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"body": "Dear Friends and Colleagues,\n\nI always look forward to the beginning of a month, and this one in particular, because it marks the close of one fiscal year and beginning of another.\u00a0 As of last Friday, we closed our books on FY 2011 and, despite the very late start to our peer review process because of the delayed budget cycle, succeeded in getting out all of our awards.\u00a0 This was a Herculean effort on the part of staff throughout the office \u2013 the budget and grants financial management staff, program staff, outreach, and all the administrative support.\u00a0 They all worked extraordinary hours to make this possible.\n\nAs you know, our Office administers three formula programs and 18 discretionary programs.\u00a0 Formula programs, by definition, are not \u201ccompeted\u201d, but still require considerable work to process.\u00a0 Our discretionary programs, on the other hand, are competed, and this year the competition was intense.\u00a0 For some programs, the number of applications and amount of funds requested was 10 times that which was available.\u00a0 All of this makes it essential that the review process be thorough and objective, and this requires significant time and effort from staff and, in many instances, from expert reviewers like many of you.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a difficult process, and one which we take very seriously to ensure the most appropriate applications are funded.\u00a0 So, let me congratulate all of those who have received FY 2011 awards, and encourage everyone else to continue checking our website for postings of new solicitations for FY 2012 in the coming months.\n\nThe first of a month is also a time to look back on the accomplishments of the past month, and look forward to the highlights of the coming month.\u00a0 We were thrilled to host the third meeting of our National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women.\u00a0 This select 15-member committee, comprised of advocates, researchers, attorneys, practitioners, survivors, and representatives from law enforcement and courts, is charged with providing advice and recommendations to the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services on ways the federal government can improve its work around children and youth who are exposed to and directly victimized by sexual, domestic and dating violence, and to focus on ways to end the violence that they are exposed to in their homes and communities.\u00a0 The members of the NAC are focusing their efforts particularly around the issues of trauma-informed responses, public outreach, and improving outcomes through evidence-based and practitioner-informed research.\u00a0 We are very much looking forward to the next NAC meeting in December where this important federal advisory committee will continue its efforts to provide guidance to us on how we can end the cycle of violence that traps too many children and youth in our country.\n\nIn mid-September at the National Sexual Assault Conference in Baltimore, we had the great pleasure of announcing the six sites selected for the Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative (SADI, as we call it).\u00a0 The purpose of this demonstration project is to determine best practices and needed action in reaching more sexual assault survivors and providing comprehensive sexual assault services.\u00a0 We hope to develop key tools, methods and strategies that can be disseminated widely to the broader field of dual/multi-service agencies serving sexual assault survivors.\u00a0 The six sites, each of which is receiving a three-year award of $450,000, are:\u00a0 Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ; Shelter, Inc., Alpena, MI; Doves, Inc., Gering, NE; New York Asian Women\u2019s Center, Inc., NY, NY; Family Violence and Rape Crisis Services, Pittsboro, NC; and SafePlace, Olympia, WA.\u00a0 Congratulations to all of them!\u00a0 We look forward to our partnership with the Resource Sharing Project and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, our Technical Assistance providers, as we move forward in this important work.\n\nThis national conference also provided an opportunity to meet with about 50 representatives from our US Territories, including a huge contingent from Guam.\u00a0 All of these grantees travelled incredibly long distances to participate in this conference.\u00a0 I want to thank them for taking the time to share their thoughts about VAWA funding and ideas for how OVW can work with them to achieve our common goals.\u00a0 I also had an opportunity to meet with many representatives from a variety of underserved communities, including African Americans, LGBTQ, disabilities, AAPI, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Latino.\u00a0 Having such opportunities opens doors to productive dialog and understanding of needs that are unique to these populations.\n\nMost recently OVW was invited to participate with United States Attorney Brendan Johnson for the District of South Dakota in his Second Tribal Listening Session Addressing Violence Against Women.\u00a0 This Department and indeed this Administration is deeply committed to addressing violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women.\u00a0 Over 200 tribal and non-native leaders joined together to discuss the role of law enforcement and the US Attorney\u2019s Office in investigating and prosecuting cases of violence against women.\u00a0 Particularly focus was placed on the importance of protection orders, and strengthening the Violence Against Women Act to ensure that orders issued by tribal courts are accorded full faith and credit within and beyond tribal boundaries is one of the significant proposals offered by the Department in the upcoming reauthorization.\n\nFew reading this will need to be reminded that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.\u00a0 This is our opportunity to use every occasion to speak out about domestic violence, to challenge misconceptions, to raise awareness, to talk to our daughters, sisters, mothers, sons, brothers, fathers, wives and husbands, friends and colleagues, about the scourge of domestic violence, to safely intervene when someone\u2019s safety is, or is about to be, compromised.\u00a0 It is also a time to recommit to ending violence in all its forms, challenging the misogyny that exists around us, and the degradation and objectification of women and girls.\u00a0 Everyone has a role to play, and every bit helps.\u00a0 Those who fail to take action, who turn away and do nothing, are complicit participants:\u00a0 their inaction condones the very violence we seek to end.\n\nThere are so many ways to get involved \u2013 personally and professionally, no matter who you are or what you do.\u00a0 Contact us if you need ideas \u2013 or start with your local shelter or crisis center.\u00a0 It costs nothing to speak out, but exercising your voice could mean all the difference to someone you may never meet.\u00a0 Collectively we can, we must, do this.\n\nLooking into the month ahead, we are excited to be hosting the first-ever National Summit on Campus Safety for College and University Presidents this week.\u00a0 We are bringing presidents from all over the country to mobilize them to provide leadership around ending domestic violence and sexual assault on their campuses.\n\nWe will also be hosting our Department colleagues for a discussion about domestic homicide, and what we can do to address this critical issue.\u00a0 Among our special guests will be William Kellibrew and Dr. Neil Websdale who chairs the National Domestic Violence Fatality Review Initiative.\u00a0 We are excited to showcase a video of domestic homicide prepared through our STOP Technical Assistance program.\n\nLet me close on a personal note.\u00a0 It was two years ago that I was nominated by the President to become Director of OVW, and this month marks the 18-month anniversary of my having assumed this position.\u00a0 I want to thank everyone, all of our grantees and TA providers, all of the advocates, law enforcement officers, judges, attorneys, prosecutors, SANE nurses, medical and mental health providers, clergy, teachers, coaches, and all the many others, who work to end violence.\u00a0 What you do each day makes a difference.\u00a0 We at OVW look forward to our continued partnership in this work, and to continue listening to and learning from you about new and better ways to meet the needs of victims and survivors, and to hold offenders accountable for their actions.\n\nThank you for all that you do, and all that I know you will do.\n\nWith gratitude and respect,\n\nSusan B. Carbon,\nDirector\nOffice on Violence Against Women",
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"body": "Dear Friends and Colleagues,\n\nAs I write this message, it is a quiet Saturday morning in DC.\u00a0 I know (as you probably have observed) that I have missed my target of posting a message at the beginning of the month.\u00a0 I was, as I hope many of you were, enjoying an end-of-summer vacation with my husband and others in my family, a luxury these days.\u00a0 Living in DC and commuting home on weekends, when the opportunity allows, is a challenge, and I am ever mindful that my husband is making a big sacrifice for me to be here, and him there.\u00a0 He knows how grateful I am to him, but more importantly, knows how important this work is.\u00a0 And I couldn\u2019t be more reminded of that as we approach \u201cour\u201d anniversary, September 13th.\n\nThree days from now we will be celebrating the 17th Anniversary of the historic passage of the Violence Against Women Act.\u00a0 Thanks to the unyielding focus of now Vice President Biden and many of his colleagues in Congress, a remarkable and groundbreaking piece of legislation has transformed our nation\u2019s response to the tragic crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence.\u00a0 Hundreds of thousands of victims have benefitted, and their lives forever changed because of the resolve and commitment to end violence demonstrated not only by Congress, but by all those who have worked so hard over the past 17 years to implement this legislation in their crisis centers, police departments, emergency rooms, prosecutors\u2019 offices, courtrooms and communities.\u00a0 We are a different country than we were 17 years ago.\n\nBut we cannot \u201crest upon our laurels\u201d and let slide the progress we have made, or think for one moment that we don\u2019t need to maintain our vigilance.\u00a0 We have an ethical duty, a responsibility to our friends, family, colleagues, communities, strangers, people from all walks of life in every corner of this country, to continue and broaden our efforts to end violence against women, children and men.\u00a0 Sadly too many continue to be victimized; and as new professionals and volunteers enter the field, we need to ensure that they have access to the best practices and\u00a0 training as we are faced with new challenges and tools of abuse.\n\nOver the past couple of years, we have embarked upon the development of a new program to broaden the reach of those working to end violence against women by engaging men and boys to work together as allies with women and girls.\u00a0 This is the first time in the history of OVW that a grant program focuses primarily on the prevention of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking by acknowledging the critical role men and boys play in addressing these issues.\u00a0 That, along with the program's focus on the creation of public education campaigns through the work of community-based organizations in collaboration with local community partners, has resulted in a great deal of interest and excitement from the field and potential applicants.\u00a0 At the end of last month, we held our first New Grantee Orientation for our Engaging Men grantees.\u00a0 Twenty-three sites were awarded in this first round.\u00a0 The energy and passion of the teams from these very diverse organizations was palpable.\u00a0 Their drive and dedication to ending violence has elevated the discourse around these difficult issues.\u00a0 With men as partners in this work, we have the potential to reach men and boys in new and creative ways, implementing programs most relevant to them and their communities.\n\n\nThis week we punctuated our work around ending sexual violence specifically by hosting a Sexual Violence Research Roundtable with the National Institute of Justice, one of our Department of Justice colleagues.\u00a0 The idea for this roundtable grew out of last October\u2019s first-ever White House Roundtable on Sexual Violence in the United States.\u00a0\u00a0 The partnership of NIJ with OVW enabled us to bring together an extraordinary group of practitioners (representing medicine and healthcare, law enforcement, the judiciary, prosecution and advocacy communities) with some of the finest researchers in the country to help us frame research priorities for the short- and long-term.\u00a0 We spent two days discussing what John Laub, Director of NIJ, has coined \u201ctranslational criminology\u201d, the art and science of bridging research with practice in a way that enables practitioners to use good research in their daily encounters.\u00a0 I recall my own frustrations as a judge, receiving lengthy (and statistically-loaded) research papers, wondering when I would have the necessary time to digest the findings before being able to apply them into my daily dockets.\u00a0 It was refreshing to see everyone at the table understanding the need for clear communication amongst us all, and a willingness to work together to enrich our collective endeavors.\u00a0 As Sgt. Jim Markey of the Phoenix Police Department summarized so well, \u201cLaw enforcement is hungry, and research is our donut.\u00a0 We want it \u2013 we want all of it!\u201d\n\nWe also spent a great deal of time talking about research that embraces the contexts of victim experiences \u2013 thus, qualitative as well as quantitative, and how vital it is to hear the voices and see the faces of victims and survivors.\u00a0 I am forever impressed by and indebted to those survivors who have the courage and fortitude to speak out and teach us that which many of us, fortunately, have not had to experience ourselves.\u00a0 I thank in particular Anne Ream and Karen Carroll for sharing their experiences with us.\u00a0 One of Anne\u2019s statements continues to resonate with me:\u00a0 \u201cIn a moment of terror, you are so utterly transformed that you become a stranger to yourself.\u201d\n\nThis discussion evolved into a recognition of the reality that there is no one \u201cstandard victim\u201d \u2013 nor \u201cone standard response\u201d to the crime of sexual violence, despite the continuing public perceptions that there is such a thing as \u201creal rape\u201d and a \u201creal victim\u201d, as if there were a corollary: that other forms of rape may not be real.\u00a0 Judge Jerry Bowles from Kentucky offered an analogy he uses often in training judges and others across the country, an experience to which we can all relate.\nThink of visiting a funeral home upon the death of a friend or family member.\u00a0 Some guests will cry; others will laugh and tell jokes, remembering the good times; others will simply smile and embrace friends in a gesture of support; others will shut their eyes and hold their feelings close.\u00a0 Despite how vastly different these reactions are, no one leaves the funeral home doubting that someone died.
