Features
Launch of Coaching Boys into Men in Asia
March 8, 2010 Well-known cricket coaches and players in Mumbai, India are beginning to educate boys to treat girls with respect and recognize that violence is wrong, thanks to a new program that is based on lessons learned through the Family Violence Prevention Fund's (FVPF's) groundbreaking Coaching Boys into Men initiative. The new Parivartan pilot program launched in India on March 8 - International Women's Day. [...]
Graduate Internship Program
The National Health Initiative encourages medical, nursing, public health, social work, psychology, health care administration, or other health care related graduate students (includes law, media, policy, or business students with a health care focus) to apply for its Health Care and Domestic Violence Graduate Internship Program. The internship allows a student to spend up to 12 months interning with the FVPF in its San Francisco office. [...]
CA Legislator Names Soler "Woman of the Year"
California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has selected Esta Soler, founder and president of the Family Violence Prevention Fund, as his 2010 Woman of the Year. “I am proud to announce Esta Soler, one of the world’s foremost experts on violence against women and children, to be Woman of the Year for Assembly District 13.” Ammiano said. “Esta is a pioneer who founded the Family Violence Prevention Fund nearly 30 years ago and made it one of the world’s leading violence prevention agencies.” [...]
Support the International Violence Against Women Act on International Women’s Day
Today, March 8 is International Women’s Day. Events are being held around the globe today and throughout the week to shine a spotlight on the challenges facing women and girls worldwide. The theme of this year’s celebration is, “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All.” The FVPF is urging people to reach out to their Representatives and Senators today and all week to urge them to co-sponsor the International Violence Against Women Act which would, for the first time, make stopping violence against women and girls a priority in American diplomacy and foreign aid. [...]
Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Gun Case
On March 2 the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case addressing gun control laws that could have a significant impact on victims of domestic and sexual violence. At stake in McDonald v. Chicago is whether it is constitutional for cities and states to prohibit the sale and possession of handguns. These bans are especially important to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, because guns can dramatically escalate the danger they face. [...]
Support I-VAWA:Go to the Movies Tonight!
Get ready for International Women’s Day and support the International Violence Against Women Act by attending a special one-night-only event in movie theatres around the country today, Thursday, March 4. “Half the Sky Live” will be shown at 450 theaters in the United States and Canada this evening at 7:30 PM. It was inspired by stories from the critically-acclaimed book, Half the Sky, by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. [...]
Home Visitation Programs Can Help More Families if They Address Domestic Violence
With Congress considering a substantial investment in home visitation programs, they should be refined to more purposefully address the needs of mothers and children at risk for domestic violence, as well as the link between domestic violence and child abuse/neglect. That is the conclusion of Realizing the Promise of Home Visitation: Addressing Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment, a new brief released at a Capitol Hill briefing in February. [...]
New Contest Encourages Teens to Get Creative & Draw Their Digital Line
That’s Not Cool is currently sponsoring a “Callout Card” Contest that asks students to create an original design that calls out what they think is cool, or not cool, in a relationship. That’s Not Cool uses digital examples of control, pressure and threats online and by cell phone to encourage teens to draw their own line about exactly what is, or is not, acceptable relationship behavior. [...]
International Violence Against Women Act Introduced in House & Senate
Violence prevention experts and human rights advocates cheered Thursday when Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Representatives William Delahunt (D-MA), Ted Poe (R-TX) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), spoke at a Capitol Hill event celebrating the introduction of the International Violence Against Women Act. This groundbreaking legislation would, for the first time, make stopping violence against women and girls a priority in American diplomacy and foreign aid. [...]
Team Decisionmaking and Domestic Violence
An advanced domestic violence curriculum and guidelines for Team Decisionmaking (TDM) facilitators and child protection supervisors on safely preparing for and managing effective meetings, engaging parents around DV issues, assessing the impact of children’s exposure to DV, and making decisions and plans to increase safety for children and battered mothers. [...]
Study: Many Victims of Partner Violence Experience Reproductive Coercion
A groundbreaking study released this week sheds light on a little-recognized form of abuse in which men use coercion and birth control sabotage to cause their partners to become pregnant against their wills. The study, published in the January issue of Contraception, finds this kind of reproductive control to be especially common in relationships in which women experience physical or sexual partner violence. [...]
Project Connect
The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) has chosen ten sites in nine states for a groundbreaking two-year violence prevention initiative designed to improve the health and safety of women and children. Project Connect: A Coordinated Public Health Initiative to Prevent Violence against Women is funded by the Office on Women’s Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It will find new ways to identify, respond to and prevent domestic and sexual violence, and promote an improved public health response to abuse. Project Connect funding stems from the health provisions in the Violence against Women Reauthorization Act of 2005. [...]
New International Center for Family Violence Prevention Fund
FVPF's new international center will function as a vibrant base for global action through groundbreaking programs that engage the public, facilitate dialogue and collaboration, and train the leaders who will help build safer, healthier, and more civil societies everywhere. Here, on the Main Post of San Francisco’s historic Presidio, we are transforming Building 100, a barracks where military bands once practiced songs that rallied troops on their way to war, into a center for generating peaceful alternatives to violence. [...]
Pelosi, Kidman, Torre Help FVPF Break Ground on New International Center
Demonstrating a powerful commitment to end violence, leaders from government, entertainment and sports joined experts and survivors when the Family Violence Prevention Fund broke ground on its new international conference center and exhibition hall on January 8. The star-studded ceremony featured House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, actress Nicole Kidman appearing on behalf of UNIFEM, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre, and actress Joan Chen, among others. [...]
Half of 14- to 24-Year Olds Have Experienced Digitally Abusive Behavior, Survey Finds
MTV has unveiled a new multi-year initiative that will use shows, contests and online tools to try to stop the spread of sexting and cyberbullying. To coincide with the initiative’s launch, MTV and the Associated Press released a new online survey which finds that 50 percent of 14- to 24-year-olds have been the target of some form of digital abuse, and nearly one in three have sent or received nude photos of other young people on their cell phones or online. [...]
Start Strong Youth Meet with Cabinet Officials
On December 3, United States Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan discussed the impact of dating violence and the kinds of prevention strategies that are needed with teen leaders, parents and program directors from Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation administered by the Family Violence Prevention Fund. [...]
Solutions for Unions
Union Responses: Making a Difference for Members
Domestic violence is a workplace issue and that makes it a union concern. And, like many of the other workplace health and safety issues that unions tackle for the benefit of their members, domestic violence is a serious, recognizable and preventable problem. Domestic violence affects a significant number of union members. One of three women in the U.S. reported being a victim of violence at the hands of an intimate partner at some time in their lives. [...]
