The Chicago chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) today strongly denounced the response of senatorial candidate Blair Hull to allegations of spousal abuse contained in records of his divorce from Brenda Sexton in 1998, and called on both Hull and the other candidates to provide a clear, emphatic statement on the issue of domestic violence for voters to consider before the March 16 primary.
“Hull may have moved past the incident personally, but as a candidate he needs to state his position on the issue and explain how he will address the problem if he is elected to the Senate,” said Jennifer Koehler, president of Chicago NOW. “A candidate – whether Hull or any of the other candidates – without a strong statement on domestic violence does not deserve our vote.”
Most troubling about Hull’s response to the allegations of abuse has been his failure to communicate the seriousness of domestic violence in this country, she said.
“In interviews over the weekend, it sounded as if he were saying he would like to move on to ‘real’ issues like healthcare,” said Koehler. “Domestic violence is a real issue, as real as healthcare, the economy or the war. Ask the woman who’s been beaten so severely she ends up in the hospital. Hull also said it is a private matter, in the past. The police used to consider domestic violence a ‘private matter,’ too, but they don’t anymore – they consider it a crime.
“Treating this as a non-issue is a grave injustice to the victims of domestic violence and a disservice to our society as a whole,” she concluded. “We need to take the issue seriously and talk about it openly, because one of the problems of domestic violence is the silence that surrounds it. Victims are afraid to speak out for fear of reprisal or ostracization, and so it continues, at all socioeconomic levels, every day.”
Bonnie Grabenhofer, president of Illinois NOW, added, “Since NOW's inception, we have been working politically to stop violence against women. Women face a continuum of potential violence throughout their lives from incest, sexual abuse, sexual harassment on the street, at school and at work, rape, domestic violence, to hate crimes and murder.” The January 2000 report from John Hopkins School of Public Health and the Center for Health and Gender Equity states that that one in three women will experience violence in her lifetime.
Chicago NOW is asking all of the candidates for an overall position on the problem of domestic violence and how they would work for meaningful change. Said Koehler, “This is an opportunity to create a dialogue about this important issue and to give voters the opportunity to compare the candidates’ views.”
For more information, please call Chicago NOW, 312-805-1503.