\nWe also discussed the need to have research that focuses on accountability \u2013 both of perpetrators for their crimes of sexual violence, and of system participants to do the best job possible to bring justice to victims.\u00a0 We talked about what \u201cjustice\u201d means.\u00a0 We talked about the role of \u201cgatekeepers\u201d and how at various stages of the criminal justice system, attrition occurs because of the actions of those who control various parts of the process.\u00a0 And we discussed how \u201cdiscretion\u201d is sometimes a pseudonym for bias.\u00a0 That flowed into a discussion about attitudes \u2013 towards victims, towards offenders, how and why attitudes can (but don\u2019t always) change, and how attitudes affect behaviors.\u00a0 We concluded with a discussion about how rape victims, and women in general, are portrayed in the media, and what role degrading and pornographic images play in perpetuating complacent attitudes towards rape, if not perpetuating rape itself.\n\nThis and so much more captured our attention and will be shared with the Department and Administration, and when a report is completed, will be posted on our website as well as NIJ\u2019s.\n\nAs we are about to celebrate the 17th Anniversary of VAWA, we are working on its third reauthorization.\u00a0 We recognize the role of advocates who support victims of sexual assault and those who work with victims of domestic violence, as well as those who work in dual coalitions.\u00a0 In early August we brought together leaders from these three constituencies, as well as some national leaders, to embrace the important work and speak with a united voice to end violence against women, in all its forms.\u00a0 It was a rich discussion, and we at OVW are grateful for the time that everyone gave to us to make that meeting so powerful.\u00a0 We look forward to continuing this discussion in the coming months.\n\nThe next few days and weeks ahead are filled with great excitement and anticipation.\u00a0 We are bringing our National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women together again for their third meeting.\u00a0 Later in the week we will be announcing the awards for our new Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative (SADI).\u00a0 As we recognize September as National Campus Safety Awareness Month, in early October we will be hosting the National Summit on Campus Safety for College and University Presidents where we will be talking with presidents from around the country about sexual assault and domestic violence on their campuses, and how their role as leaders of their institutions is so vital to ending these crimes.\u00a0 And we will talk about the importance of supporting the research their faculty undertake to better understand and end these horrific crimes so that all campuses can be safe, and all students can achieve a superlative college career.\n\nAlthough I normally focus only on our work at OVW, I cannot let this message go by without acknowledging two significant events.\u00a0\u00a0 Tomorrow is September 11, the 10th anniversary of one of the worst tragedies our country has experienced.\u00a0\u00a0 Yesterday at the Great Hall of Justice, Attorney General Eric Holder gave voice to those whose lives were lost and to those who have survived, by honoring them in a very moving commemorative ceremony.\u00a0 We cannot forget.\n\nThe second is the opening of the Memorial here in Washington of Martin Luther King, Jr.\u00a0 One of greatest non-work pleasures of living in DC is having a magnificent city in which to enjoy early morning runs, covering the monuments.\u00a0 This morning I stopped, for the first time, at this new Memorial, dedicated while I was out of town.\u00a0 One quote struck me as so relevant to our work:\u00a0 \"True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.\"\u00a0 We at the Department strive every day to find that justice, as I know you do as well.\n\nLet me close by thanking all of you, those I know and those I have yet to meet, for all the time and effort you expend day in and day out to end violence against women and to find the presence of\u00a0 justice.\u00a0 It is hard work; it is rewarding work; and together we can and will make a difference.\u00a0 Let me also recognize and thank the staff at OVW for their tireless work in developing new and challenging grant programs to meet the ever changing and expanding needs of victims, selecting grantees, supporting them, developing creative projects like those I\u2019ve mentioned here, working on the reauthorization of VAWA, and the countless other responsibilities they somehow fit into their schedules so that tomorrow, the world will be a different place, a better place.\u00a0 I am indebted to you all and grateful beyond words.\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nDirector\nOffice on Violence Against Women\nU.S. Department of Justice",
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"body": "Although it is the middle of summer vacation for many, the staff at the Office on Violence Against Women have been hard at work. As you know, because of the delay in the FY 2011 appropriations process, we did not have sufficient time before the end of this fiscal year to include an external peer review for many of our discretionary grant programs. As a result, staff were exceedingly busy conducting internal peer review on hundreds of applications. I am excited to report that we have completed the peer review portion of this cycle and are now involved in making the very tough decisions on which applications should be funded. With so many excellent applications, the competition is fierce. I am extremely proud that despite many challenges in time and resources, OVW staff have managed to ensure that the grants are on track to be awarded on time to very deserving organizations for all grant programs. Notification of all awards will be made by September 30, 2011. Please go to www.ovw.usdoj.gov for more information about the changes to the FY 2011 grant application review process. We thank you for your patience and flexibility thus far with this process!\n\nIn addition to our program staff, our policy staff has also been hard at work as we consider the upcoming reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. We know that many conversations across the country are occurring regarding what should be included in this legislation, and we anticipate thoughtful discussion and exploration of new and innovative ideas for grant programs, specific areas and issues to focus on, and current challenges and strengths of VAWA, all with the goal to continue our work to end violence against women, no matter what its form. In anticipation of the reauthorization of VAWA, the Department of Justice, after consultation with Indian tribes, recently announced proposed legislation that would expand protections to address the epidemic of domestic violence against Native women. Please go to www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/July/11-asg-955.html for more information about this proposed legislation. We believe that these changes in Federal law will significantly improve the safety of women in tribal communities and allow Federal and tribal law enforcement agencies to hold more perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their crimes.\n\nLast month, I had the unique opportunity to travel to West Virginia to speak with the US Attorney\u2019s Office to a group of twelve incarcerated women at the West Virginia Northern Regional Jail. This day was a part of Attorney General Eric Holder\u2019s new Anti-Violence Initiative. The Attorney General has asked all United States Attorneys to develop strategic plans to address violent crime in ways relevant to each jurisdiction. United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld of the Northern District of West Virginia used this day to launch a major effort to educate female inmates about the dangers of straw party firearm purchases in hopes that this education will help prevent recidivism once the women are released. These women were victims of abuse as children and later at the hands of husbands or boyfriends, men who later pressured \u2013 or even forced -- these women to commit crimes For these women, abuse was a \u201cnormal\u201d, everyday part of life, until they were incarcerated. Now they were sitting behind bars at a women\u2019s prison talking about what brought them there and what they would need to succeed upon release. These women have goals, have aspirations to better their lives, to serve their time and then start a new path. But these women will leave prison with limited resources, most will be registered felons, jobless and with limited job opportunities. As one woman expressed, \u201cWe\u2019re not interested in reentry, we need to reinvent ourselves, and we will need help to do that.\u201d Sadly, most of the women lamented that upon release, it will be their batterers who will be there to retrieve them, using the children as tools of manipulation unless they have access to sufficient resources to live independently.\n\nAs a judge for 20 years, I saw thousands of women, and their children, in my courtroom over the years. People who commit crimes must pay their debt to society \u2013 as adults we make decisions in our lives, and we need to be held accountable when we choose illegal actions. But these women had such limited options, I had to ask, how could we have intervened earlier and prevented them from being trapped by violence and drugs? How could we have prevented them from years in prison and separation from their children? As Attorney General Holder has often asked, how do we help those who, based on their childhood experiences, never had a chance?\n\nAs Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) at the U.S. Department of Justice, it\u2019s my job to find ways we can save lives and save money by stopping violence before it starts. The women I met at the West Virginia Northern Regional Jail said they wished someone had talked to them in school \u2013 a teacher, a guidance counselor, a guest teacher in a health class. Although many of them knew of, and applied for, protective orders, very few of them had advocates that helped them along the way. OVW is funding training for schools so they know how to recognize and respond to dating violence and sexual assault, and can offer a curriculum that helps teens learn about healthy, respectful relationships and ways to avoid or escape the cycle of violence and abuse. Although we cannot change the history of the twelve women I spoke with in West Virginia, I am confident that the work we are doing today at OVW, and the work our tireless advocates and grantees in the field are doing, is changing the future for countless women nationwide. I hope the chapters we write for the future will bring better outcomes.\n\nDuring this constructive summer, for the Office on Violence Against Women and the field, we extend safe travels to those taking much deserved time off to spend with friends and family.\n\nWith Hope and Gratitude,\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nDirector\nOffice on Violence Against Women\nU.S. Department of Justice",
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"body": "Since 1995, the funding from 353 awards totaling over $750 million from a formula grant program known as the S.T.O.P. (Services. Training. Officers. Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program has provided victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking with unprecedented support from both the criminal justice system and the advocacy community. These grants have, among many other things, created law enforcement, prosecutor and court-based training programs, assisted with reviews of sexual assault cold cases, and improved victim services across the country.\u00a0 The STOP formula program is one of OVW\u2019s signature grant opportunities; funds are provided to every state and territory.\u00a0 The opportunities provided to jurisdictions around the country are limitless.\n\nThe reach of S.T.O.P. awards is often summed up in numbers. The most recently compiled numbers for 2008 documented more than 461,700 victims served, over 875, 200 services provided to victims, and more than 3,600 individuals arrested for violations of protection orders.\n\nThese numbers alone, however, do not capture the essence of how these grants have transformed and improved lives, strengthened organizations and helped restructure important protocols and services.\n\nFor this reason, OVW partnered with the Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) on a project that illuminates some of the successful programs that have had significant impact in jurisdictions around the country.\u00a0 Entitled S.T.O.P. in Action: Success Stories from the S.T.O.P. Formula Grants Program, the film and booklet document the achievements and impact of \u00a0S.T.O.P. grant recipients in each U.S. State and Territory.\u00a0\u00a0 Video scenarios present an in-depth look at three jurisdictions' uses of S.T.O.P. Funds:\u00a0 Phoenix, Arizona's program to reduce the rape kit backlog; Montana's program to improve system responses through domestic violence fatality reviews; and central New Jersey's program to provide coordinated services to victims of domestic and sexual violence.\n\nThe S.T.O.P. in Action booklet offers descriptions of exciting programs\u2013 including organizations like Ayuda that offers free legal assistance for low-income immigrant women in Washington, D.C. and Mississippi\u2019s\u00a0 Coalition Against Sexual Assault\u00a0 use of S.T.O.P. grant funds to train employees at Keesler Air Force Base and Camp Shelby on sexual assault response.\u00a0 At Valley City State University in North Dakota, a S.T.O.P. grant allowed the local Abused Persons Outreach Center to hire a Campus Violence Intervention Advocate to provide resources especially for students.\u00a0 Every description is a testimony to the ongoing commitment of using S.T.O.P. funds to address specific community, organization or individual needs.\n\nEveryone is encouraged to view the video and booklet available at www.also-chicago.org\u00a0 for a comprehensive overview of S.T.O.P. accomplishments.\n\nS.T.O.P. in Action: Success Stories from the S.T.O.P. Formula Grants Program\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nDirector\nOffice on Violence Against Women",
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"body": "Despite our electricity issues for the last week, we have started the month of June and the Summer with the excitement of convening our second meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women. The National Advisory Committee (NAC) is a federal advisory body chartered to provide guidance to the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services on ways to help children and youth exposed to violence.\u00a0 Its members are appointed by the Attorney General.\n\nThe first meeting, held in January, brought this group together for initial introductions, presentations and small group discussions. This second meeting allowed the 15-member NAC to begin developing concrete ideas for ways to address the tragic realities of teen dating violence and children exposed to violence in America and worldwide.\n\nNAC members spent two days sharing their perspectives on these issues and listening to some of the amazing work being done in the government and the field.\u00a0 A presentation by the National Crittenton Foundation gave voice to the stories of just six of the thousands of girls who experience myriad forms of violence in their lives.\u00a0 These stories of tragedy-turned-triumph were both inspiring and telling of where the current system often fails young people. A presentation by Dr. David Wolfe gave members background on some of the interesting research being conducted on not just intervention after, but prevention before, these horrible incidents occur. We were also joined by the Stalking Resource Center and the National Network to End Domestic Violence with a cutting edge presentation on how technology has changed all the crimes we seek to address, specifically stalking among our teens and pre-teens.\n\nFinally, our many federal partners joined us to update the NAC members on the important and innovative work currently being done within many parts of the Administration.\u00a0 We were honored to be joined by Tina Tchen, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to First Lady Michelle Obama and Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, who detailed the importance of these issues to the President and First Lady and described the critical work of the White House Council on Women and Girls. Lynn Rosenthal, the first-ever Advisor on Violence Against Women in the White House, shared some of the work being done in the White House on issues of youth violence.\u00a0\u00a0 Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli engaged the NAC in a lively discussion and challenged the members to \u201cthink big\u201d in framing their recommendations.\n\nNAC members also received updates on the Attorney General\u2019s Defending Childhood Initiative; OVW\u2019s Protective Parents Roundtable; The Office of Justice Programs\u2019 Youth Violence Summit; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services\u2019 work on issues within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families; recent research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and the work of the U.S. Department of Education\u2019s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.\n\nIn one of the more poignant moments of the meeting, 18-year-old NAC member and advocate Amber Johnson shared a poem by Andrea Gibson, an excerpt of which follows:\nWhen two violins are placed in a room,\nif a chord on one violin is struck,\nthe other violin will sound the note.\nIf this is your definition of hope, this is for you.\nThe ones who know how powerful we are,\nwho know we can sound the music in the people around us\nsimply by playing our own strings.