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
November 25 marks the International Day to End Violence, and the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. During the 16 Days, individuals and groups around the world are asked to help raise awareness of gender-based violence and show their support for global efforts to end violence against women and girls.
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A Door Opens for Battered Asylum-Seekers
In late October, the Obama Administration’s Department of Homeland Security signaled that the government is open to considering asylum claims from women fleeing severe domestic violence when it recommended that a San Francisco immigration court grant asylum to Rody Alvarado Peña, whose case has been in and out of United States immigration courts for 14 years. While the action applies only to Alvarado Peña’s case, experts are calling it is a major step toward defining the legal grounds on which battered and sexually abused women from foreign countries can seek protection in the United States. [...]
House Subcommittee Examines International Violence Against Women
In late October, for the second time that month, powerful voices came to Capitol Hill to ask for stronger measures to stop violence against women worldwide and to press for passage of the International Violence Against Women Act. At an October 21 hearing before the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, violence prevention experts including U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer and actress and UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman discussed the violence experienced by women and girls around the world. [...]
Solutions for Small and Large Employers
When it comes to workplace solutions to domestic violence, one size does not fit all. Employers have their own policies, goals, structures, workforces and cultures, and must develop their own responses. In this section, you will find a range of solutions and implementation methods – some very basic, some more comprehensive.
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House Health Reform Bill Contains Key Domestic Violence Provisions
The Family Violence Prevention Fund is praising the U.S. House of Representatives for including in its health reform bill a key prevention initiative that will advance the health care system’s response to domestic violence and curb the tremendous health costs that result from it. The legislation, passed on November 7, requires private insurers and the new Health Insurance Exchange to reimburse health care providers who assess patients for domestic violence and provide brief counseling and referrals. [...]
National Conference on Health & Domestic Violence
Some 750 of the world’s leading medical, public health and family violence experts were in New Orleans this past October for the 2009 National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence to examine new research and strategies to prevent violence and help victims. The Conference was presented by the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF). [...]
Judge Carbon to Direct Office on Violence Against Women
President Barack Obama has named Judge Susan B. Carbon to direct the federal Office on Violence Against Women. Judge Carbon is well-known to many domestic violence and child welfare experts for her longtime work to improve the judicial and social service response to families experiencing multiple forms of violence. First appointed to the bench in 1991, Judge Carbon has been a Supervisory Judge of the New Hampshire Judicial Branch Family Division since 1996. She also serves as faculty for the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence – a partnership of the OVW, the FVPF, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. [...]
Congress Continues Focus on Global Violence Against Women
Award-winning actress and UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman, and U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, are scheduled to testify Wednesday on violence against women and girls around the world before a key House Subcommittee. This is the second congressional hearing in a month on the issue. On October 1, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held its first-ever hearing on global violence against women and girls. [...]
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Events
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and across the country, advocates are joining health care providers, business leaders, policy makers, faith-based groups, college students and others at events and activities designed to educate the public about domestic and sexual violence. Activities include national campaigns, events like the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence on October 8 to 10 in New Orleans, and state and local activities of all kinds. [...]
Local Domestic Violence Awareness Month Activities
Across the nation, experts and those who work with victims of domestic, dating and sexual violence are planning Domestic Violence Awareness Month events that educate the public, inspire action, and tell victims about the help and services that are available. While the activities come in all shapes and sizes, the goals are often the same: to raise awareness about the prevalence and cost of domestic and sexual violence, the need for prevention, and the services that are available to victims and their families. [...]
Young Women at Highest Risk for Rape, Sexual Assault
Rape and sexual assault remain serious problems in the United States and the vast majority of victims are women, with those ages 16 to 24 experiencing the highest rates of this violence, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Released this week, Criminal Victimization, 2008 finds, “The greatest disparity between violent crimes committed against males and females in 2008 was in the percentage committed by intimate partners.” [...]
Child and Family Service Review Outcomes: Strategies to Improve Domestic Violence Responses in CFSR Program Improvement Plans
This guide can help stakeholders develop effective Program Improvement Plans based on the CFSR review outcomes in order to increase safety, permanency, and well-being in domestic violence cases, and to identify or anticipate related technical assistance needs.
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Start Strong Kicks Off
Nearly 100 of the nation’s top health and youth experts, including two dozen youth leaders, gathered in San Francisco in July to launch the largest initiative ever to promote healthy relationships among 11-to-14-year-olds. The Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships first annual meeting included the release of new research on teen dating violence and parent attitudes. [...]
Some States Avoid Deep Cuts, But CA Lawmakers Put Domestic, Sexual Violence Victims in Peril
When Linda Healy got word last month that the Illinois legislature planned to slash funding for the domestic violence program she oversees, she decided to protest with a powerful but simple symbol: shoes. The executive director of Mutual Ground, Inc., a non-profit organization in Aurora, Illinois, that provides shelter, counseling and legal services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, Healy and her staff rounded up more than 400 pairs of shoes and placed them along the wrought-iron fence surrounding the organization. [...]
Door Opens for Battered Immigrant Women Seeking Asylum
In a case involving a Mexican woman seeking to escape brutal domestic violence in her home country, Obama Administration officials have taken a position that may open a door to asylum in the United States for some victims of severe abuse. The Family Violence Prevention Fund, Center for Gender and Refugees Studies, and other advocates for victims of violence have long advocated this kind of move. [...]
Connect: Supporting Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
Connect is a three hour curriculum, Power Point presentation and related tools intended for use in child welfare settings with foster parents, kin caregivers, and adoptive parents with all levels of experience in caring for children who have been exposed to domestic violence, or who may have cause to care for these children in the future.
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Supreme Court Decisions
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions will affect school policies that subject students to invasive searches, and how accused rapists and other violent offenders are prosecuted. In June, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the strip search of an Arizona middle-school student by school officials who thought she might be carrying prescription-strength ibuprofen. Two other U.S. Supreme Court rulings from recent weeks address defendants’ post-conviction rights to DNA testing and defendants’ rights to confrontation when crime laboratory reports are offered as evidence. [...]
White House Appoints Advisor on Violence Against Women
Vice President Joe Biden announced the appointment of Lynn Rosenthal as the new White House Advisor on Violence Against Women on Friday. This newly created position is dedicated to advising the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues. Rosenthal has worked throughout her career at the local, state and national levels to create an environment where violence against women is taken seriously and perpetrators are held accountable. [...]
