Angelina Jolie Shares Emotional Speech About Domestic Violence In D.C.

Pax Jolie-Pitt and Angelina Jolie seen leaving Soho Hotel
Angelina Jolie out and about, New York, USA - 18 Aug 2023 — Image Credit: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Angelina Jolie is speaking up for women everywhere. The actress and director made an impactful statement to the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, Feb. 9 when she shared her thoughts on the importance of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which, per Congress, aims “to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.”

The Salt actress, who was poised in black suit and pearls, was one of the women to raise their voice during the event, urging Congress to pass the act and naming it “one of the most important votes US senators will cast this year.”

“Standing here at the center of our nation’s power, I can think only of everyone who’s been made to feel powerless by their abusers, by a system that failed to protect them,” the mother-of-six began her speech. “Parents whose children have been murdered by an abusive partner, women who suffer domestic violence yet are not believed, children who have suffered life-altering trauma and post-traumatic stress at the hands of people closest to them.”

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She continued by explaining that many people choose not to leave “abusive situations” because they’ve been “made to feel worthless” without a government to count on for aid. “[W]hen there is silence from a Congress too busy to renew the Violence Against Women Act for a decade, it reinforces that sense of worthlessness,” she continued. “You think, ‘I guess my abuser’s right, I guess I’m not worth very much.'”

“As survivors of abuse know all too well, victims of our failed systems are not allowed to be angry. You’re supposed to be calm, patient and ask nicely. But you try staying calm when it’s as if someone is holding your head under water,” she went on. “Try to stay calm when you’re witnessing someone you love being harmed. Try to stay calm if after you were strangled and you find the courage to come forward, you discover that your chances of proving the abuse are now gone, because no one took into account the different ways bruising presents in Black or brown skin and they failed to check properly for signs of injury.”

She then took a moment to talk about the parents who have continued to fight to change the laws after they lost their own children to domestic violence. “Most of all, I want to acknowledge …” she added, holding back tears, “… the children who are terrified and suffering at this moment. And the many people for whom this legislation comes too late.”

“The women who have suffered through the system with little or no support,” she concluded, “who still carry the pain and trauma of their abuse, the young adults who have survived abuse and emerged stronger, not because of the child protective system, but despite it, and the women and children who have died who could have been saved.”

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Before making her speech, Angelina also shared a photo to her Instagram with her daughter Zahara Jolie-Pitt, as the two looked over the speech written to share with Congress.

“Heading into the Senate’s introduction of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, I’m grateful and humbled to join with dedicated advocates and legislators,” Angelina captioned the photo with her daughter. “I’m also glad to share in the advocacy with Zahara — and for her presence to calm my nerves before today’s press conference.”