Deyoe1

JoshuaDeyoe
JessicaLeifheit
CollegePrepR/W
6May2016
Abstract:
Everyoneknowsaboutwomensabuse.Everyoneknowsitisaproblem.Buthowbigof
aproblemisitreally?Howmanypeopledowereallyknowwhohavebeenaffected?Onewould
probablyanswernotmany.However,manymorewomenhavebeenabusedthanweknow.1/4
womenhavesufferedseverephysicalviolenceintheirpast("DomesticViolence:Statistics&
Facts").Thereareover157millionwomenintheUnitedStates("NewsroomArchive").This
meansthatover39millionwomenhaveexperienceddomesticviolenceintheirpasts.Thisisa
massivefigure,anditonlywillcontinuetogrowasdomesticviolencegetsworse.
Thisisaverydifficultproblemtofix.Onecantsimplybuildamachineortelleveryone
tostopandtheproblemjustgoesaway.Thisproblemhastobeexposed.Whenrapistsorabusers
areexposed,thentheyareeithercaughtortheystop.Obviouslywecannotforcepeopleto
exposedomesticviolence,butwecanheavilyinfluenceit.Ifanamendmentwasmadetoimpact
howthesethingswork,thenitwouldbebotheasierandmoreeffectivelyexposed.Thegoalsof
thisinnovationisobvious.Tolimitorstoptheabuseofwomen.Butisitreallyaproblemoris
everyonejustmakingtoobigofadealoutofit?
NeedExplanation:
Weatheritsomethingcommon,likephysicalassault,ormoreserious,likerape,abusinga
womanhassevereeffectsonalmosteverythinginherlife.Victimscommonlydevelopemotional

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ormentalillnessesasasecondaryeffectofbeingphysicallyabused.Manyvictimssufferfrom
PTSD,varioussubstanceabusedisorders,personalitydisorders,andcountlessothers.Abuse
isntnecessarilyalwaysthecauseofthesecases,butitiscertainlyaleadingcauseanditmustbe
stopped("EffectsofAbuse").Theseconditionsandeffectsareeasilypowerfulenoughtorip
awayeverythingawomanknowsandlovesaboutlife.
Abusehasamassiveeffectoneverypartofawoman'slife,whethertheyacceptitornot.
Inaninterviewwithananonymousrapevictim,thereporterfromTeenInkmagazineaskedwhat
affectsrapehadonher.Herresponsewasverypowerful,Itchangedeverything.Itdevastated
mysoul.Isawmysoulasabattlefield.Aoncebeautifulcitywasrubble,destroyed.Ihadto
buildmyidentityfromthefoundationofmysoul.Mypersonalityevenchangedformanyyears
untilIfoundmyselfagain.I'veraisedmykidsnevertorestrictsomeone'sfreedomtomove,and
toactforthemselves("RapeSurvivor").Hersoul,theveryessenceofherbeing,was
obliterated.Ittookheryearstofindherselfagain,anditwasallbecauseofoneincident.Some
victimsarenotsolucky.Somespendtheirentirelivestryingtoforgettheincident.Theemotions
generatedthroughrapeorevenabusearesoulripping,lifewrenchingfeelings.Itsenoughto
changeanyoneslifearound,usuallyforworse.
LeslieMorganSteinerhashadfirsthandexperienceinwomensabuse.Herfirsthusband
wasextremelyabusiveandbeatSteinerfrequentlythroughouteveryweek.ShealsohasaBAin
EnglishfromHarvard,andaMBAinmarketingfromThorntonBusinessSchool.Notonlythat,
butsheisapublishedauthorandpopularspeaker,makingherextremelywellqualifiedforajob
injustaboutanymajorfieldintheU.S.Becauseofherexperience,abilityinpublicspeaking,
andpowerfulwritingshetoldanincrediblestoryaboutherstory,explainingthepsychology