Chris Brown Pleads Guilty
On June 22, Chris Brown pled guilty to felony charges for assaulting his then-girlfriend, pop star Rihanna. Brown’s punishment is five years of supervised probation and six months of community service. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg issued a stay-away order, prohibiting Brown from coming within 50 yards of Rihanna and vice versa, and requiring the two to stay ten yards apart at industry events. [...]
Economic Crisis May Spur Growth in Human Trafficking
A shrinking global demand for labor, and a growing supply of people with little choice but to take tremendous risks as they search for work, is adding a new dimension to the problem of human trafficking, a new report from the U.S. State Department finds. It concludes that the global financial crisis is leading to an increase in the number of countries, particularly in the developing world, that either are overlooking trafficking and bondage, or lack the resources to enforce laws designed to combat these crimes. [...]
Key Senate Committee Considers VAWA
The Violence Against Women Act has been highly effective in helping stop domestic violence and other violent crimes against women, expert witnesses - including Ann Burke and Gabrielle Union (with Chris Burke) - told the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 10. But challenges remain, including better services for rural women, women of color and children exposed to violence, and homicide prevention. [...]
Give RESPECT for the Answers to Tough Questions
When it comes to talking with your kids about healthy relationships, it’s probably never been harder to be a parent than it is today. The Family Violence Prevention Fund and Macy’s have developed RESPECT! Tools – a collection of tips, information and conversation starters to help parents, coaches, teachers, mentors and others talk to children about healthy, loving, respectful relationships. [...]
Parents Say They Are Talking About Dating Violence, But Teens Aren't Getting the Message
Teens across the United States are experiencing high levels of abuse in their dating relationships, and not confiding in parents when abuse occurs. The new poll, conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited for the Family Violence Prevention Fund and Liz Claiborne Inc., finds that nearly one in three teens report threats of violence, or sexual or physical abuse. Nearly one in four report being victimized through technology, and nearly one in two who are in relationships report being controlled, threatened, and pressured to do things they did not want to do. [...]
RESPECT! CampaignSM
In honor of Mother’s Day this year, the RESPECT! Campaign is proud to share a very special FREE e-card that you can send to a special woman in your life to let her know how much you respect her for the positive role she plays in shaping a world that is free from relationship violence. The card is available at www.GiveRespect.org, which also features unique ways to celebrate mom by giving back. This Mother’s Day, consider making a gift in her honor and we will send a special acknowledgment on your behalf. Or, give her the gift of RESPECT with the official RESPECT! bracelet for only $5, available exclusively at Macy’s and on macys.com. Half the proceeds of each bracelet sold benefit the Family Violence Prevention Fund. [...]
An Emerging Issue
In Vermont and Nebraska, lawmakers are considering measures that would disallow felony prosecutions. In Pennsylvania, a federal judge issued a restraining order to stop a zealous prosecutor from filing criminal charges. But in jurisdictions around the country, teens are being prosecuted for child pornography. It’s all because of sexting – a relatively new phenomenon made possible by ubiquitous new technologies that allow teenagers to send nude or semi-nude photos, usually of themselves, to someone else’s cell phone. [...]
That's Not Cool
That’s Not Cool is a national public education campaign designed to prevent teen dating abuse. Developed by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, in partnership with the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women and the Advertising Council, That’s Not Cool uses digital examples of controlling behavior online and by cell phone to encourage teens to draw their own line about what is, or is not, acceptable relationship behavior. [...]
Lessons from Literature
An innovative new resource is helping teachers incorporate violence prevention lessons into existing curricula. Developed by the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Lessons from Literature is a free online resource that gives English teachers a framework to use the novels, poems, plays and stories they are already teaching to help their students build healthy, non-violent relationships. [...]
New Developments in the Rihanna/Chris Brown Case
March 6, 2009 "Sadly, the alleged violent assault of Rihanna by Chris Brown is not unique -- women and girls in every community experience violence every day," said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler. "While there are many unanswered questions, the police report seems to suggest that this was an extremely violent and sustained assault. It is deeply disturbing. [...]
Supreme Court: No Guns for Abusers
February 27, 2009 In the first decision concerning gun rights since the ruling last year that struck down Washington, DC’s ban on handguns, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal ban on gun possession by people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors.In the seven to two ruling, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, “Firearms and domestic strife are a potentially deadly combination nationwide,” ruling that domestic abusers convicted under general battery laws can be banned from carrying guns if there is a proven domestic relationship between the victim and the offender. [...]
Rihanna/Chris Brown Incident Underscores Need for Early Intervention
February 15, 2009 “Our thoughts and prayers are with Rihanna, who was reportedly the victim of a violent assault by Chris Brown," Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler said. "That the victim and alleged perpetrator in this case are both well-known entertainers adds a public dimension to what happens privately in this country every hour of every day. [...]
Helping Teens Draw Their ‘Digital Line’
With digital communication a central part of teens’ lives, the Family Violence Prevention Fund is launching a new PSA campaign to help teens recognize digital dating abuse and take steps to prevent it. At a congressional briefing on February 4, during National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week, the FVPF launched ThatsNotCool.com.It is designed to start a conversation among teens about how controlling behavior and harassment from a boyfriend or girlfriend, online or via cell phone, can turn into abuse.
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Violence, Coercion Affect Women's Reproductive Health
With Congress and state legislatures in session, analysts expect hundreds of bills to be introduced that would in some way restrict women’s access to reproductive health information and services. The need for action is urgent. In the next few months, legislatures are likely to consider laws and regulations that would, among other things: make it harder for women to access emergency contraception; allow pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control; and require school-based sex education programs to teach abstinence-only and prohibit them from providing contraceptive information or services. [...]
More Than 3 Million Stalked Each Year
Stalking is more prevalent than previous studies have shown. The U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that some 3.4 million persons said they were victims of stalking during a 12-month period in 2005 and 2006. About half these victims experienced at least one unwanted contact per week, 11 percent had been stalked for five or more years, and one in seven moved as a result of the stalking. [...]
Clinton: Women's Rights Are Human Rights
At her confirmation hearing, Secretary of State nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke powerfully about improving the lives and strengthening the rights of women and children worldwide. [...]
Priorities for the Next Administration
The physical and sexual abuse of women and children remains a public health problem of epidemic proportions in the United States. Between one in three and one in four women will be abused at some point in their lives, and more than 15 million children witness this abuse every year.Sexual violence remains shrouded in silence, and few people realize that the majority of victims are children. [...]