\nWe at OVW feel so honored to have such an exquisite group of experts serving on the NAC to address these critical issues, tirelessly working to end these crimes through research, advocacy and outreach. This group, which includes experts in domestic violence and sexual assault, individuals from urban and rural communities, individuals of all ages and many different backgrounds, bring rich and varied expertise.\u00a0 Their diverse and unique perspectives will help guide how we begin to turn the tide for teens and children exposed to violence worldwide. We will share updates as the NAC continues to meet and compile official recommendations for Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.\n\nAt the end of last month, I was honored to participate in another collaboration of experts on addressing issues of violence against women: the Sexual Assault Response Team National Conference in Austin, Texas.\u00a0 This biennial conference of SARTs from across the country, sponsored by the Office for Victims of Crime and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention as well as OVW, had the primary focus of expanding the capacity of SARTs to promote health and healing of sexual assault victims, hold sex offenders accountable for their crimes, and realize the hope of preventing further sexual violence in their communities. This year, the conference hosted nearly 1,000 attendees from around the country. \u00a0Addressing this group of extremely impressive and well-versed champions in the field through a closing address and federal panel was a true learning experience of the amazing work being done by SARTs across the country, as well as additional resources needed to make the work of these teams more effective.\n\nThis month, we are pleased that we have OVW representation at The Hague Conference on Private International Law as they hold a Commission Meeting on the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. \u00a0As the issue of domestic violence was to be discussed at the meeting, the State Department invited OVW to participate on the US Delegation.\u00a0 Domestic violence is a factor in a large number of Hague Convention cases- most typically, a battered woman fleeing the country with her children in order to protect herself and her children. \u00a0At the June meeting, the Special Commission is currently discussing domestic violence allegations and return proceedings, including research and case law, protective measures to enable safe return of the child and accompanying parent, and promoting consistency in judicial practice.\n\nWe are also proud to announce that on Saturday, June 4, at 3:32pm Susannah Elizabeth Schmechel Davis was born to Deputy Director of Policy Development Virginia Davis and her husband Richard Schmechel in Washington D.C.\u00a0 Zuzu weighed in at 7lbs. 12oz. and is 19.5 inches long.\u00a0 We are excited for Virginia\u2019s new addition to her family!\n\nFinally, we are very excited to introduce a new member of the OVW family: Beatrice (Bea) Hanson has recently joined OVW as Principal Deputy Director.\u00a0 In this capacity, she will support the Office as liaison between the Department of Justice and federal, state, tribal and international governments on the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking. She will also be responsible for handling the Department\u2019s legal and policy issues regarding the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act.\n\nPrior to her appointment, Bea served as Chief Program Officer for Safe Horizon, a crime victim service organization in New York City which serves 350,000 victims of violence and abuse annually. There she directed a staff of 500 in 60 locations. Bea joined Safe Horizon (formerly Victim Services) in 1997 as the Director of Emergency Services and went on to oversee the agency\u2019s domestic violence, homeless youth and child abuse programs before serving as Chief Program Officer.\n\nDuring her tenure at Safe Horizon, she doubled domestic shelter capacity and tripled revenue in four years for the country\u2019s largest domestic violence shelter provider. She also advocated and collaborated with City and State governments to establish Child Advocacy Centers in Manhattan and the Bronx, co-locating the police, assistant district attorneys, child protection workers, and medical providers to serve victims of child sexual and severe physical abuse.\u00a0 She established a new borough-based victim-centered program which refocused interventions on meeting all safety needs of clients, developed program-based performance measures to evaluate services meeting budgetary and operational objectives and refocused research and evaluation activities to prioritize internal evaluation.\n\nBefore joining Safe Horizon Bea served as the Director of Client Services for the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, serving 2,000 victims of hate crime, domestic violence, and sexual assault annually. She also held positions with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, the National Training and Information Center, and Ozone House: Counseling Center for Runaway and Homeless Youth.\n\nBea recently earned a Doctorate in Social Welfare degree from City University in New York, and previously, a Masters of Social Work degree from Hunter College School of Social Work in New York and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.\n\nWe could not be more thrilled to have such a dedicated advocate and life-long supporter of the issues we dedicate ourselves to each day joining the OVW team.\u00a0 We believe her appointment demonstrates the deep commitment of this Administration to ending violence against women.\u00a0 Please join us in welcoming Bea!\n\nWith Hope,\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nDirector",
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"body": "Dear Friends, The month of April marked the conclusion of my first year as Director of OVW.\u00a0 It has been a tremendous honor and a privilege to serve in this position, within an Administration that is so committed to ending violence against women.\u00a0 President Obama, Vice President Biden and Attorney General Holder, along with many others in the Administration and within the Department of Justice, are deeply committed leaders and partners in ending the vicious cycles of abuse and violence in the lives of women, children and men.\u00a0 Add to that the brilliant and passionate staff at OVW and there couldn\u2019t be a more opportune time to recommit ourselves to ending domestic, sexual, and dating violence and stalking, as well as all other forms of violence that plague women here and abroad. I joined OVW in April, just after the President declared that month Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the first President in our history to do so.\u00a0 In addition to focusing in prevention efforts and reaching more underserved communities, addressing sexual violence has been one of my top priorities.\u00a0 I was so pleased when President Obama again declared this April Sexual Assault Awareness Month. At the beginning of April, I had great hope for this year\u2019s Sexual Assault Awareness Month: how many communities we could reach, how many individuals we could influence, and how much of an impact the sexual assault community could have across the country over these four weeks.\u00a0 As April comes to a close, I am in absolute awe: my expectations were not only met, they were exceeded beyond imagination. With the amazing leadership of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one of our TA providers, we carried their theme of \u201cIt\u2019s Time \u2026 to Get Involved\u201d across the country.\u00a0 With the dedication and hard work of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the California National Guard; the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault; ContactLifeline in Delaware; the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault; the Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault; the DC Rape Crisis Center and DC Children\u2019s Hospital; Day One in Rhode Island; Women Organized Against Rape (the Philadelphia Rape Crisis Center) and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape; the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence; the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Clinton School of Public Service; the George Mason University Social Work students and Benjamin Banneker High School students in Washington, DC; we were able to participate in 16 different Sexual Assault Awareness Month events in nine states across the country and the District of Columbia. At these events, our staff were able to experience first-hand the incredible, and incredibly challenging, work that advocates in the field do each day.\u00a0 We were humbled to see how those with great courage and passion, even when afforded only limited resources, can make profound impacts on their communities. We also were excited and surprised to see some of the remarkable compassion within these communities: hundreds of community activists \u2013 women and men, survivors and supporters alike, expressing their desire to get involved in the work to end sexual assault.\u00a0 We spoke with military service members, federal employees, students, children and parents, elected officials, and counselors.\u00a0 We spoke to advocates of all ages: young children of survivors to great-grandparents of survivors. \u00a0We spoke to survivors of child sexual abuse, survivors of sexual assault later in life, survivors of many races and ethnicities, survivors of all genders and sexual orientations, and survivors of various backgrounds. We stood with advocates, victims, survivors, Governors, United States Attorneys, state Attorneys General, state legislators, business and community members \u2013 all united to end violence. And we listened.\u00a0 We heard the stories of legislators working to change laws in their states. We heard stories of advocates transforming the lives of those they serve. We heard stories of prosecutors and law enforcement who work every day to create safe and supportive environments for survivors to report.\u00a0 We heard students discuss the importance of changing campus culture to alter attitudes about sexual assault. We heard individuals highlight the importance of supporting underserved populations including those from tribal communities and individuals with disabilities.\u00a0 We heard advocates for those who had been abused later in life spotlight the importance of discussing all age groups when addressing issues of sexual assault.\u00a0 We heard stories of brave bystanders who had the gumption to stop a situation of sexual assault before it started.\u00a0 We heard countless conversations of individuals who had never participated in a Sexual Assault Awareness Month event, shocked by the statistics and energized to be included in this work.\u00a0 We heard the stories of countless courageous survivors, urging us all that it is, in fact, time to get involved. This month, we were able to share and listen to the stories of the one in six women who will experience an attempted or completed rape at some time in her life. We were able to break misconceptions of what many believe rape is: only weapon wielding strangers in dark alleys.\u00a0\u00a0 We heard the stories of acquaintance rape, child sexual assault, date rape, and countless other forms. We culminated the month, after travelling to communities across the country, with two events in DC. The first was a presentation to all OVW staff by George Mason University Social Work students about impressions and misconceptions within specific communities about sexual assault. More than 30 students reported on over 100 different interviews with different population groups including law enforcement, judges, prosecutors, senior citizens, deaf individuals, the military and first generation Americans. Members of OVW\u2019s staff, as well as guests from the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, the Bureau of Prisons and other Offices with the Department of Justice were able to hear some of the interesting, and often shocking, impressions that each community shared. This event was also OVW\u2019s annual Denim Day.\u00a0 Denim Day originated in this country in Los Angeles in the 1990s in response to the Italian Supreme Court\u2019s reversal of a rape conviction in which the Chief Judge argued: \u201cbecause the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex.\u201d Women wore jeans to work on the established \u201cDenim Day\u201d as a way of protesting the verdict. Since then, Denim Day has become a national rape prevention campaign. This year, OVW had over 150 federal employees attend this Denim Day event, our largest to date!\u00a0 You can see our annual photo on our website. The second was an event with Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli at Benjamin Banneker High School in which high school students shared their views on sexual assault.\u00a0 Here, students were able to ask questions and give opinions regarding sexual assault and sexual harassment to federal officials from the Department of Justice and the Department of Education, as well as those working in the field including Break the Cycle, Men Can Stop Rape, and the DC Rape Crisis Center. At both events, we had the amazing opportunity to share with, but mostly hear from, young people.\u00a0 Their insights, ideas, and energy for this cause left us all with a feeling of great hope for the next generation of advocates and the future of the movement to end sexual assault. Although Sexual Assault Awareness Month has come to a close, our work to end sexual violence is only beginning. At OVW, we will continue to work to provide resources so desperately needed in the sexual assault community.\u00a0 We look forward to the forthcoming announcement of our new Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative (SADI) project sites next month.\u00a0 We will continue to work with the White House following last fall\u2019s Sexual Violence Roundtable.\u00a0 We have begun discussions regarding the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, stressing the importance of addressing sexual assault along with domestic violence, stalking and dating violence. We are excited for our continued work with the field and advocates across the country to encourage community members to get involved in our important efforts.\u00a0 As Vice President Joe Biden stated in early April at the University of New Hampshire:
\n\nIf we are going to end violence, no reduce it but end it, we\u2019re going to have to change attitudes.\u00a0 That is the core of the problem\u2026And you are all in a position to help us do that.\u00a0 For all our progress, there\u2019s still a great deal more to do\u2026No matter what we have done thus far for this subject, we need to do more. No matter how strong we are now, we need to pass that strength on to others.