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behinddomesticviolencefromthevictimsside,aswellasdescribinghowcommonitwas.She
claimed1/3womenwillgetstalkedorabusedintheirlifetime("Statistics").Thatisamassive
number.Shealsoexplainedthatshethoughtshewasaloneinherproblems,andnevertold
anyone.Thisiswhatalmosteveryabusedwomenthinksaccordingtophysiologists,however,
whenSteineropeneduptofriends,family,cops,neighbors,andmanyothers,itfinallystopped
theabuse("WhyDomesticViolenceVictimsDon'tLeave").Thisisacuriousthing.Steiners
finalstatementwasacalltoactiontotheaudience.Shecalledeveryonelisteningtotelltheworld
aboutdomesticviolenceandhowcommonitis.Herthinkingisthatbyexposingdomesticabuse
ofwomen,evenifoneisnotbeingabused,thenitwilllimitabuseinAmerica,justasit
happenedinherstory.So,hypothetically,iftherewasanamendmentorlawthatrequiredwomen
beingabusedtoreportittoatleastsomeone,thensupposedlydomesticabusenumberswould
dropdrastically.Ifthesameruleappliedforrapesorsexualassault,thanthenumberofcases
wouldalmostcertainlygodownalso.
Sexualassaultisaproblemalloverthecountry,butcollegecampusesaretheworst.Only
5%ofcollegesexualassaultcasesactuallygetreported,makingittheleastreportedcrimeon
collegecampuses.Notonlythat,but4outof5womenwhohavebeensexuallyassaultedsuffer
fromsomesortofmentalorphysicaldisabilityafterwards("11FactsAboutSexualAssault").As
forjustice,thereisverylittle.Becausesofewwomenreporttheirassaultcase,criminalsrarely
getinvestigated,muchlesscaught.Outof100rapecases,only2getsenttoprison.Theother98
gofree("WorthMagazine").
DescriptionofInnovation:

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Thereisobviouslyanestablishedneedforaninnovation.However,it'sverydifficultto
createasuccessfulinnovationtostopthiskindofproblem.Theonlywaytodoitbasedon
everythingstatistics,stories,andpsychologysay:Exposure.It'sproventhatwhenabusersand
rapistsaretalkedaboutbyvictims,thevastmajorityofthemimmediatelyceaseandleave.Even
iftheydon't,ifthepoliceareawareofanykindofsituation,thentheycanstepinandmakea
difference.Obviouslythegoalofthisinnovationwouldbetolimitabuseandassaultofwomen
whilemakingrecoveryfromtraumaticexperienceseasier.Obviously,asmuchastheworld
wouldlovetoo,itcannotfullyeliminatethisproblem.Wecanonlydoeverythingwecanto
minimizeit.However,thereisnocreatingamachinetocontrolwhatpeoplesay,andit's
unconstitutionaltoforcepeopleintoactions.Thus,theonlywaytoexposerapistaretomakea
lawthatrequiresallindividualstoatleastreporttoawebsiteorotherresourcethatwould
conveytheinformationtothecops.Thecopswouldalsoberequiredtoinvestigateanycasethey
weregiven.Thiswouldleadtomanymorepursuitsandtrialsofrapistsandabusers.Asfor
assistingrecovery,mostinsurancecompaniesstillchargemanyvictimsforanymedicalcarethey
mightneed.Thisisextremelyunfair,astheyneveraskedforanythingthathappenedtothemand
theyshouldbeallowedfreeimmediateattention,aswellasfreephycologistsattentionofneeded.
Thiswouldbeincludedinthisamendment.
Implementation:
Forthedevelopmentofmylaw,theplanistomakeitafederallawasmakingituptothe
stateswoulddefeatthepointofthelaw.ThelawistryingtohelptheentiretyofAmerica,soifit
isthestate'sdecisiontoimplementthelawthenitwouldntbemuchmakingmuchofa
difference.Theprocessforpassingafederallawisrathercomplex.Asenator,congressman,or

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congresswomenneedstofirstcomposearoughdraftofthebill.Thatpersonthenproposesthe
billtotheirrespectivesectioninthelegislativebranchwhetherthatbetheHouseof
RepresentativesortheSenate.Thatrespectivesectionthenvoteswhattodowiththebill,
whetherthatbelayingitdown,changingit,orgivingitamajorityvote.Ifbothsidesofthe
legislativebranchapproveofthebill,thenitgoestothepresidentwhocaneithersignitintolaw
orvetoitandhaveitgothroughtheprocessagain("HowLawsAreMadeandHowtoResearch
Them").
ThelawmustfirstbecreatedbyasenatororrepresentativeoftheHouse,andalikely
candidatewouldbeCongresswomenJackieSpeier.Shehasnotoriouslybeenastrongadvocate
fortighterlawsaroundrapeandwomen'sabuseasshehasexperiencesomeherself.Recently,
sheattemptedtopushtheHousetovoteonanamendmentregardingthemilitaryandtheir
constraintsaroundrapefollowingasexualassaultwithinthemilitarythatendedwiththe
criminalgettingoffeasy("CongresswomanJackieSpeier").Sheisobviouslyverypassionate
aboutthetopicandwouldbeanexcellentcandidatetowritethebill.Asforpassingthebill,with
enoughinformation,itiseasytoconvinceanyoneintheHousethatrapeandabuseisstilla
problemintheU.Sandifthebilliswellwritten,thenitshouldbefairlysimpletogetamajority
vote.
Thebillwillmakeadifferenceandthatwillbeeasilyidentifiablebywebsites,abusers
andrapistscaught,andannualnumbers.Thewebsitesthebillrequirestobemadewillidentify
howmanypeopleayearuseit,andthereforetheU.S.governmentwillbeabletotrackhow
manypeopleitishelpingcountrywide.Theycanthencompareittoknownnumbers,suchas1/3
womenareabusedorstalkedintheirlifetimeintheU.S.andseeifthewebsiteishelpingcloseto