Give Respect and Geoffrey Beene Gives $5 to FVPF
Everytime you visit GiveRespect.org Geoffrey Beene Gives BackTM will donate $5 to FVPF on your behalf. That’s right. With just one click of your mouse, you can help generate a $5 donation to FVPF, up to $500,000. It’s that easy. It costs you nothing. And, it raises critical funds for the FVPF’s programs to end and prevent violence against women and children. To start giving respect and raising money for FVPF, click here. [...]
New Violent Crime Report
Dec 23, 2008, San Francisco A new study from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics finds that the violent crime rate in the United States was largely unchanged from 2005 to 2007, but that there was a 25 percent increase in rape and sexual assault over those two years. However, because the methodology for the survey changed in 2006, and because the overall number of rapes and sexual assaults is low compared to other crimes such as burglary, theft and assault, statisticians at the Bureau caution that the increase is not statistically significant. [...]
The National Summit on the Intersection of Domestic Violence and Child Welfare.
Jun 2-4, 2009, Jackson Hole, Wyoming The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Family Violence Prevention Fund, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, hosted a summit on the intersection of domestic violence and child welfare (co-occurrence) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was themed "From Inspiration to Innovation: Leadership, Partnerships, and Change. [...]
Lessons from Literature
Lessons from Literature is an innovative program that enlists high school English teachers to use the books and material they’re already teaching to facilitate discussion and build awareness about physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. Lessons from Literature empowers teachers with actionable resources that help students learn the required material and build healthy, non-violent relationships. [...]
Honor a Man you Respect
Honor a man you Respect and Win a $500 holiday shopping spree for him!Just in time for the holidays, you can win and give a gift that will mean so much more to that special man in your life this year! Tell us about a man that you respect by entering him into the Geoffrey Beene Dress Up The Man You Respect contest and he could win a $500 shopping spree at Macy's for Geoffrey Beene clothing. [...]
FVPF Has a New Look!
Dec 5, 2008 - Today, a new and improved endabuse.org was born. The goal of our redesign is to create a more interactive and empowering experience for you. The quality information and resources you’re looking for are easier to find and there are more opportunities to take action to end abuse. Over the next few weeks, your help in ensuring that everything is functioning properly would be great. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with your suggestions and any problems you encounter. [...]
16 Days Against Gender Violence
Today is the beginning of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, which each year sends a powerful worldwide message that gender-based violence violates basic human rights. [...]
Breaking 80: Coaching Boys into Men
The boys in your life need your time and energy. Your son, grandson, nephew, younger brother. The boys you teach, coach and mentor. All need you to help them grow into healthy young men. Boys are watching how you and other men relate to women to figure out their own stance towards girls. So teach boys early, and teach them often, that there is no place for violence in a relationship. [...]
Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships
Preventing intimate partner violence begins with ensuring that young people's first relationships are healthy ones. Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships, is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation administered by the Family Violence Prevention Fund to support the creation and evaluation of comprehensive community-based models of prevention that aim to decrease relationship violence and increase positive, protective relationship skills among 11 to 14-year-olds. [...]
Seven Reasons Employers Should Address Domestic Violence
Employers face numerous human resource concerns, with limited time and money. Often a decision to focus on a specific problem is not made until the problem becomes significant and costly. Historically, problems with a social stigma are less likely to receive attention, as both employers and employees may be reluctant to acknowledge that these problems exist. Some employers are addressing it, but many more are not. The following are seven compelling reasons that employers should take action on this issue. [...]
Coaching Boys into Men Goes Global
FVPF and UNICEF joined forces in 2007 to enlist international celebrity soccer coaches and players as “teachers” of violence prevention. Development of a new International Coaches Manual based on concepts from the original Coaching Boys into Men Playbook was completed and includes quotes and endorsement from stars such as David Beckham, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Thierry Henry. The manual is available in English, French, and Spanish with other languages to follow. [...]
Know More Say More
The reproductive health consequences of sexual coercion and violence are the focus of a new initiative launched by the Family Violence Prevention Fund – kNOwMORE. It is designed to create a dialogue about the birth control sabotage and reproductive coercion that many teens and young women face, which can result in unintended pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, miscarriage, infertility, coerced abortion, and a range of other serious health issues. [...]
Maternal Health and Safety in a Multicultural Context: Toolkit for Rural Health Care Providers and Advocates
Maternal Health and Safety in a Multicultural Context is a toolkit with materials and audio tips on how healthcare providers and others working to combat violence against women, especially in rural areas, can address violence against women. In 2003, three organizations came together to address the high levels of maternal deaths resulting from abuse in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico. [...]
National Institute on Fatherhood and Domestic Violence
It’s no surprise that children who are exposed to domestic violence need supportive and protective adults in their lives to mitigate the effects of exposure. The FVPF has created programs and campaigns designed to create more opportunities for abusive men and fathers to stop their violent behavior and make amends. Since 2002, the FVPF has been developing a framework, strategies and products to help keep abusive fathers accountable, while supporting them to change their behavior. [...]
RESPECT! Campaign SM
The RESPECT! CampaignSM is a social action campaign to promote respect in relationships and increase awareness about the positive role everyone can play to help end and prevent relationship violence and abuse. It starts with something everyone can do: Give Respect to others. [...]
Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence
The National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence is the nation’s clearinghouse for information on the health care response to domestic violence and provides free technical assistance and materials to thousands of people each year. The Center is one of five specialized domestic violence resource centers in the country funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. [...]
Reproductive Health Initiative
Pregnancy is an important experience in a woman’s life and violence should not be a part of it. With nearly one in three women at risk for abuse in her lifetime, domestic violence is more common than pre-eclamplsia and hypertension -- both commonly addressed during pregnancy. Yet women are rarely asked about abuse or given information about the links between violence and their health. [...]
Community Collaborations on Behalf of Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
The Family Violence Prevention Fund plays an integral role in several collaborations with battered women’s advocates, child welfare experts, family courts, experts in children’s mental health, and community leaders across the country to develop and implement policies and practices designed to more effectively help families in which child maltreatment and domestic violence both occur. [...]
Immigrant Women and Domestic Violence
Immigrant women are a diverse group and include women who have lived in the United States for one month, as well as women who have lived here for forty years. The immigrant woman who contacts you for help may be a refugee fleeing persecution, a student, a tourist, or a worker seeking better economic conditions. Get the tools to help you meet the needs of immigrant women who are victims of domestic violence. [...]
Human Trafficking: A Hidden Shame
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery involving people being bought, sold, and forced into slave labor and/or sexual exploitation. The United Nations recently reported that four million people are traded each year against their will to work in servitude in their own country or around the globe. Thousands are trafficked into the United States. Get the facts on human trafficking. [...]