\n\nI urge you to view this moment as a starting line for you and your community as we all look to the finish line: a world without sexual violence. With Hope, Susan B. Carbon OVW Director U.S. Department of Justice
\n",
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"body": "Today, April 29th, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) commemorated Sexual Assault Awareness Month program by participating in \u201cDenim Day.\u201d This rape prevention education campaign originated in response to a 1992 Italian Supreme Court\u2019s reversal of a rape conviction in which the Chief Judge asserted that \u201cbecause the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex.\u201d Outraged by the decision, women in the Italian Parliament wore jeans to work as a way of protesting the verdict. Today, a growing number of communities across the United States wear jeans on Denim Day as a visible statement of the persistent misconceptions about sexual assault.\n\nPlanned and coordinated by OVW staff, the program included a presentation of the findings from 114 completed interviews conducted by George Mason University (GMU) students, followed by remarks from a disability rights advocate who told her personal story of survival, and ended with a short presentation by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.\n\nOver the past semester, nearly 30 GMU senior class social work students interviewed representatives from law enforcement, the military, formerly incarcerated persons, the immigrant and deaf communities and older adults. The GMU seniors presented their methodology, categories of questions and findings to an audience of 150 people, including Department of Justice staff, advocacy organizations, representatives from the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Defense, and the Bureau of Prisons.\n\nThe students\u2019 findings shed light on the understanding of and attitudes about bystander intervention, the definition of rape and sexual assault, the profile of a rapist, victim characteristics, the relationship between perpetrator and victim and causes of sexual assault. Also included were the role of media in forming perceptions of sexual assault and the need for training and culturally relevant services. The students discussed reasons why victims do not report the crimes to officials and pointed out the need to provide more information and services to victims.\n\nHeidi Case, currently the co-chair of the National Organization for Women\u2019s Disability Task Force, spoke poignantly about how her early victimization experience led her to work as an advocate and activist for people with disabilities. She emphasized the importance of believing survivors when they disclose noting that in her own case, being heard and believed was perhaps the single-most important factor in her own recovery.\n\nThe program concluded with a presentation by Sally Laskey of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and included the showing of a new public service announcement currently running at Times Square in New York City.\n\nThe messages from the speakers who joined us highlighted the stark reality surrounding sexual assault:\n\u00b7 It knows no age, gender, geographic location, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation; and \u00b7 Every community is affected.\n\nFriday\u2019s events concluded a month long series of events held across the nation. OVW traveled to nine states to engage with a broad range of communities, including members of the military, universities, high school students and law school students, and rural and urban settings. We were encouraged by the level of commitment that exists to confront the issue of sexual assault . We at OVW are paying closer attention to this crime and support a national dialogue about it, not only in April, but throughout the year. Across the country and within our own office we recognize that talking about sexual assault is a critical step in educating ourselves about a complex crime that affects millions, supporting victims in meaningful ways, and preventing the crime in the first place.\n\nWe are grateful to the leadership of the Department of Justice, Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Vice President and President who have added their voices to the national dialogue on sexual assault and in so doing have elevated the urgency of the issue. We will build on the momentum created during this Sexual Assault Awareness Month and commit to work diligently to support sexual assault victims, their families and our communities.\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nDirector",
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"body": "Dear Friends,\n\nWhen I started as Director of the Office on Violence Against Women nearly one year ago, one of my top priorities was to make sexual assault a bigger focus at OVW.\u00a0 \u00a0When the Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1994, sexual assault was included as one of the crimes to be addressed.\u00a0 There is a general consensus, however, that for a variety of reasons, sexual assault has not received the same level of attention as has domestic violence.\u00a0 As a result, sexual assault remains a tragically pervasive, costly, and underreported problem.\n\nThis April, as we celebrate Sexual Assault Awareness Month with the national community, we have the opportunity to learn more about the crime and the devastating impact it has on victims and entire communities, and to commit ourselves to bring justice to the victims and their families and to hold perpetrators accountable.\n\nSexual violence is a complex crime that affects every sector of our society.\u00a0\u00a0 It has no boundaries in terms of gender, geographic location, race, ethnicity, economic class or sexual orientation.\u00a0 U.S. government statistics reveal that one in six women will experience an attempted or completed rape at some time in her life.\u00a0 In certain areas and demographics, this number increases dramatically. As two chilling examples of its far-reaching grasp, studies show that one in four college women will experience sexual assault over the course of their college career and it has been estimated that one in three Native American women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime. The National Crime Victimization Survey found that there were nearly 200,000 incidents of rape and sexual assault in the United States in one year alone.\n\nContrary to what many Americans believe, sexual violence does not just occur in dark alleys, perpetrated by weapon-wielding strangers. Often, a sexual violence offender is known by the victim, and the assaults are committed in places where the victim should feel the safest: at home or at a friend\u2019s home. Alarmingly, the 2006 National Violence Against Women Study found that only one in five of the victims assessed reported their rape to the police.\u00a0 There are a host of reasons for which many victims will never seek justice, including fear of not being believed, having to relive a traumatic experience, or fear of retribution, to list a few.\n\nDuring this month\u2019s awareness campaign we are shining a light on the crime of sexual assault, working to dismantle myths and transform misguided cultural attitudes and reactions about rape.\u00a0 Our staff will be participating in Sexual Assault Awareness Month Events in eleven states throughout the country.\u00a0 These events, coordinated by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and local sexual assault organizations and coalitions, will allow us to see some of the important work occurring in the field, as well as share OVW\u2019s national goal of ending sexual assault.\u00a0 The theme of this year\u2019s Sexual Assault Awareness Month, \u201cIt\u2019s time\u2026to get involved,\u201d encourages people across the United States to take ownership of the issue of sexual assault and promote responsible actions that ordinary citizens can take to intervene and prevent it.\u00a0We hope you will view the list of events on our website our website and attend one in your area.\n\nAdditionally, this past October, we were proud to collaborate with the White House Council on Women and Girls to host a first-ever Roundtable on Sexual Violence in the United States, beginning a national conversation about sexual violence: what it looks like now, and what we want to be able to accomplish in the next five years.\u00a0 This event brought together law enforcement, judges, survivors, prosecutors, medical professionals and federal employees from all across the country to heighten our discussions as well as develop a plan of action to address this heinous crime. While advocates and experts from the field discussed a public awareness campaign, federal experts were able to listen to the needs of the stakeholders on the ground and hear how the federal government can and should heighten their assistance to address sexual violence in America.\u00a0 The Roundtable allowed those in the field and at the national level to effectively communicate how each can help the other to achieve mutual success, both at the local and the national level, by establishing next steps to ultimately end sexual violence against women. Attached you will find a report documenting the important conversations that occurred during this Roundtable.\u00a0 In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we encourage you to circulate this document to your friends, families, and colleagues.\n\nThis year, in addition to the Roundtable and attached Roundtable report,\u00a0 OVW has launched the Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative (SADI), the first large scale project to determine best practices and needed action in reaching more sexual assault survivors and providing comprehensive sexual assault services. The vast majority of supportive services available to victims of sexual assault are currently offered through agencies that are not exclusively dedicated to serving sexual assault survivors, but are co-located or merged in agencies that are also providing services to domestic violence victims.\u00a0 Researchers have found that these agencies, also known as \u201cdual agencies,\u201d are often weighted heavily toward domestic violence crisis programming, with sexual assault receiving limited attention in terms of agency mission, budget, or dedicated staff with specific expertise in serving sexual assault victims. This is often reflected in the programming of the agency, and unfortunately, the number of sexual assault survivors served and the limited types of services provided to this population.\u00a0 The needs of sexual assault survivors are not the same as those of domestic violence survivors, and must be met with specialized care.\u00a0\u00a0 Dual agencies that seek to create significant institutional change in response to sexual assault are often faced with limited financial and organizational resources to adequately respond to the needs of sexual assault victims within their communities. SADI has been designed to address the challenges that dual agencies face in reaching sexual assault survivors within their communities.\n\nThrough the SADI, a limited group of dual agencies that demonstrate a desire to enhance sexual assault services and have the organizational capacity to effectuate change will be selected to participate as national SADI project sites.\u00a0 Using a strength based self-assessment, each of the SADI project sites will create an action plan to:\u00a0 1) increase outreach to those populations most likely experiencing sexual assault in their communities, but not currently accessing services; 2) develop models of service provision that prioritize the needs of sexual assault survivors beyond immediate crisis responses currently offered; and 3) assess the efficacy of those steps in increasing the numbers and types of sexual assault survivors who access those newly enhanced services. We anticipate that the SADI project site awards will be announced in the spring of 2011.\n\nFinally, the Office on Violence Against Women will continue to work to end sexual assault through its staff Sexual Assault Working Group, numerous sexual assault specific grant programs, and the commitment of the current Administration to end all violence, including sexual violence, against women.\u00a0 We are supported in our work by President Obama, Vice President Biden, Attorney General Holder, and countless United \u00a0States Attorneys and other elected officials in a commitment to find innovative ways to meet the needs of victims and hold offenders accountable.\u00a0President Obama became the first President to proclaim the month as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.\u00a0 He did this in April of 2009, a few months after entering office. He emphasized the need for \u201cincreased awareness about this issue [to] prevent future crimes, and aid victims.\u201d\u00a0 This year, President Obama continues his call to end Sexual Assault worldwide in his Presidential Proclamation, where he states:\nEach victim of sexual assault represents a sister or a daughter, a nephew or a friend. We must break the silence so no victim anguishes without resources or aid in their time of greatest need. We must continue to reinforce that America will not tolerate sexual violence within our borders. Likewise, we will partner with countries across the globe as we work toward a common vision of a world free from the threat of sexual violence, including as a tool of conflict. Working together, we can reduce the incidence of sexual assault and heal lives that have already been devastated by this terrible crime.
\nIn a country that has made such progress in addressing domestic violence, we feel the moral imperative to develop a national dialogue and national focus on ending sexual violence against all women. We hope this Sexual Assault Awareness Month will give us the opportunity to share our commitment across the country, in communities of all types, spreading the important message that sexual violence must end.\u00a0 As President Obama stated in April 2010: \u201cSexual violence is an affront against our national conscience, one which we cannot ignore.\u201d\u00a0 We hope this month, you will help us shine the light on this tragic crime, and assist in our efforts to give it the attention it desperately needs to ultimately be a part of our nation\u2019s history, and not its future.\n\nWith Hope,\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nOVW Director\nU.S. Department of Justice\n\nWe remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.",
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"body": "Dear Friends, Today, March 8, we join the global community in honoring both Women\u2019s History Month and the 100th Anniversary of International Women\u2019s Day. It is a fitting opportunity to reflect critically on how far we have come for equality, and the great strides we have made in ending violence against women internationally. In the United States, these two historic March celebrations provide a time to remember women\u2019s suffrage advocates like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony, who believed women had a voice, one that was important to be heard, before their male and female peers. It is a time to celebrate Elizabeth Blackwell and Rebecca Lee Crumpler who paved the way for equality for women in the medical field, regardless of both gender and race. It is a time to commemorate Arabella Mansfield and Ada H. Kepley and Sandra Day O\u2019Connor, who broke the glass doors of the court house to allow women to enter the field of law. It is a time to honor Margaret Chase Smith and Susanna Medora Salter and Nancy Pelosi, who gave women not just a voice at the ballot box, but in the decisions of city halls and the United States Congress as elected officials. As President Obama stated in his Presidential Proclamation of Women\u2019s History Month and International Women\u2019s Day:\n\nDuring Women's History Month, we reflect on the extraordinary accomplishments of women and honor their role in shaping the course of our Nation's history. Today, women have reached heights their mothers and grandmothers might only have imagined\u2026In honor of the pioneering women who came before us, and in recognition of those who will come after us, this month, we recommit to erasing the remaining inequities facing women in our day.
\n\nWe would be remised to celebrate only women advocates and omit others who have pursued in the quest for equality and to end violence against women. We honor the achievements of men like Vice President Joe Biden, who in 1994 had the commitment and conscience to take on this international atrocity by penning the Violence Against Women Act. We honor organizations across the country that are addressing issues of bystander, specifically male bystander, intervention and the importance of every member of a community being an advocate to stop sexual and domestic violence against women when they see it, and acknowledge its presence even when they don\u2019t see it. We celebrate President Obama\u2019s call to all agency leaders, men and women alike, to address these issues. As he stated in his Presidential Proclamation:
\n\nI have also called on every agency in the Federal Government to be part of the solution to ending violence against women, and they have responded with unprecedented cooperation to protect victims of domestic and sexual violence and enable survivors to break the cycle of abuse.