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thatmanywomenbasedonnationalcensuses("Statistics").Onewillalsobeabletokeeptrackof
nationalnumbers,suchashowmanyrapesoccur,howmanywomengetabusedannually,and
howmanyofthesecriminalsatleasthaveatrialeveryyear.Asitstandstoday,thereareabout
293,000casesofsexualassaultorrapeeachyearofwomen12yearsofageorolder.Inevery
100rapesintheU.S.,onlysevenarearrested,andonlytwoofthosesevenspendanytimein
prison.Only32%ofthesecasesgetreportedtothepolice(WorthMagazine").Ifthissystem
works,allofthesenumberswilldecreaseorincreaseaccordingly.
AdifficultpartofimplementinganewamendmentintotheUnitedStatesfederallaw
systemisraisingthecurrentcitizensoftheU.S.awarenessofthenewlaw.Themediawillbe
immenselyhelpful,asifanewlawpasses,everymajornewsnetworkintheU.S.willbedoinga
storyonitasnewnationallawsaresomewhatofararity.Storiesofassaultsandattacksarealso
extremelycommononthenewsorinthepaper,andusuallyincludegraphsofsimilarassaultsin
thepastdecade.Assumingthelawisactuallyeffective,thanthosegraphswillbegoingdown
insteadofup,displayingtoanyonereadingorwatchingthatcasesofrapesorassaultsaregoing
down.Yearlynumberswillalsobeusefulbecausetheywillalsodecrease(orincreasedepending
onthestatistic)asthelawisimplemented.Ifonedoesntknowaboutthelaw,thisdecreasein
attacksorabusewillbeacauseforwonder,andcausepeopletoinvestigateit.Interestingstories
likethisalsotendtospreadlikewildfirethroughAmerica,anditshouldtakelongtogetmostof
theU.S.informed.
InordertokeeptheyouthofAmericainformedofthenewlaw,government,law,and
humanitiesclassesallaroundtheU.Swillhavetoinstructtheirstudentsonthenewlaw,whatit
means,andhowitwascreated.Thiswillinformpotentialvictims,abusers,orrapistsatayoung

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ageattheconsequencesorparametersofthelaw.Additionaltrainingcouldberequiredofcops
usedtothrowingassaultreportsouttomakesuretheyinvestigatethemfirstinstead.However,
thereislittletobedoneinthetrainingandeducationdepartmentofthislawshortofmakingsure
asmanypeopleaspossibleareinformedofthenewfederallaw,assumingitissignedintolaw.
Howevernotmanymorejobsorspecialtrainingwillbeneededbesidesjustmakingsure
everyoneisawareofthenewlaw.
PotentialObstacles:
Somepotentialobstaclesintheformationofthislawaretheapprovaloftheentire
legislativebranch.Hopefullytherearenoprorapeandabusesenatorsorrepresentatives,but
somepeoplemayarguethatthelawispotentiallyunconstitutionalorneedssomemajor
revisions.ThefifthamendmentoftheU.S.constitutionstates,Nopersonshallbe....Without
justcompensation.EssentiallyallitssayingisthatAmericanshavetherighttoremainsilent
andrighttokeeptheirownpropertytothemselves("FifthAmendment").Thismeansitis
unconstitutionaltorequirepeopletoreporttoawebsiteortellafriend,wecanonlyhighly
recommendit.Thus,awayaroundthatmustbedeveloped.Addressingtheproblemisdifficult,
butapossiblesolutionwouldbetomakeitaseasyaspossibleforthevictimtoreporttothe
websitethatthelawwouldinitiate.Thisiswhyanyreportsgivenwouldbeanonymous,itwould
befree,alongwithbeingquickandsimple.Therecouldalsobepossibleincentives,like
anonymousonlinetherapistsorpoliceofficerstotalkto.Basicallytheprogramwouldbeeasy
andhelpfultothevictimwhousedit,andbeingtotallyanonymousitwouldbeasiftheynever
talkedaboutitunlesstheyexposedthemselvesbychoice.Thiswouldstillbeconstitutional,but
potentiallyextremelyhelpfultotherightperson.