Leadership Development for Immigrant Survivors of Violence
Helping immigrant women become their own advocates and become community leaders may be the best and only sustainable way to address the needs of immigrant women survivors of abuse. As emerging leaders, they can play a critical role in supporting other women, informing institutions on their needs, demanding accessible services and teaching their peers how to address domestic violence and sexual assault in their communities. [...]
Fathering After Violence
Fathering After Violence (FAV) is a national initiative developed in 2002 by the Family Violence Prevention Fund and its partners to enhance the safety and well-being of women and children by motivating men to renounce their violence and become better fathers (or father figures) and more supportive parenting partners. Using Fatherhood as a leading approach, FAV is a conceptual framework to help end violence against women. [...]
National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence
Formed in 1998, the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence is a dynamic partnership among the US Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, the Family Violence Prevention Fund and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The NJIDV has provided highly interactive, skills-based domestic violence workshops for judges and judicial officers nationwide since 1999. [...]
A Week of Events Honoring Women
In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, events were held throughout that week around the globe to shine a spotlight on challenges facing women and girls. In the United States, President Barack Obama established a White House Council on Women and Girls, Afghani women briefed congressional leaders about the plight of women in their country, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bestowed the 2009 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Awards, and more. [...]
CA Court: Domestic Violence Programs Must Serve Men, But Not with Identical Services
Nov 24, 2008 In mid-October, California’s 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled in Woods vs. Shewry that state-funded domestic violence programs must provide services to male as well as female victims. While “men’s rights” groups hailed the ruling, a closer look shows that it supports the practices that most shelters and domestic violence agencies use today, because the Court explicitly recognized that most victims of domestic violence are women, and that women tend to suffer more serious injuries. [...]
Mixed Messages on Asylum
Oct 29, 2008 Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently took action in two cases involving women who are seeking asylum in the United States. One is positive, and the other deeply concerns advocates for women asylum-seekers who are fleeing gender-based violence in their home countries. Mukasey sent the cases of Alima Traore from Mali, and Rody Alvarado Peña from Guatemala, to the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider. [...]
Join National Respect! Day
Sept 19 2008 Today the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) and Macy’s ask the nation to join in marking the first annual National RESPECT! DaySM. A newly designated observance, National RESPECT! DaySM, will launch a multi-year movement designed to raise awareness of domestic and dating violence and to encourage positive discourse about prevention by teaching respect. [...]
Charges Filed Against Iowa Meat-Packing Plant
Sept 16, 2008 Iowa’s Attorney General filed 9,311 criminal charges against the managers and owners of the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant on September 9 for violations of the state’s child labor law. The Postville plant has been a focal point of public concern about the raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the human rights violations that often accompany them. [...]
Political Parties Address Violence Prevention
Aug 31, 2008 Issues relating to domestic and sexual violence took center stage at the Democratic National Convention in late August, highlighted by the selection of United States Senator Joseph Biden (DE) as his party’s vice presidential candidate. A longtime champion of measures to prevent violence against women, Senator Biden is an author of the bi-partisan Violence Against Women Act and a co-sponsor of the bi-partisan International Violence Against Women Act. [...]
A Beloved Pioneer Passes
Aug 28, 2008 Del Martin, a courageous and visionary leader who helped shape the movement to end domestic violence in the United States, died in late August. Martin wrote one of the first books ever published on the issue, helped frame it in the human rights context, and was instrumental in creating the Family Violence Prevention Fund and providing crucial support and guidance in the organization’s early years. [...]
Macy's Shop For A Cause
Aug 28, 2008
Macy's and Family Violence Prevention Fund are teaming up to support
local efforts to prevent domestic and sexual violence and raise public awareness!
[...]
Sexual Assault in the Military Underreported
Aug 27, 2008 Women serving in the military today “are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than to be killed by enemy fire in Iraq,” Representative Jane Harman (D-CA) charged at a contentious House hearing in late July at which the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that rape and sexual assault in the military may be under-reported by as much as half. [...]
Violence Common Among Youth
Jul 29, 2008 Three studies released in July find high rates of dating, sexual and other forms of violence among youth in the United States. The researchers who conducted the studies all recommend more education, detection and interventions that begin early in life. [...]
High Court Rules in Cases Affecting Victims of Violence
Jun 26, 2008 On June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases affecting victims of domestic and sexual violence. In Giles v. California, the Court ordered a new trial for Dwayne Giles, who had been convicted of the brutal murder of Brenda Avie after a lower court allowed a police officer to testify about the domestic violence charges Avie had filed against Giles a few weeks before she was killed. In Patrick Kennedy v. State of Louisiana, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot use the death penalty to punish child rapists. [...]
UN Debates Women, Peace and Security
Jun 24, 2008 Following an emotional debate, the United Nations Security Council on Thursday June 19 adopted a resolution that declares rape and sexual violence to be weapons of war, and demands an end to sexual violence against civilians in armed conflicts around the world. [...]
Senators Biden and Lugar Urge Passage of I-VAWA
Jun 18, 2008 In a powerful guest editorial in today’s edition of The Hill, United States Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) urge their colleagues to support the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA). [...]
A Father's Day Message Against Violence
Jun 16, 2008 On Father’s Day 2008, a group of visionary leaders urged other men to join them in teaching our sons what it means to be a real man -- that women deserve honor and respect, and that violence never equals strength. [...]
Abuse of Children by Aid Workers Common & Under-Reported, Study Finds
Jun 3, 2008 Too many children living in countries affected by conflicts and natural disasters are being sexually exploited and abused by the humanitarian aid workers and peacekeepers hired to help them, and many of these children are afraid to report the violence. [...]
International Violence Against Women Act Introduced in House of Representatives
May 1, 2008 Groundbreaking legislation to address the global crisis of violence against women and girls was introduced in the House of Representatives late Wednesday by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA). The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA – HR 5927) would apply the force of U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid over five years toward preventing abuse and exploitation, which is estimated to affect one in three women worldwide. [...]
New Studies Examine Violent Deaths, Child Maltreatment
Apr 21, 2008 Two studies released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in April find that many people who die violently experience intimate partner violence and/or relationship problems beforehand, and tens of thousand of newborns and infants experience abuse or neglect. [...]
Two Supreme Court Cases Could Affect Victims of Violence
Apr 21, 2008 Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases with implications for victims of domestic and sexual violence: Patrick Kennedy v. State of Louisiana; and Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Co. Rulings are expected in both cases later this year. [...]
Violence Against Women Act 2005
The Violence Against Women Act was the first comprehensive federal legislation to address violence against women in the United States. [...]