\n\nBut we also take this time to look to how far we have to go to create a world where women are empowered in all ways to end violence against women for future generations. Still today, in the United States, violence against women is a national epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control report that there are 1200 deaths and two million injuries to women from intimate partner violence each year. Nearly one in four women reports experiencing violence by a current or former spouse or boyfriend at some time in her life. These numbers increase when addressing the Indian Nations within the United States. Furthermore, during a 12 month period, an estimated 3.4 million persons age 18 or older will be victims of stalking. This year alone, nearly 5% of college women will be sexually assaulted in their campus community. Researchers estimate that about 18% of women in the United States report having been raped at some point in their lifetimes. Internationally, the atrocities of violence against women are far from solved. Across the world, at least one in three women and girls is domestically abused or sexually assaulted in her lifetime. Approximately four million women and girls are trafficked for prostitution annually. Reports of refugee women being raped as they search for firewood, or soldiers sexually abusing young girls in exchange for food, are rampant. Honor killings, bride burnings, dowry deaths, female genital mutilation and human trafficking are all too common. We have a great deal of work to do to end this violence, at home and abroad. As President Obama stated:
\n\nThis year, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day\u2026 This day reminds us that, while enormous progress has been made, there is still work to be done before women achieve true parity
\n\nAt the Office on Violence Against Women, we take every opportunity possible to engage the field, and our federal partners and colleagues, to end this violence. This past month we honored Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month with a specific event addressing the role of men in ending sexual violence and inequality for women. Specifically, the event explored the landscape of dating relationships among youth and the experience of teen dating abuse victims to better understand how messages of masculinity shape young men\u2019s view and treatment of women. We also focused on effective strategies for advocating for youth victims. The objective was to help educate Department of Justice employees who are parents, siblings, and friends of teens to better understand the emerging issues in youth relationships and the local resources available for parents and youth. Next month, we will take part in nationwide Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities, highlighting the importance of addressing these often un-discussed crimes. We encourage you to check our website later this month for a list of Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities, as well as ways you can get involved in Sexual Assault Awareness Month in your community. Finally, we are proud to announce the sixteen solicitations that OVW has posted this year for grant programs that provide funding for ending this violence nationwide. We encourage all potential grantees to visit the \u201cFunding Opportunities\u201d section of our website to find out more about potential grants available for these important programs. We will continue to roll out additional solicitations, so please check our website for frequent updates. This month, for Women\u2019s History Month and International Women\u2019s Day on March 8th, we hope you will join us in looking back at the many accomplishments and successes of the women\u2019s movement and the work to end violence against women. We also hope this month will encourage you to renew your commitment to these efforts, looking forward to a time when violence against women is a part of our history, not our present or future. With deep respect and gratitude, Susan B. Carbon OVW Director U.S. Department of Justice We remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
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"body": "Dear Friends, February is known nationwide as the month to show those around you how much you love and appreciate them.\u00a0 Be it friends, family, or your significant other, the short month of February is filled with the most love.\u00a0 As we demonstrate healthy displays of love to those in our lives, we at the Office on Violence Against Women will also be recognizing a very unhealthy epidemic facing our teens: teen dating violence. February marks the 2nd Annual Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month as dedicated by the US Senate.\u00a0 Each year, approximately one in four teens reports being the victim of teen dating violence, ranging from physical abuse, to stalking, to emotional abuse to sexual violence. Women age 16 to 24 experience the highest rates of rape and sexual assault, and people age 18 and 19 experience the highest rates of stalking.\u00a0 One in five high school girls has been physically or sexually abused, not by a stranger, but by a dating partner.\u00a0 This prevalence of teen dating violence is alarming and simply unacceptable. Teen dating violence is often unnoticed by parents, and even unrecognized as abnormal by those teens experiencing it.\u00a0 As President Obama stated in his Presidential Proclamation of Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, it takes place in both \u201ctypical\u201d and atypical mediums:
\n\nOur efforts to take on teen dating violence must address the social realities of adolescent life today.\u00a0 Technology such as cell phones, email, and social networking websites play a major role in many teenagers\u2019 lives, but these tools are something tragically used for control, stalking, and victimization.\u00a0 Emotional abuse using digital technology including frequent text messages, threatening emails, and the circulation of embarrassing messages or photographs without consent, can be devastating to young teens.
\n\nThe impacts of teen dating violence are real and can greatly disrupt teens\u2019 healthy development.\u00a0 Victims of dating abuse are more likely to engage in binge drinking.\u00a0 Moreover, rates of drug and alcohol abuse are more than twice as high in girls who report dating abuse than in those who do not. Abusive dating experiences can often disrupt normal development, self-esteem, and body image for girls who experience it during their critical teen years.\u00a0 Sadly, adolescents in abusive relationships often carry these unhealthy patterns of abuse into future relationships, continuing a devastating cycle. Teen dating violence affects teens and their families across the country, and it will take each and every one of us to stop it.\u00a0 We all must advocate for the young people in our lives, provide a safe space to report instances of teen dating violence, and set examples of healthy and appropriate displays of love, respect and affection.\u00a0 As President Obama stated:
\n\nThe time to break the cycle of teen dating violence is now, before another generation falls victim to this tragedy\u2026During National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month --- and throughout the year --- let each of us resolve to do our part to break the silence and create a culture of healthy relationships for all young people.
\n\nWe encourage you, and your teens, to visit our partner websites who are doing exciting and peer-focused work on this important issue.\u00a0 Break the Cycle (www.breakthecycle.org), the Texas Council on Family Violence/Teen Dating Abuse Hotline (www.loveisrespect.org), and the Family Violence Prevention Fund - That\u2019s Not Cool Initiative (www.thatsnotcool.com) are using innovative ways to address teen dating violence, working directly with teens to stop this wide-spread issue. At the end of last month, the Office on Violence Against Women held the inaugural meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women (NAC). The NAC was re-chartered in 2010 by the Attorney General. The purpose of this federal advisory committee is to provide advice and recommendations to the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services on how to improve the Nation\u2019s response to violence against women, with a specific focus on successful interventions with children and teens who witness and/or are victimized by domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.\u00a0 The Attorney General\u2019s goal for the NAC is to bring together experts, advocates, researchers, and criminal justice professionals for the exchange of innovative ideas and the development of practical solutions to help us address and prevent these serious problems.\u00a0 The members will also examine the relationship between children and teens who are witnesses to or victims of such violence and the overall public safety of communities across the country. At the inaugural meeting, our 15-member NAC heard from federal partners, including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services and other Offices throughout the Department of Justice on the important work being done to stop teen dating violence and other forms of violence against children and youth.\u00a0 As experts, researchers and advocates, our NAC members began important discussions about the essential next steps that need to be taken to address these issues and stop teen dating violence, and violence against women as a whole, in the future.\u00a0 The notes from the National Advisory Committee inaugural meeting will be available through the OVW website soon. Earlier in the week, the Attorney General\u2019s Defending Childhood Initiative held its first meeting of the eight demonstration sites that are working to develop comprehensive community-wide plans that will implement strategies to prevent, reduce and combat childhood exposure to violence.\u00a0 The initiative, which spans the age range of 0 to 18, is a Department wide effort that also has partnerships with other federal agencies including Health and Human Services and Education.\u00a0 Attorney General Eric Holder, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli and department officials led a discussion with representatives from the eight sites to discuss individual community strengths and challenges. The Office on Violence Against Women is proud of the work being done, in our Office and at the Department of Justice, as well as in the field, on these important issues.\u00a0 We hope, as you celebrate Valentine\u2019s Day with those you love, that you will take the time to educate yourself, and those around you, on how to break the cycle of violence for our children and youth. With deep respect and gratitude, Susan B. Carbon OVW Director U.S. Department of Justice We remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
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"body": "Dear Friends,\n\nThis past month I had the honor of attending and speaking at the 12th National Indian Nations Conference along with United States Attorney General Eric Holder and over 900 participants from the field. This conference brought together Native American victims, victim advocates, tribal leaders, victim service providers, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, medical providers, social services and mental health personnel, probation/corrections experts, and juvenile justice personnel, as well as federal and state agency representatives. Attendees shared their knowledge, experiences and ideas for developing programs that serve the unique needs of crime victims in Indian Country. Here, I was able to share some of the important work we, as well as our partners across the federal government, are doing to address issues of domestic violence and sexual assault in tribal communities.\n\nFor example, in 2010 the Office on Violence Against Women made its first 12 awards under the Tribal Sexual Assault Services Grant Program, totaling $3.6 million to help address sexual assault specifically in Indian nations. Also this year, through intra-agency work at the Department of Justice, we helped combine ten different Tribal grant programs into the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, or CTAS. Through the CTAS process, OVW awarded a total of $37.8 million to over 70 Tribal governments and their designees to address issues of violence in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.\n\nRecently, we provided funding for the establishment of a national clearinghouse on sexual assault for Native women; a one-stop shop where tribes can request on-site training and technical assistance on developing tribal sexual assault codes, establishing Sexual Assault Response Teams, and accessing tools to gain sexual assault forensic evidence collection certifications. Next year, we will fund as many as five tribes to participate in a special prosecution initiative in partnership with their local U.S. Attorney. This project will provide additional resources and authority to tribal prosecutors, who will be cross-designated as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys to bring domestic violence and sexual assault cases in tribal and federal court. These individuals will also help promote higher quality investigations, improve issue-specific trainings in tribal communities, and create better inter-governmental communication.\n\nThe Conference came on the heels of President Obama\u2019s groundbreaking signing of the Tribal Law and Order Act, which will greatly improve the Federal Government\u2019s ability to better understand, and address, public safety challenges in tribal nations with a specific focus on addressing issues of violence against women. Women in tribal communities are three and a half times more likely to be victims of violent crime. An astounding one in three American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped in her lifetime. As President Obama stated in November of 2009, \u201cThis is an assault on our national conscience that we can no longer ignore.\u201d We are proud to join with the White House to end these terrible crimes and look forward to the collaborative efforts of our office, the White House and the entire federal government to influence real social and legal change in these communities.\n\nThis month, we join the nationwide community in celebrating National Stalking Awareness Month. Stalking is a crime that is extremely complex, often misunderstood, and chronically under-reported. It is difficult to recognize, investigate and prosecute. Unlike other crimes, stalking is not an individual instance, but rather a series of acts that together comprise a general pattern of behavior. As President Obama stated in his proclamation of Stalking Awareness Month:\nStalking is a serious and pervasive crime that affects millions of Americans each year in communities throughout our country. Though we have gained a better understanding of stalking and its prevalence since the passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, this dangerous and criminal behavior is still often mischaracterized as harmless.
\nA study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows the astonishing prevalence of this crime: during a 12 month period, an estimated 3.4 million persons age 18 or older were victims of stalking. Stalking is a crime that affects every sect of a community: stalking impacts victims at home, at their places of employment, at social gatherings and other events, virtually anywhere a victim may go, including online in the form of cyberstalking.\n\nWhat is most misunderstood is the dangerous correlation between stalking and more violent crimes. Research shows that individuals who stalk their partners are four times more likely to physically assault their partners than non-stalkers and are six times more likely to sexually assault their partners. The overlap of stalking and femicide is shocking: 54% of victims reported stalking to police before they were killed by their stalker. Sadly, only 40% of stalking victims report this crime to police. It is essential that we work together to not only educate the public about the severity of this crime, but that we respond more effectively as a community. As President Obama further discussed in his proclamation of National Stalking Awareness Month:\nAs a Nation, we have made progress, but much work remains to respond to this criminal behavior. We must work together to educate the public about the potentially deadly nature of stalking, to encourage victims to seek help, to inform criminal justice professionals about the intersection of stalking and other dangerous crimes, and to support law enforcement in their efforts. I call on all Americans to learn to recognize the signs of stalking, acknowledge stalking as a serious crime, and urge those impacted not to be afraid to speak out or ask for help. Let us also resolve to support victims and survivors, and to create communities that are secure and supportive for all Americans.
\nFor more information about Stalking Awareness Month, we hope you will visit http://www.stalkingawarenessmonth.org/. Here, you will find resources for those impacted by this pervasive crime and actions that you can take in your community.\n\nFinally, on behalf of Office on Violence Against Women, I would like to wish you and yours a very Happy New Year. Let us endeavor to make every effort possible to bring peace and safety to our communities. It is our wish that every person be safe and secure, and live in a community that embraces and cares for everyone\u2019s well-being. May 2011 be a healthy and safe year for all.\n\nWith deep respect and gratitude,\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nOVW Director\nU.S. Department of Justice\n\nWe remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.",
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"body": "Dear Friends,\n\nThis past month, we joined the global community that recognized the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Each day, women and girls are attacked around the globe. Issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking are at epidemic proportions locally, as well as internationally. Across the world, at least one in three women and girls is domestically abused or sexually assaulted in her lifetime. Approximately four million women and girls are trafficked for prostitution annually. The Office on Violence Against Women and its partners are actively working to end these horrific crimes.\n\nThis past month the Office on Violence Against Women had the privilege of serving as the United States\u2019 official observers at the Council of Europe\u2019s Convention on Violence Against Women (the Council). There, we were able to contribute constructively to the important work of ending violence against women throughout Europe.\n\nThe Council had been charged with developing a visionary convention that would bind all 47 member-nations to provisions that will, collectively, bring an end to violence against women in Europe, specifically domestic violence, by the end of 2010. The final agreement is expected to be complete by the end of the year for subsequent ratification by all 47 countries in the Council. As observers, we were able to contribute thoughts and suggestions for the final document such as the importance of firearms restrictions in domestic violence civil and criminal cases, as well as protection orders. As we reported last month, the Office on Violence Against Women, in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, released new tools for communities to improve enforcement of protective orders. Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice will keep victims and their children safe by providing guidance to advocates, attorneys, judges, law enforcement officers and prosecutors to ensure that protective orders are issued, served and enforced throughout the United States. We offered this as an example of collaborative work in the United States that promotes a victim-centered approach to domestic violence and sexual assault cases. We are looking forward to the full dissemination and utilization of the document in the coming months. With President Obama\u2019s his remarks at Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we are proud to be setting the standard internationally on the use of civil protection orders.\n\nCommemoration of International Violence Against Women Day gives us pause to remember that all governments have more to do in fundamentally changing the way we address violence against women around the world.\u00a0 As Vice President Biden stated in his statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women:\nFor every woman who has been beaten in her own home, for the millions of women who have been raped as a weapon of war, for every girl who has been attacked on her way to school, for all of the children - girls and boys - who have witnessed this brutality, we must do better.
