, is at a disadvantage or disability that could be interpreted as a contributing factor or other factor that incites the abuser to abuse.

I understand that my arguments may seem far-reaching at best, but let’s face it, hate should always be considered a factor when women and children suffer at the hands of an abuser. Let’s undermine the abuser’s motives, make him register, and mandate psychological treatment at the abuser’s cost. Help me expand and reinterpret the definition of hate and bias in America and register those who decide to abuse the two most precious resources America has—her women and children.