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Violence against women highlighted in second Presidential Debate, sparks debate in Baltimore

Violence against women gets national attention
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Sunday night the second Presidential Debate brought several issues to the national spotlight, one that has families talking Monday, is violence against women.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump showcased several women who say Bill Clinton sexually abused them in an attempt to divert attention away from his vulgar words that were recorded on the set of a soap opera back in 2005.

Trump also accused presidential candidate Hillary Clinton of attacking the same women, telling them to keep quiet.

Ahead of the debate, one of the accusers, Juanita Broaddrick, said "Hillary is not the person she wants you to think she is. Hillary threatened me, three weeks after her husband raped me. She visually, personally came up to me and threatened me. Do you think that's very nice?"

Baltimore locals say any violence against women is unacceptable.

"I think they're both terrible honestly," Kerrin Marchese said referencing both Trump and Bill Clinton. She said a man tried to make advances on her before.

This is something many women face.

Statistics from the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault state one in five women and one in 71 men in the United States have been raped at some point in their life. About 95 percent of offenders are men.

More than 400,00 women in Maryland have been raped.

"I mean if they're polite about it, that's one thing but like you said, if it's in a vulgar, disrespectful way there's not much to say," Marchese said it's good to talk about this to spread awareness.

Ruby Bond and her husband felt the same, "talk to your daughters, your granddaughters, and just educate yourself," her husband continued, "tell them how wrong it is."

While they agree violence against women is unforgivable, the Bonds said this did not taint Hillary's image to them.

"[Bill Clinton] He's not that charming. We have this discussion all the time, and I've always said 'slick Bill' is not running for president and that's not who I have to evaluate and decide who I want to be my next president," Ruby said.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention puts an emphasis on victims and bystanders to reduce these interactions.

Create an awareness and equip young people with self defense techniques to keep them from becoming a victim. Create a social atmosphere where sexual assault is looked down upon, and empower bystanders to intervene if they see something wrong happening.

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