\nLast week, we also joined the international community in celebrating World AIDS Day. Nearly 33 million individuals worldwide are infected with HIV/AIDS, nearly half of them women. The face of global HIV/AIDS is quickly becoming young and female. More than 75% of youth living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa are young women and girls. In Indonesia, in 1989, women accounted for just 2.5 percent of all people living with HIV/AIDS according to the National Commission on AIDS. By 2009, women accounted for 25.5 percent of all cases.\n\nThe connection between the spread of this catastrophic virus and violence against women is undeniable. For the millions of women living with HIV/AIDS, sexual assault is often the cause of their infection. Studies have shown that women living with HIV are more likely to have experienced violence, and women who have experienced violence are at greater risk for HIV infection worldwide. The stigma of HIV-positive status tends to impact a victim\u2019s willingness to report violence. Dually, the stigma and fear of a victim\u2019s experience with sexual assault often impacts her willingness to report HIV status or seek testing, and further reducing the likelihood she will seek or receive services, thus perpetuating the vicious cycle.\n\nAs President Obama stated in his proclamation of World AIDS Day:\nMore than one million Americans currently live with HIV/AIDS in the United States, and more than 56,000 become infected each year. For too long, this epidemic has loomed over our Nation and our world, taking a devastating toll on some of the most vulnerable among us. On World AIDS Day, we mourn those we have lost and look to the promise of a brighter future and a world without HIV/AIDS.
\nOn a completely separate note, we are very excited to announce that our Office has moved. We are now located at 145 N Street NE, Suite 10W.121, Washington, DC 20530 along with many other parts of the Justice Department. Please be certain to make a note of our new address. All phone numbers, fax numbers, and e-mail addresses will remain the same.\n\nFinally, I would like to extend my best wishes to everyone for a healthy, safe and peaceful holiday season and New Year. All of us at OVW are grateful for all the work you do, every day, to create meaningful justice in your communities. We couldn\u2019t do it without you.\n\nHappy Holidays!\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nOVW Director\nU.S. Department of Justice\n\nWe remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.",
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"body": "Dear Friends,\n\nFirst and foremost, on behalf of the Office on Violence Against Women, let me congratulate all of our grantees and others in the field on a very successful Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Organizations from across the country spent this last month having important conversations, increasing awareness, and helping end domestic violence against women. We are proud of your efforts!\n\nAdditionally, it was an incredible honor for the White House to host an event centered on the Administration\u2019s unprecedented coordination across the Federal government to combat violence against women on October 27th. President Obama, Vice President Biden, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and Advisor on Violence Against Women Lynn Rosenthal addressed the need to continue to confront domestic and sexual violence in this country. The importance of better communication between law enforcement and direct service providers, enforcement of protective orders, and changing public attitudes were discussed at length. President Obama specifically highlighted the financial barriers of domestic violence and the need for emergency relocation and housing accommodations so that \u201cno one has to choose between a violent home and no home at all.\u201d\n\nOVW spent Domestic Violence Awareness Month continuing our work on this important issue, as well as adding multiple events to raise awareness and understanding. In partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, we released new tools for communities to improve enforcement of domestic violence protective orders. Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice will keep victims and their children safe by providing guidance to advocates, attorneys, judges, law enforcement officers and prosecutors to ensure that protective orders are issued, served and enforced throughout the United States. This Guide significantly updates and revises the original Guide for Effective Issuance & Enforcement of Protection Orders (aka The Burgundy Book) issued in 2005. It is available on our website.\n\nThe Office on Violence Against Women worked with Attorney General Holder to re-charter the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women (NAC) to provide advice and recommendations to the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services on how to improve the nation\u2019s response to violence against women, with a specific focus on successful interventions with children and teens who witness and/or are victimized by domestic violence or sexual assault. The committee includes highly regarded advocates, justice system and child welfare professionals, and researchers.\n\nJust prior to the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Defending Childhood Initiative was launched by Attorney General Eric Holder to protect children from the harmful consequences of experiencing and witnessing violence. The goals of the initiative are to prevent children\u2019s exposure to violence as victims and witnesses, mitigate the negative effects experienced by children exposed to violence, and develop knowledge about and increase awareness of this issue.\n\nOVW worked with the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to develop the \u201cSexual Assault Kit Backlog Action Research Project\u201d to identify long term solutions to eliminating the backlog of untested sexual assault kits that have not yet been submitted to a crime laboratory.\n\nIn partnership with the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) and other national organizations, OVW launched a new virtual resource for employers to address the impacts of domestic violence in the workplace. \u201cWorkplaces Respond to Domestic and Sexual Violence: A National Resource Center\u201d provides information, resources, tools, and technical assistance to employers and labor organizations to facilitate and encourage safer and more effective responses to employees who are victims of domestic, sexual and dating violence or stalking. The website can be found at: www.workplacesrespond.org.\n\nI am also pleased to report that in response to the tremendous need of victims to have access to competent legal services, the Department of Justice, with assistance from the White House, launched \u201cAccess to Justice for Domestic Violence Victims.\u201d The goal of this pilot project is to encourage more commitment from the private bar to provide pro bono legal services. Beginning in New Orleans and Baltimore, private law firms will hire law students who have participated in law school clinics and defer their start dates while they work at domestic violence service providers. The lawyers will help victims secure protective orders, navigate the family courts, and access safe housing.\n\nFinally, the Office on Violence Against Women held a Department of Justice-wide Domestic Violence event that included a viewing of \u201cTelling Amy\u2019s Story,\u201d a film produced by the Verizon Foundation and Penn State Public Broadcasting and released in May 2010, following a domestic violence homicide in College Park, PA that occurred in 2002. The film was followed by a facilitated discussion led by Detective Deirdri Fishel, featured in the film, about the importance of a coordinated, collaborative response to domestic violence.\n\nAs Domestic Violence Awareness Month has now closed, we begin our focus on April: Sexual Assault Awareness Month. When the Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1994, sexual assault was included as one of the crimes to be addressed. There is a general consensus, however, that for a variety of reasons, sexual assault has not received the same level of attention as has domestic violence. As a result, sexual assault remains a tragically pervasive and costly problem.\n\nIn preparation for what we hope to be a very effective Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, we wanted to begin a national conversation about sexual violence: what it looks like now, and what we want to be able to accomplish in the next five years. With this in mind, OVW was proud to collaborate with the White House Council on Women and Girls to host a first-ever national sexual violence Roundtable. Advocates, law enforcement, judges, survivors, prosecutors, medical professionals and federal employees travelled from all across the country to heighten our discussions as well as develop a plan of action to address this unacceptable epidemic. While advocates and experts from the field discussed a public awareness campaign, federal experts were able to listen to the needs of the stakeholders on the ground and hear how the federal government can and should heighten their assistance to address sexual violence in America. The Roundtable allowed those in the field and at the national level to effectively communicate how each can help the other to achieve mutual success, both at the local and the national level, by establishing next steps to ultimately end sexual violence against women.\n\nIt is clear from our discussions, as well as the comments from the champions of this cause in the White House, that awareness must be a cornerstone to our actions moving forward. For many community members our advocates and experts interact with each day, the myths of sexual violence are prevalent and hard to un-learn. Contrary to what many Americans believe, sexual violence does not just occur in dark alleys, perpetrated by strangers. Sadly sexual violence is often perpetrated by someone known to the victim, in places where the victim feels the safest, such as at home or at a friend\u2019s home. Sexual violence spans every demographic: every race, socioeconomic background, geographic location, sexual orientation, and age group. On average, one in six women will be sexually assault in her lifetime. For certain populations such as for women on college campus, in assisted living facilities and on Native American lands, this number increases to staggering levels. As President Obama stated: \u201cIt is simply unacceptable.\u201d\n\nIn a country that has made such progress in addressing domestic violence, it is a moral imperative that we develop a national dialogue and focus on ending sexual violence against all women, children and men. As we continue our multi-disciplinary conversations about sexual violence in America, we will be asking for assistance from every member of the community. It will require each and every one of us to end this tragic problem. And as Vice President Biden stated at the White House last month, \u201cIt\u2019s not about reducing; it\u2019s about ending.\u201d It\u2019s not only time, it\u2019s beyond time.\n\nWith deep respect and gratitude,\n\n\u00a0\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nOVW Director\nU.S. Department of Justice\n\nWe remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.",
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"title": "Message from Director Carbon: November 2010",
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"body": "Dear Friends,\n\nThis October, we at the Office on Violence Against Women are excited to observe the 23rd Annual Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Started in 1987 as a way to bring advocacy groups together around the common cause of ending violence against women, Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a time to recognize our achievements while drawing attention to the continuing needs for the movement to end violence against women. As President Obama stated in a proclamation announcing Domestic Violence Awareness Month:\nEnding domestic violence requires a collaborative effort involving every part of our society. Our law enforcement and justice system must work to hold offenders accountable and to protect victims and their children. Business, faith, and community leaders, as well as educators, health care providers, and human service professionals, also have a role to play in communicating that domestic violence is always unacceptable. As a Nation, we must endeavor to protect survivors, bring offenders to justice, and change attitudes that support such violence.
\nSixteen years after the Violence Against Women Act became law in 1994, we have made great strides in ending domestic violence. We have awarded millions of dollars in grants and cooperative agreements to organizations that help stop violence against women in all 50 states and every territory. We have raised awareness nationwide of the unsettling reality of the prevalence of domestic violence, and the breadth of its impact on all communities. Our battle to change social norms -- to make domestic violence simply unacceptable \u2013 has saved lives in every corner of the country. For this, we can be grateful, but the fight is long from over.\n\nOne in four women will be the victim of domestic violence in her life. About 10% of students nationwide report being physically hurt by an intimate partner in the past year. For African American women, and women in Indian Country, the statistics are even worse. Domestic violence is a reality they ought not have to face. No one should. And when we look at domestic violence in its most lethal form, almost one-third of female homicide victims that are reported in police records are killed by an intimate partner. Domestic violence is a chronically underreported crime. It is a travesty, and it must end.\n\nIn honor of this important month, the Office on Violence Against Women will be hosting a national consultation with tribes about the way the federal government can help end the epidemic of violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. Additionally, we will be meeting with grantees from across the country on various topics essential to ending violence against women: engaging men and youth, protecting children exposed to violence, addressing the needs of culturally specific communities, bridging the gap between domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy organizations, and engaging law enforcement and members of the court system to create a more safe and just system for victims, and one which will hold offenders accountable for their actions.\n\nThis month is a time for discussion, advocacy, new plans, and rejuvenated action. We hope you will join us in honoring this month by wearing purple on October 28th. We also hope this month will inspire you to talk to your friends and neighbors about the importance of raising awareness about the realities of domestic violence. Each year, an estimated 4.8 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner. These women are our family members, our colleagues, our neighbors and our friends. They are in every community, urban and rural; they cover every age and ethnic group, and every economic sphere, rich or poor. None of us is immune, but all of us must work to end this national tragedy. As President Obama concluded his proclamation of this important month:\nThis month \u2013 and throughout the year -- let each of us resolve to be vigilant in recognizing and combating domestic violence in our own communities, and let us build a culture of safety and support for all those affected\u2026 I call on all Americans to speak out against domestic violence and support local efforts to assist victims of these crimes in finding the help and healing they need.