Mixed News on Sexual Violence in the Military
Apr 1, 2008 Reports of sexual assault are beginning to drop in the military, following sharp increases in 2005 and 2006 – but more military women say they experienced sexual harassment in 2007 than in the recent past. Those are the conclusions of two studies released by the U.S. Department of Defense in March. [...]
Impact of Violence Lasting, Severe
Mar 12, 2008 Several new studies shed light on the effects of domestic and sexual violence. They find that being a victim of child abuse results in higher health care costs for women decades later, children of mothers experiencing violence are twice as likely to end up in emergency rooms as other children, and physical abuse during pregnancy can increase the chances of preterm delivery. [...]
Survey Finds Health Problems More Common for Victims of Violence
Feb 8, 2008 Domestic and sexual violence are pervasive and costly, and can create health problems that last a lifetime, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. It finds 1,200 deaths and two million injuries to women from intimate partner violence each year, and nearly 600,000 injuries to men. Nearly one in four women reports experiencing violence by a current or former spouse or boyfriend some time in her life. [...]
Bush Budget Threatens Violence Prevention Programs
Feb 6, 2008 Advocates are deeply concerned about President Bush’s FY09 budget proposal, in which he asks Congress to slash funding by more than $100 million for U.S. Department of Justice programs to address and prevent violence against women. The President also would turn all funding for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) into a block grant. [...]
Stopping Gender-Based Violence Key to Preventing HIV
Jan 31, 2008 Last week, experts from some of the world’s leading women’s health and violence prevention organizations told more than 100 congressional leaders and advocates that highly effective programs, from Kenya to Hong Kong, Fiji to Papua New Guinea, and Nicaragua to South Africa, are helping to stop gender-based violence and HIV infection. [...]
Justice Department Releases '05 Intimate Partner Violence Data
Dec 20, 2007 New data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics show that partner violence and domestic homicide remain costly and devastating problems in this country. Although the overall decline in partner violence in the last decade is encouraging, "it is clear that our nation is not yet doing nearly enough to keep women and children safe," said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler. [...]
Dating Violence Up in NYC Schools
Dec 19, 2007 Dating violence and forced sex increased among students in New York City public schools from 2003 to 2005 even as overall school violence, including fights and students carrying weapons, declined. [...]
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
November 29, 2007 November 25 marked the beginning of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, which each year sends a powerful worldwide message that gender-based violence violates basic human rights. Events began on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and will continue through December 10, International Human Rights Day. [...]
International Violence Against Women Act
Nov 1, 2007 Groundbreaking legislation to combat the global crisis of violence against women and girls was introduced in the Senate on October 31st by Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN). The International Violence Against Women Act would, for the first time, systematically apply the force of U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid totaling $1 billion over five years to prevent the abuse and exploitation that affects up to one in three women worldwide. [...]
UN Finds 'Hideous' Violence Follows Conflicts
Nov 1, 2007 “Violence against women has reached hideous and pandemic proportions in some societies attempting to recover from conflict,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in opening remarks at an October 23 meeting on women, peace and security. [...]
Where There is Violence Against Women, There is AIDS
Oct 31, 2007 Given the disproportionate impact of HIV and AIDS on women and girls, it is imperative that gender-based violence be given a high priority when Congress reauthorizes the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in early 2008. A new fact sheet from the Family Violence Prevention Fund, Global AIDS Alliance and International Center for Research on Women outlines changes needed in the legislation, including increased funding to stop gender-based violence, legal reforms, and enhanced technical assistance to indigenous women’s organizations in PEPFAR countries. [...]
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Activities
Sept 27, 2007 October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) and across the country, advocates are joining health care providers, business leaders, policy makers, faith-based groups, college students and many others at events and activities designed to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence. [...]
Partner Violence, Teen Pregnancy Linked
Sept 25, 2007 A groundbreaking new study finds a significant connection between abusive relationships and teen pregnancy. Published in the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics and released last week, the study finds that one quarter of adolescents with histories of abusive relationships said that their abusive partners had actively tried to get them pregnant by manipulating condom use, sabotaging birth control, and making explicit statements about wanting them to become pregnant. [...]
State Legislation
Aug 28, 2007 The hard work of advocates across the nation paid off this summer as state lawmakers passed and governors signed several new laws that protect domestic violence victims, their families and, in some states, their pets. These new laws will help make domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking victims safer at work and at home. [...]
Traumatized Soldiers Need Better Care
Aug 14, 2007 With the military’s health care system badly overtaxed and extended tours of duty putting soldiers and military families under great stress, experts are looking at whether mental health services available to veterans are adequate. A new report from the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors underscores the need for better mental health care and interventions. Because domestic violence and sexual assault have long been serious problems in the military, violence prevention experts are paying attention. [...]
WHO Says World Must Step Up Violence Prevention
Aug 14, 2007 Countries around the world need to scale-up domestic violence prevention and make a concerted effort to measure violence-related deaths, injuries and health conditions, according to the World Health Organization. In Third Milestones of a Global Campaign for Violence Prevention Report 2007, the agency reviews progress since the 2002 creation of the Global Campaign for Violence Prevention, assessing how far the world has come and where more work is needed. [...]
More Nations Cited for Trafficking
Jun 29, 2007 Approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across borders around the world each year, with 14,500 to 17,500 trafficked across the U.S. border. Worldwide, four in five trafficking victims are women and girls, and up to half are minors, the U.S. State Department’s 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report finds. This year’s report adds seven countries, including four Arab nations that are allies to the United States, to its list of worst offenders. [...]
On Father’s Day, A Special Group of Men Say: No More Violence
Jun 17, 2007 While many dads receive ties and gadgets on Father's Day, a dynamic group of more than 1,800 men -- including major business leaders, politicians, professional athletes, coaches and others -- are giving back to their families and communities by sending a powerful message about what it means to be a father and a positive role model. [...]
Violence on Congress' Agenda
Jun 6, 2007 Congress is addressing a number of issues that relate to violence against women and children. A Senate subcommittee recently held a hearing on domestic violence, the House passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, and Senators Biden (DE), Boxer (CA) and Feinstein (CA) introduced the Violence Against Children Act of 2007. Senator Biden also introduced a bill that would recruit volunteer lawyers to represent domestic violence victims. In addition, the appropriations process is well underway and advocates are pressing hard for full funding for the Violence Against Women Act. [...]
‘No Private Matter’ Winners from India, Kenya, U.S.