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Anotherfairlysignificantproblemisgettingthelawapprovedbythemajorityofthe
legislativebranch.Hopefullynoneoftherepresentativesorsenatorsareprorapeandabuse,but
justbecausethisparticularamendmentwasdesignedtolimitsuchthingsdoesntmeanthey
wouldvoteforit.Perhapstheywouldthinkitstillisntconstitutionalenoughoritisntworth
makingwebsitesandgettingeveryoneinformed.Whatevertheirreasons,onecouldsaywith
almost100percentcertaintythatallofthelegislativebranchwillnotapproveofthelaw.While
therehavebeentimeswhentheU.S.senateortheHouseofRepresentativeshavevoted
unanimouslyonaamendment,therehaveneverbeenacasewherebothsidesagree100percent
onaparticularlaw.Forexample,thesenateagreedunanimouslyonabudgetbillin2015
designedtohelpmakeiteasytoreimposesanctionsifIranviolatedanucleardeal.However,the
houseofrepresentativeswasnotnecessarilyintotalagreeanceonthesamebill("U.S.Senate
VotesUnanimouslyforAmendmenttoSendMessageonIran").Thiswilllikelybesimilarfor
thisamendment.However,inordertobepassedallitneedsisamajorityvote.Thetopicofrape
andabuseisseldomtalkedaboutineithersideofthelegislativebranch,soitisdifficulttodo
anyresearchtoprovethatthebillwillreceiveamajorityvote.However,itispossibletoget
morevotersonthebillssideusingWhips.Whipscountvotes.Theyareresponsibleformaking
surethebilltheywanttopasshasenoughvotesbeforeitevengetsdebated.Iftheydonthave
enoughguaranteedvotes,theirjobistothen,whipup,supportforthelawtheywishtopass.
Theyareresponsibleforknowingasmuchastheycanabouteveryoneintheirrespectivesystem,
whetherthatbetheHouseortheSenate("WhatDoesaCongressional"whip"ActuallyDo?").
Withevenjustoneortwowhipsonthebillsside,theycanthenbuildupmoresupportforthe
lawtodefinitelybepassed.

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Budget:
Mostofthemoneyrequiredwillmostlikelybecollectedoutoftaxesasthisisa
governmentbasedproject.Thereisntmuchinthewayofbudgetingforthecreationofthe
developmentofthelaw.Thewriterofthelaw,JackieSpeier,willneedtobepaid,butasa
senator,shewillalreadybepaidbythegovernment.ItsthesamestoryfortheWhipswhowould
buildupsupportforthelaw.However,asfortheimplementationofthelaw,itisslightlymore
complex.Severalmorehighschoolteacherswouldbeneededtoaccountforthenewnational
lawtoteach.Ifittakes1classperiodtoteachthenewlawtostudents,andthereareabout
37,000highschoolsinthecountry,thenthatmeansitwouldtake37,000classperiods(or37,000
schooldays)toteacheveryhighschoolstudentintheU.S.aboutthelaw("Archived:High
SchoolFactsataGlance").Thereisalsoanaverageof180schooldaysinayear,thesetwo
numberstogethermeanthatabout(37,000/180)206schoolyearstoteachthetopictoeveryhigh
school("AverageSchoolDaysinaYear").Ifonefiguresoneteacherforoneschoolyear,206
newschoolteacherstotalwillneedtobehiredtoimplementthenewlawintoeveryonetoday.If
onefiguresabout$50,000ayearforateacher,thenwecanassumewellneedabout$10,300,000
ayearmore($50,000X206teachers).Thismayseemlikealot,butitsactuallyfairlyminimal.
Thereareabout153millionworkingadultsovertheageof16intheU.S.("Are90Million
AmericansNotWorkingorNotLookingforWork?").Thismeansthatalltheworkingadultsin
Americawouldsimplyhavetopayanother$0.07extraayearintaxes($10,300,000/153,000,000
people).Ifthesetaxessimplyremainforthedurationoftheamendment,thenthislawwilleasily
beselfsustaining.Anotherthingthatneedstohappenbeforethislawcanbeproperly
implementedistogeteveryonepasthighschoolalreadytolearnaboutthelaw.Themediaand

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communicationshouldgetmostofthistakencareof.Themediawillbedoingplentyofstories
onthecreationofthenewlaw,andwillcontinuetodostoriesonitasmanymorepeoplewho
didn'tknowaboutitgetintotrouble.

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