\nI hope this month will be the time you answer this call to action.\n\nFinally, let me also take a moment to congratulate all of our recent grantee recipients. This year, the Office on Violence Against Women awarded over $365 million dollars to more than 750 organizations in communities across the country. I am humbled by the amazing work performed by each of these organizations. We at OVW are excited and privileged to help enable our grantees to tackle obstacles and achieve our shared goals of creating a nation free of fear, free of domestic violence.\n\nWith deep respect and gratitude,\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nOVW Director\nU.S. Department of Justice\n\nWe remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.",
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"body": "Dear Friends,\n\nSeptember means changing weather, falling leaves, new pencils and notebooks, and back to school. As thousands of college students make their way to their campus communities, some for the first time, we are reminded that not all college experiences end with positive memories. This year, nearly 5% of college women will be sexually assault in their campus community. Furthermore, over an entire academic career, approximately 1 in 4 college women will be the victim of some form of sexual assault.\n\nIt is important to note that these crimes do not just happen in the dark alleys and unlit streets outside the Quad or between the Library and Dining Hall. The perpetrator is not always a stranger met in an unfamiliar location. In fact, quite the opposite is the reality of campus sexual assault: At least 80% of all sexual assaults in campus communities are committed by an acquaintance of the victim. These crimes happen in dorm rooms with invited guests, at parties with friends in the next room, in seemingly safe and well lit places. Alarmingly, almost 60% of on-campus sexual assaults take place in what should be the safest of all locations: the victim\u2019s living quarters.\n\nThese statistics are sobering, and defy many perceptions of carefree, and crime-free, college campuses. Through a \u201cdon\u2019t talk to strangers\u201d culture, college women have been taught to be cautious as they walk alone at night in their new neighborhoods. But these staggering statistics show that \u201cstranger danger\u201d does not address this tragedy: college women must be equally cautious in their own homes and their own rooms with people they know.\n\nUnfortunately, these studies have also found that fewer than 5% of completed or attempted rapes are reported to law enforcement officials. That is to say less than 1 in 10 college women will tell law enforcement after they have been raped or after someone has attempted to rape them. Although these crimes are not shared with law enforcement, they are not unspoken. In nearly two-thirds of completed or attempted rape cases, the victim told another person about the incident, usually a friend instead of a campus official or law enforcement officer. Many said the experience was traumatic enough to share with a friend but \u201cnot serious enough to report\u201d and that it was \u201cnot clear that a crime was committed.\u201d For many college women, underreporting may stem from this lack of definition, both personally and campus-/nation- wide, of what \u201crape\u201d or \u201csexual assault\u201d means. When asked \u201chas anyone made you have sexual intercourse by using force or threatening to harm you or someone close to you?,\u201d of the respondents that answered \u201cyes,\u201d 48.8% did not consider what had happened to them rape or attempted rape.\n\nWe have a duty as a society to speak more openly and honestly about sexual assault, but this is an especially important mission on college campuses. In the last 5 years, the Office on Violence Against Women have awarded over $47 million to 91 different colleges and universities throughout the United States in order to end sexual assault on college campuses. These campuses are charged with providing sexual assault prevention training to every student, trainings law enforcement and staff on appropriate responses to sexual assault, and engaging the surrounding community and a comprehensive response to sexual assault using various campus communities and off- campus community assets. These campuses are doing their part to end violence against women on their college campuses, but it will take all of us to end the violence against women that occurs on college campuses in every part of the United States. It will take campus staff and faculty that train students on prevention, stopping the violence before it even begins. It will take law enforcement that creates safe environments for reporting. It will take trusted friends knowing when to encourage reporting of seemingly \u201cno-big-deal\u201d incidents. And it will take a campus dialogue about and national demystification of sexual assault. Of this year\u2019s freshman women, nearly 25% of them will be sexually assaulted by graduation. It will take each and every member of our national community, both on- and off- campus, to stop this unacceptable statistic.\n\nWith deep respect and gratitude,\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nOVW Director",
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"body": "Dear Friends, For the first time in its history, the Department of Justice observed June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day to raise awareness about the vulnerability of older people to domestic abuse and sexual violence.\u00a0 In ceremonial and educational events on both coasts, top Justice Department officials came together with workers in the field to raise awareness about the vulnerability of the elder population to abuse and violence.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\nEnding Abuse in Later Life
\n\nAs you may know, elder abuse victims face unique obstacles in getting the help and services they need. Age or disability may increase the isolation of older individuals. Victims may refrain from seeking help or calling the police due to shame or embarrassment, perhaps because the abuse was committed by an adult child or grandchild, spouse, friend or caregiver.\u00a0 Myths about sexual assault\u2013that only young women are raped, for example\u2013coupled with a failure to see older individuals as sexual beings can prevent medical and other professionals from recognizing indicators of sexual assault when they are dealing with older victims. Through its Abuse in Later Life Program, the Office on Violence Against Women has provided over $26 million in funding to 78 communities throughout the nation since 2002.\u00a0 An appropriate and comprehensive response to older victims must take into account the unique challenges these victims face and improve system-wide responses to older victims. A multidisciplinary approach, involving medical personnel, social service workers, law enforcement and the courts, is critically needed to address cases of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. \u00a0\u00a0You can find more information here: http://www.inpea.net/weaad.html .
\n\nViolence Against Women Act News
\n\nLast week, the Department of Justice clarified that the criminal provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) apply with equal force in cases when the victim and perpetrator are of the same sex.\u00a0 The Department is working to ensure that all U.S. Attorney offices are aware of the law\u2019s applicability to LGBT relationships.\u00a0 In addition to publishing an Office of Legal Counsel opinion on the subject, the Department has provided notice of the opinion to the U.S. Attorney offices.\u00a0 This confirms that Department of Justice prosecutors have access to all available tools to protect victims of domestic violence and stalking whether they be in same sex or opposite sex relationships. \u00a0\u00a0This does not represent a change in the law, nor will it narrow or otherwise impact VAWA\u2019s existing criminal applications.\u00a0 Rather, it clarifies to the extent that there was any doubt that VAWA is inclusive and protective of women and men, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.\u00a0\u00a0Congress is now getting ready to debate the 2011 Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.\u00a0 The Senate Judiciary Committee recently convened its first hearing on the reauthorization to discuss emerging issues and areas of improvement for legislation.\u00a0 You can view the entire hearing on the Senate Judiciary Committee\u2019s website and read my testimony.
\n\nFiscal Year 2010 Grants
\n\nThank you to everyone for submitting proposals for the Fiscal Year 2010 grant cycle.\u00a0 All of the program solicitations are now closed.\u00a0 Successful applicants will be notified of their grant awards by September 30, 2010.\u00a0 We will release Fiscal Year 2011 solicitations beginning in late fall to early winter.\u00a0 Please check OVW\u2019s website for updates.
\n\nCatherine Pierce
\n\nI would like to let all of you know that Catherine Pierce has recently joined the Justice Department\u2019s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), to focus specifically on issues related to girls, something which has been a passion of hers for years. This is an exciting new venture for her, after having spent most of the past 15 years here at OVW. This work, and our field, has tremendously benefited from her passion, creativity, and dedication to eliminating crimes of violence against women and caring compassionately for survivors. We are enormously grateful to her for her years of service and leadership in the field. Please join us in wishing her well in her new position at OJJDP. With deep respect and gratitude, Susan B. Carbon OVW Director U.S. Department of Justice
\n",
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"body": "Dear Friends,\n\nIt is my pleasure to continue the Director\u2019s monthly messages and share with you the latest news from the Office on Violence Against Women.\u00a0 To say that I am honored to have been appointed by President Barack Obama as Director of this Office is an understatement.\u00a0 It is the most exciting and humbling experience of my life.\u00a0 When I began working with OVW 15 years ago on a technical assistance project to train judges around the country, I never thought I would have such an extraordinary opportunity to be here, doing work I love so much.\n\nAll of us in the field have taken different journeys that have brought us to this important work.\u00a0 Mine began in March of 1993 when my state\u2019s Chief Justice asked me to be part of the five-member team that traveled to San Francisco for the Courts and Communities:\u00a0 Confronting Violence in the Family Conference.\u00a0 Those four days in San Francisco quite literally changed my life.\n\nAt that conference, I was exposed, for the first time, to the pervasiveness of violence against women.\u00a0\u00a0 I learned about issues I\u2019d never dreamt existed and horrors no person ought ever to be subjected.\u00a0 I left the conference completely exhausted, but left it a changed person.\u00a0 I left it having learned that judges could be a part of the solution \u2013 indeed, that judges had to be a part of the solution, and I wanted to be one of those making the necessary change happen.\n\nOver the next 15 years, I spent much of my professional life working with judges, advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, legislators, teachers, medical and mental health professionals, public and private attorneys, including members of the defense bar, child protective services, elder services, the faith community, and other community leaders to educate our state about domestic and sexual violence, and to institute necessary changes in our laws and court rules.\u00a0 I had the privilege of working not only in New Hampshire, but around the country with many of our Technical Assistance Providers and around the world.\n\nI would like to take a moment of personal privilege in this first monthly message to thank so many for their support.\u00a0 First, I am honored beyond words to have been selected by President Obama.\u00a0 But I know that without the support of Vice President Biden, I would not be here.\u00a0 I cannot thank them enough for their trust and confidence.\u00a0 Upon my arrival, Attorney General Holder and Associate Attorney General Perrelli have so warmly welcomed me to the Department of Justice, as have so many others within the Department.\u00a0 Their leadership and support of our work is extraordinary.\u00a0 And my colleagues here at the Office \u2013 an immensely talented and dedicated group of professionals with whom I now have the pleasure of working.\u00a0 We have all benefited from their vision and commitment.\n\nThere are two individuals in particular from New Hampshire for whom I wish to publically acknowledge, my Administrative Judge, the Honorable Edwin W. Kelly, and our state\u2019s Chief Justice, the Honorable John T. Broderick, Jr.\u00a0 Both have been exemplary mentors and visionary leaders who have supported me in my work within New Hampshire and elsewhere for so many years.\n\nMy family and dearest friends are too numerous to identify by name, but know who they are.\u00a0 To all of you, I am deeply indebted.\n\nTo everyone in the field, know that I appreciate the magnitude of responsibility of this position.\u00a0 I am humbled by the support that I have been given, and will endeavor to do my level best to serve the needs of victims and survivors, young and old, and from every corner.\n\nIn the months ahead, I hope to use these monthly messages to highlight exciting and promising programs inspired both within this Office and Department of Justice, and from all of you in the field.\u00a0 I envision this work as a genuine partnership with all of you, and am excited to both begin my new role, and to continue the tradition of leadership this Office has demonstrated for 15 years.\n\nIn my first three weeks as Director, Attorney General Eric Holder and Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli hosted the first-ever Department of Justice Sexual Assault Awareness Month program on April 12th in the Great Hall of Justice here in Washington, DC.\u00a0 I also traveled to Jacksonville, Florida to visit a national model for coordinated military-civilian community responses to sexual assault and domestic violence, a project sponsored by the Battered Women\u2019s Justice Project.\u00a0 Read more from the Attorney General and the Associate Attorney General, and more on my trip to Jacksonville.\n\nNow, 15 years after its original passage, we have an historic opportunity to bring to fruition to the dream that inspired the Violence Against Women Act.\u00a0 None of us is immune from sexual or domestic violence, but all of us are needed to end it.\u00a0 Let us forge new and stronger partnerships, put our issues on the front burner of everyone's agenda, and give life and light to this dream.\u00a0 I thank you for all you have done, and look forward to all we will do together.\n\nWith deep respect and gratitude,\n\nSusan B. Carbon\nOVW Director\nU.S. Department of Justice",
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"body": "This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Annual Attorney General\u2019s Awards. I feel privileged to announce that Ellen Pence and Marnie Shiels received awards at the Attorney General\u2019s Awards ceremony held on October 17, 2012. Ellen was honored with The Attorney General\u2019s Award for Meritorious Service and Marnie received The Attorney General\u2019s Award for Distinguished Service.\n\nThe Attorney General\u2019s Award for Meritorious Service\n\nThe Attorney General\u2019s Award for Meritorious Service is the top public service award granted by the Department of Justice and is designed to recognize the most significant contributions of citizens and organizations that have assisted the Department in the accomplishment of its objectives. Only one Meritorious Public Service Award was recommended this year and it is both with great pride and a heavy heart that I announce that Dr. Ellen Pence, Founder and Executive Director of Praxis International, Inc. was posthumously awarded The Attorney General\u2019s Award for Meritorious Public Service for her \u201cOutstanding Dedication to Ending Violence Against Women and Children.\u201d\u00a0\n\nDr. Ellen Pence was an advocate, social activist, mentor, and leader in the battered women\u2019s movement for over 35 years. Since 1975, she focused her work on legal reform efforts, particularly in the areas of domestic violence, child protection, housing, and welfare reform.\u00a0Ellen received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Toronto in 1996, the same year she founded Praxis International. Her commitment to eliminating violence in the lives of women and children was unparalleled and felt by all of those impacted by her work. Ellen\u2019s partner, Amanda McCormick, accepted the award on her behalf.\n\nThe Attorney General\u2019s Award for Distinguished Service\n\nMarnie Shiels, an Attorney Advisor in the Office on Violence Against Women, is one of thirteen recipients of The Attorney General\u2019s Award for Distinguished Service for her involvement in the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Working Group.\u00a0The Attorney General\u2019s Award for Distinguished Service is the Department of Justice\u2019s second highest award for employee performance.\n\nI am thrilled to announce these special recognitions and can think of no two people more deserving!",