May 17, 2007 The violence prevention community has selected winners in the “No Private Matter! Ending Abuse in Intimate and Family Relations” collaborative competition, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with Changemakers. A panel of experts chose 15 finalists with the most innovative strategies to stop domestic violence. Online voters then chose the top three: Men Can Stop Rape in Washington, DC; Kenyan Men for Gender Equality Now; and Action India's Mahila Panchayat Network. [...]
The Murders at Virginia Tech
Apr 17, 2007 "There are still many unanswered questions about the horrific violence at Virginia Tech," Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler said, "and troubling indications that the shooter had stalked women. The police are still investigating his relationship to the first victim. We aren't doing nearly enough to stop violence against women, which frequently escalates to homicide and involves bystanders and children." [...]
Advocates Urge Full Funding for VAWA
Mar 9, 2007 Congress is working right now on the Fiscal Year 2008 appropriations bills that fund critical programs in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). As early as next week, members of the House of Representatives will send the appropriations subcommittees their budget priorities. Senators will do the same very soon. [...]
PBS Airs ‘Beyond Beats & Rhymes’
Feb 16, 2007 Filmmaker Byron Hurt addresses misogyny, sexual violence, masculinity, homophobia and racial stereotypes in hip-hop culture in his new documentary, “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes.” PBS broadcast the hour-long program on its Emmy Award-winning Independent Lens series on Tuesday, February 20. [...]
Showcasing Innovative Prevention Programs
Jan 31, 2007 A new competition aims to find innovative solutions to domestic violence. “No Private Matter! Ending Abuse in Intimate and Family Relations” is designed to connect promising solutions with key decision makers, investors and health and social service providers. [...]
Government Reports Drop in Domestic Violence
Jan 17, 2007 "The new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics is positive, encouraging news," Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler said. "Still, it is clear that violence against women remains a costly and devastating problem. In 2004, there were more than 625,000 intimate partner victimizations and, on average, more than three women a day were murdered by their husbands or boyfriends. We have a lot more work to do to keep families safe." [...]
New System Tracks Homicides, Suicides
Dec 22, 2006 Studies on data collected through the new National Violent Death Reporting System find that women are victims in most incidents of homicide/suicide, and many more women than men are killed in homicides involving intimate partner violence. [...]
Advocates Alarmed About Immigration Raids
Dec 15, 2006 Leading domestic and sexual violence experts are raising serious concerns about potential violations of human rights in the aftermath of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on meatpacking plants in six states on Tuesday. Advocates for victims of domestic and sexual violence are reporting inhumane treatment of those who have been detained, with some parents being separated from newborns and not being allowed to relay information about children with serious medical conditions. [...]
UN Report Finds Violence Against Children Pervasive
Nov 22, 2006 The United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence Against Children finds that much of this violence remains hidden, and it is often socially approved. [...]
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
Nov 22, 2006 Thanksgiving weekend marks the beginning of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. Events begin on November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and continue through December 10, International Human Rights Day. [...]
Fox “Acted Responsibly” by Cancelling Simpson Special, Soler Says
Nov 20, 2006 "Fox Entertainment acted responsibly by cancelling its planned O.J. Simpson special, sparing the nation the spectacle of a violent batterer discussing or recreating two murders he claims he did not commit," Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler said today. "It is very good news that millions of outraged viewers and Fox’s own affiliates prevailed." [...]
New Studies Document Prevalence, Cost of Violence, Inadequate Response
Oct 16, 2006 Several studies and surveys released in recent months underscore the grave impact of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women and children. [...]
Violence Against Women Pervasive Problem Worldwide, Says New UN Report
Oct 11, 2006 Painting a grim picture of violence against women in all parts of the world, a new United Nations report classifies violence against women – whether it happens in the home or elsewhere – as a human rights violation and argues that states are obliged by international human rights standards to hold perpetrators accountable. [...]
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Activities
Oct 1, 2006 October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, when experts and service providers around the nation raise awareness about domestic, sexual and dating violence, and stalking, with policymakers, community and business leaders, students, faith-based agencies, and the public. This year, there are powerful and educational events planned at the national level and all across the country. [...]
Violence Threatens Health of Pregnant Women & Newborns, Study Finds
Aug 17, 2006 A new Harvard School of Public Health study demonstrates conclusively that physical abuse by husbands and boyfriends compromises a woman’s health during pregnancy, her likelihood of carrying a child to term and the health of her newborn. [...]
Women a Focus at XVI International AIDS Conference
Aug 13, 2006 Some 20,000 experts from science, medicine and government, and community organizers from around the world attended the XVI International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2006) in Toronto in August to share lessons and identify next steps. The Conference has long been a place where key scientific developments are released and discussed, and this year there was a major focus on women. [...]
12 Nations Cited for Human Trafficking
Jun 29, 2006 The U.S. State Department’s 2006 annual Trafficking in Persons Report estimates that 800,000 people, most of them women and children, are victims of human trafficking. This year’s report looks at slave labor as well as sex trafficking, noting that a child trafficked into one form of labor may be further abused in another. “The brutal reality of the modern-day slave trade is that its victims are frequently bought and sold many times over,” it says. [...]
Founding Fathers 2006: Thousands of Men Are Re-defining Father’s Day
Jun 19, 2006 On Father's Day, June 18th, 2006, thousands of men across America came together to declare their support for an end to violence against women and children. [...]
A Call To Action: New Legislation Will Address Findings From WHO Study
Jun 9, 2006 In a critically important study released late last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) found that domestic and sexual violence are serious public health problems worldwide. Based on interviews with 24,000 women around the world, it found that one-fifth to three-quarters of women had experienced physical or sexual violence since age 15, with most of it inflicted by male partners. [...]
“Becoming Myself” Book Tour
May 10, 2006 The Family Violence Prevention Fund and retailer Marshalls are bringing the newly released book, Becoming Myself by Willa Shalit, to life for high school students in New York, Chicago and Boston. [...]
Echoes of Trauma
Apr 21, 2006 There is a strong correlation between childhood trauma and serious adult health problems including tobacco use, substance abuse, obesity, cancer, heart disease, depression and a higher risk for unintended pregnancy. Those are key findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences study, presented at a congressional briefing in April. [...]
Stop Violence Against Women Week
Apr 14, 2006 Sexual and domestic violence experts from around the country came to Washington, D.C. the week of April 3rd to advocate for full funding of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence sponsored a series of events, held in conjunction with Lifetime Television’s annual Stop Violence Against Women Week. [...]
