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New findings on the toll that domestic violence takes on the mental health of teens should wake up our policymakers. What our children need is not a federal policy of marriage promotion. They need a commitment to end domestic violence.

(WOMENSENEWS, By Janet Carter) – Family violence defies simple, one-size-fits-all solutions. But it is clear that current U.S. prevention approaches are not adequate, and in some ways we may be heading in the wrong direction.

In his State of the Union speech last week, for instance, President Bush promoted marriage without mentioning any related initiatives on domestic violence. But coercing women into marriage without taking steps to protect themand their children from abuse is reckless anddangerous.

Certainly, we have seen some progress in the last few decades. The issue has come out of the shadows and more communities have begun to grapple with family violence and its consequences. More police officers take the issue seriously, more judges have been educated about the dynamics of abuse, more courts have improved procedures for handling family violence, more media cover the issue responsibly and, as a result, more women are seeking support and services.

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