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"body": "Unless Congressional action is taken, funding for federal government operations expires at midnight EDT on Monday, September 30, 2013.\u00a0 Should a lapse in federal government funding occur, the effect will be far-reaching.\u00a0\u00a0 Most offices across the federal government will be seriously impacted as a result of the lapse.\u00a0 However, consistent with the Department of Justice (DOJ) Contingency Plan, a determination has been made that the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has sufficient resources to remain operational through Monday, October 7, 2013.\u00a0 As a result, OVW will be available to assist grantees, stakeholders, and the public during this period; however, our ability to meet grantee needs will be affected by the impact the lapse has on other DOJ components and federal agencies.\u00a0 Should the federal government experience a lapse in appropriation that is longer than five business days, we will reassess our ability to remain open and provide you with updated guidance.\u00a0 We are aware that many of you may have additional questions regarding how a potential lapse in the federal appropriation would affect your grant/cooperative agreement, even if OVW is able to remain open.\u00a0\u00a0 Below are responses to some of the most frequent questions we have received:\u00a0 Continuation of Grantee Activities under Existing Grants\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 Will I be able to continue activities and projects funded under my existing OVW grants or cooperative agreements during a period of a federal government funding lapse?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 Yes. Grantee activities and projects funded under existing grants will generally be able to continue to the extent the grantee has funding available (see note below regarding \u201cGrantee Requests for Payments\u201d.\u00a0 The exception to this guidance would be if federal employee involvement is critical to the project being carried out or proceeding to the next step. \u00a0If the federal employee involved is an OVW staff member, then things should proceed as planned for the short term. OVW will be available to conduct all normal business.\u00a0 \u00a0However, if the federal employee is not with OVW, their availability will be determined by their agency.\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 Will grantee-sponsored events (such as conferences, meetings, and trainings) scheduled during the period of a federal government funding lapse be affected?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 No. Grantee-sponsored events (e.g., conferences, meetings, trainings) scheduled during a potential funding lapse generally will not be affected and can proceed as planned.\u00a0 The exception to this guidance would be if federal employee participation in these meetings or training is critical in order for these events to proceed.\u00a0 This could include federal employee involvement to carry out the event or provide oversight/guidance.\u00a0\u00a0 Again, if the federal employee is an OVW staff member, things should proceed as planned.\u00a0 However, if employees of other federal agencies are involved, the status of the agency and the particular employee will determine their availability.\u00a0 Grantee Requests for Payments\u00a0 As you may know, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) manages the Grant Payment Request System (GPRS) and the Grants Management System (GMS).\u00a0 OVW utilizes both systems in the management of OVW\u2019s grants and cooperative agreements.\u00a0 Should a lapse in federal appropriation extend past October 4, 2013, OJP will not have sufficient resources to remain operational and will therefore convert to a furlough and shut down status, ceasing all operations, including operation of GMS and GPRS.\u00a0 Please note:\u00a0 under the normal payment system schedule associated with end of the fiscal year activities, there are no grant payments between September 25th and October 2nd.\u00a0 Payments requested through GPRS from September 25th through October 2nd will be paid October 3rd. \u00a0Payments requested before October 4, 2013 will be paid October 4th.\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 Will I be able to request payments and draw down funds after October 4, 2013?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 No.\u00a0 The Grant Payment Request System (GPRS) will not be available to users should OJP experience a period of a funding lapse.\u00a0 Please note: payments requested before Friday, October 4th will be paid October 4th.\u00a0 Grants Management System (GMS) and Grant Administration Activities\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 Will GMS and the GMS Help Desk be available after October 4, 2013?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 No. The Grants Management System (GMS) will not be available to users.\u00a0 Users will not have access to apply for funds, submit progress and Federal Financial Reports (FFRs), request grant adjustment notices, submit closeout actions, or respond to on-site monitoring issues for resolution.\u00a0 Likewise, the GMS Help Desk will not be available to users.\u00a0 As a reminder, OVW\u2019s GMS support can be reached via email at Ovw.gmssupport@usdoj.gov or by calling 866-655-4482![\"\"](\"/image/png%3Bbase64%2CiVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAQCAYAAAAf8/9hAAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAIGNIUk0AAHolAACAgwAA%2Bf8AAIDpAAB1MAAA6mAAADqYAAAXb5JfxUYAAAKLSURBVHjadJPfS5NhFMe/21xvuhXRyJAZroiSrJnbRdT7vrAf5HBaK5RABmEEwQIvkpZ/QRcWXdSFw5soKaF0F7qZeLO13mGBDpQsf5CoxVKHOt0Pctp2uvEdrzG/V%2Bc553w/54HnPDIiQiGpPMETABoB2AAYd9MRAMMAvGmX%2BRcAyAoBVJ7gZQDtABworH4AHWmX%2BbOMZdkjCoXiUzabvcAwzPSsob5p/VTNY9GcdpnxdmYZ9wJThSCtCr1e/4XjuNPd3d1KjUZzaGbI27ysqzGQoggAsLa1A7ehArrDxfDNr0oBlQB%2BwmKxbJFEL968SxoamsjkHaPU9l9piUo6A0RE1DG2QCWdASrpDAzJM5kMI8XecdjVxfEl%2BK9dxFgsgUvvR6HyBKHyBAEATyKLeGSsENuNcqk5kUjEGm7fzcYqr0ClVODl99%2BYXEvl6%2Bc1amjVe%2BahiGGYaUEQKnmeh91uL43rqheixjpdmzCL11er0PcjhrTLvMfUJsyKYUSeyWQ6enp6tgCgrKxsfbP8bB8AdE1G89cOReMAgOv%2BCag8QXRNRkXAsDwcDr%2Bam5tLCYKA3t7eo2dG%2B1vVK/MfpRPtA%2BMIReMYaKj%2B/xm9MiICx3EmpVL5wefzFavValis1u1vvHMkdfykCQC0kSGUTo%2BAjmnx1dSC7IGD%2BUUCEYGIwLKsyWazrSeTSSIiMpnNf7Ttz5%2Bec96fr7/VnE0mk%2BQfHMzV3WjcKH/4rEr05QGFIA6HY4llWRLPRER%2Bv3/HYrFMFQSIkNra2tVQKJSlfcSyLO0LECFWq3XF6XRGA4HAptTsdrsXeZ6fEHtl%2B31nAOA4rkUulz/I5XL63dQGgHEAN8Ph8AYA/BsAt4ube4GblQIAAAAASUVORK5CYII%3D\" "\\"")
.\u00a0 Should you need GMS assistance prior to the close of business on October 4th, we encourage you to contact OVW GMS support.\u00a0 QUESTION: \u00a0Will the OVW Grants Financial Management Division or my OVW program specialist be available to answer questions or provide assistance during a period of a federal government funding lapse?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \u00a0OVW staff will be available during their regular business hours. \u00a0However, if the lapse extends beyond October 7, 2013, OVW and the Department will need to reassess the ability of OVW to remain open.\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 Will I be able to submit Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) or progress reports after October 4, 2013?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 No.\u00a0 The Grants Management System (GMS) will not be available to accept progress reports and Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) during a period of a Federal government funding lapse for OJP.\u00a0 Please note:\u00a0 To provide adequate time to grantees to prepare and submit their Federal Financial Reports (FFR) due on October 30, 2013 for the period July 1\u2013September 30, the deadline will be extended by the number of days GMS is not available due to the funding lapse. OVW On-site Monitoring Visits\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 Will an OVW programmatic on-site monitoring visit scheduled during a period of a federal government funding lapse still occur?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 However, if the site-visit is scheduled to take place after October 7, 2013, and the federal government funding lapse continues, OVW will need to reassess its ability to remain open and conduct monitoring visits. Recovery Act Recipient Reporting\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 As a Recovery Act funding recipient, will I be required to report to FederalReporting.gov during the current recipient period of October 1 -14, 2013?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 The FederalReporting.gov and their Help Desk will not be impacted by a federal government lapse in funding and will remain open and fully operational during the October reporting cycle.\u00a0 Please visit FederalReportingHelpDesk@ratb.gov for assistance and additional guidance regarding submission of your report.\u00a0 Applying for OVW Open Solicitations\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 Will I be able to submit funding applications for open solicitations through GMS after October 4, 2013?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 No.\u00a0 GMS will not be available after October 4th to accept funding applications; however, OVW does not have any open solicitations at this time.\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 Will I be able to submit funding applications for open solicitations through Grants.gov during the period of a Federal government funding lapse?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Grants.gov will be available to accept applications for open solicitations; however, OVW does not have any open solicitations at this time. OVW Website\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 Will I be able to access information from the OVW website?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 However, the website will not be updated during the period of a federal funding lapse. Questions about this Guidance\u00a0 Question:\u00a0 If I have a question relating to this guidance or the impact of a federal government funding lapse on my grants, who can I contact to assist me?\u00a0 Response:\u00a0 Federal government employees will be available to assist you while the federal government is open; and should the federal government experience a lapse in appropriation, OVW staff will remain available to answer your questions. \u00a0However, if the lapse extends beyond October 7, 2013, OVW and the Department will need to reassess the ability of OVW to remain open.\u00a0 Please contact your OVW program specialist using contact information provided in your award document.\u00a0 If your program specialist is not available, please contact the OVW main number at 202-307-6026.\u00a0 Please note that at such a time as there is a lapse in appropriation, federal staff in other offices may not be available to answers questions.\u00a0 We realize the inconvenience this may cause and will do everything we can to be responsive with reduced resources. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
\n",
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"title": "Potential Lapse in Federal Government Funding",
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"body": "- \n\t
505,000: The number of victims who were assisted by the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program, a project of the Office of Violence Against Women.
\n\t \n\t- \n\t
1,201,000: The number of services provided to these victims in communities across America as a result of the grants awarded by the Office of Violence Against Women\u2019s STOP program.
\n\t \n\t- \n\t
4,700: The number of individuals arrested for violations of protection orders intended to prevent violence against woman under the STOP program.
\n\t \n
This data, from 2007, is startling, because we know it only represents a fraction of the women who are victims of violence. One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year, and one in six women will experience an attempted or completed rape at some time in her life.
\n\n\u00a0
\n\nThat is why today, President Obama issued a
Presidential Proclamation lauding the 15th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act:
\u00a0
\n\nThis bipartisan accomplishment has ushered in a new era of responsibility in the fight to end violence against women. In the 15 years since VAWA became law, our Nation's response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking has strengthened. Communities recognize the special needs of victims and appreciate the benefits of collaboration among professionals in the civil and criminal justice system, victim advocates, and other service providers. With the support of VAWA funds, dedicated units of law enforcement officers and specialized prosecutors have grown more numerous than ever before. Most importantly, victims are more likely to have a place to turn for help -- for emergency shelter and crisis services, and also for legal assistance, transitional housing, and services for their children.
\n\n\u00a0
\n\nIn 1994, then Senator Joe Biden authored this landmark legislation. \u00a0Created in recognition of the severity of the crimes associated with domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, it led to the creation of the Department of Justice\u2019s Office on Violence Against Women.
\n\n\u00a0
\n\nThis critical component of the Justice Department administers a wide variety of financial and technical assistance to communities around the country. These grants than facilitate the creation of programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking \u2013 programs like the STOP program.
\n\n\u00a0
\n\nToday the Department of Justice marks the start of a year-long anniversary effort to raise public awareness on issues around violence against women, to reinforce and build coalitions among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and victim services communities, and to reinforce the goal of ending domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking for men, women and children across the country.\u00a0
\n\n\u00a0
\n\nAttorney General Holder noted the Act\u2019s importance to the Department of Justice:
\n\n\u00a0
\n\n\"The Violence Against Women Act forever changed the way this nation meets our responsibility to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.\u00a0It has been an essential building block in the Justice Department\u2019s work to end violence against women. The Justice Department will continue to take every possible step to enforce laws protecting victims of violence and to provide resources to aid victim service providers.\"
\n\n\u00a0
\n\nOver the last 15 years, the Violence Against Women Act, and the work done by the Office of Violence Against Women, has created a paradigm shift in how the issue of violence against women is addressed in communities throughout the nation, but there is still work to do.
\n\n\u00a0
\n\nAs Vice President Biden said today:
\n\n\u00a0
\n\n\"We\u2019ve made tremendous progress since the Violence Against Women Act first passed in 1994, but we have much more to do.\u00a0We cannot rest.\u00a0It will take all of us to fulfill the promise to end domestic violence and sexual assault.\"
\n\n\u00a0
\n\n\n\n\u00a0
\n",
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"date": "1252900800",
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"teaser": [],
"title": "15 Years Later",
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