PSAs Urge Dads, Role Models to Teach Boys that Violence is Wrong
Apr 14, 2006 Men teach boys how to hit a baseball, hit the net, hit the receiver, and much more. But are men taking the time to teach boys that violence against women and girls is wrong? The Family Violence Prevention Fund, the Waitt Institute and the Advertising Council recently released a new 30-second public service advertisement for television that invites men to do so. It is the newest component of the Coaching Boys Into Men campaign, launched in 2002. [...]
Supreme Court Cases
Mar 28, 2006 The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in two cases that could affect domestic violence prosecutions. At issue in Davis v. Washington and Hammon v. Indiana is whether statements made by victims to 9-1-1 operators and transcripts of police interviews can be considered at trial, if the caller or complainant is unavailable or unwilling to testify. [...]
Teen Dating Violence Week
Mar 28, 2006 Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA) kicked off National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week at a news conference last month at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School in Washington, D.C. [...]
Supreme Court to Hear Domestic Violence Case
Feb 15, 2006 To the surprise of most legal observers, the U.S. Supreme Court announced in January that it will hear the case of a Dallas woman who contends that pressure from her violent boyfriend caused her to purchase guns illegally. [...]
Bush Signs Violence Against Women Act Into Law
Jan 6, 2006 At a private ceremony in the Oval Office on Thursday, January 5 that included congressional champions, President Bush signed the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 into law. "Our homes and communities will be safer and healthier as a result," Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler said. [...]
Congress Completes Work on Violence Against Women Act
Dec 19, 2005 The House of Representatives passed the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 on Saturday, December 17, just one day after the Senate passed the identical bill. "We have repeatedly asked Congress to make our homes safer before heading to their homes for the holidays," said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler, "and we are very pleased that they did. Now, we ask President Bush to quickly sign this bill into law." [...]
Domestic Violence Widespread, Harms Health of Millions of Women Worldwide
Nov 30, 2005 Intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence experienced by women around the world; it is even more prevalent than rape or assault committed by strangers or acquaintances. Even though one in six women has been a victim of domestic violence, the problem remains largely hidden. Yet, physical and sexual violence take a terrible toll on women’s health and well-being. [...]
FVPF Partners in North Country National Premiere
Oct 27, 2005 The Family Violence Prevention Fund is proud to join in one of the first-ever action campaigns developed by Participant Productions in conjunction with the premiere of North Country starring Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, and Woody Harrelson. [...]
FVPF Joins DreamWorks and Others in Movie Premiere
Oct 12, 2005 FVPF sponsored the Northern California opening of DreamWorks' and Revolution Picture's new movie, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, starring Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Laura Dern. [...]
Senate Passes Violence Against Women Act
Oct 4, 2005 By unanimous consent, the United States Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 on October 4. "Today's action means our nation is on its way to improving its response to domestic, sexual and dating violence, and stalking," said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler. "Coupled with House passage of the Violence Against Women Act last week, this is very good news." [...]
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Activities
Sept 28, 2005 The following list includes some of the many national Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities planned for this October. Domestic violence experts and service providers are encouraged to contact the sponsoring organizations to find out more about each event and explore how local communities can get involved. [...]
Donate to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund
Sept 9, 2005 Donate to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund and help victims of family violence and sexual assault affected by the disaster in the Gulf Coast. [...]
House Judiciary Committee Passes Violence Against Women Act
Jul 28, 2005 The House Judiciary Committee passed the Violence Against Women Act on July 27. The action came a week after experts on violence testified in favor of the bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Former NBA champion M.L. Carr, President and CEO of Warm2Kids and a Family Violence Prevention Fund board member, joined actress Salma Hayek in urging Congress to reauthorize the law. [...]
Sports Leaders Help Unveil New Playbook at “Founding Fathers” Event
Jun 29, 2005 Aggression may win you points on the field or on the court, but outside of sports that behavior is not tolerated. Now, coaches from every level and every major sport are coming off the sidelines to play a pro-active role in preventing violence and sexual assault in dating relationships. [...]
Gonzales Ruling a “Serious Blow” to Victims of Violence Who Need Police Protection
Jun 27, 2005 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 27th that Jessica Gonzales cannot sue the town of Castle Rock for failing to enforce a restraining order against her violent ex-husband. Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler called it, "a sad day for a nation that had been making progress in stopping domestic violence and helping victims." [...]
Violence Against Women Act of 2005 Introduced in House & Senate
Jun 14, 2005 The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 was introduced in the United States Senate on Wednesday, June 8, and in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, June 14. The bill, which was first enacted in 1994 and re-authorized in 2000, will expire in September unless Congress acts. [...]
New Family Violence Study
Jun 13, 2005 A study released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics on June 12th finds that declines in family violence continue, along with overall declines in violent crime. Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler called the new study a “ray of hope that we are finally on the right track in addressing the violence that devastates so many families, but our work in not nearly done.” [...]
Coaching Boys Into Men Is Transforming Attitudes
May 31, 2005 New public opinion research finds that the Family Violence Prevention Fund/Advertising Council/Waitt Family Foundation public education campaign, Coaching Boys into Men, is building awareness, transforming attitudes, and prompting men to teach the next generation that violence is wrong. [...]
Sexual Assault Reports Rise Sharply in Armed Forces
May 12, 2005 In 2004, military criminal investigators received 1,700 allegations of sexual assault involving members of the armed forces worldwide. These allegations included 1,275 incidents in which a service member was the victim, and 1,305 incidents in which a service member was allegedly the perpetrator. [...]
Exposure to Violence Harms Children's Health
May 12, 2005 Being abused, exposed to domestic violence and having a mother who abuses substances are associated with a high number of health problems for low-income pre-school children. [...]
The World Health Report 2005
Apr 12, 2005 The World Health Organization’s 2005 Report, Make Every Mother and Child Count, examines why eleven million children under age five will die this year, and why 529,000 mothers will die during pregnancy, childbirth, or soon thereafter. One strategy that can make pregnancy safer is to reduce gender-based violence, it says. [...]
Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Gonzales Case
Apr 1, 2005 The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Town of Castle Rock, Colorado v. Jessica Gonzales in March. At issue is whether victims of domestic violence have the right to sue if their local governments fail to protect them and their children from batterers. [...]
Homicide Is One Of The Leading Causes Of Pregnancy-Associated Injury Deaths, Study Concludes
Mar 18, 2005 Homicide is the second leading cause of traumatic death for pregnant and postpartum women. From 1991 to 1999, for every 100,000 live births in the U.S., at least two women died as a result of homicide during pregnancy or within one year of pregnancy. [...]
A Champion Passes
Mar 16, 2005 The violence prevention movement lost a true friend and powerful ally on March 7 when Dr. Linda E. Saltzman of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) died in her sleep. [...]
CBS Airs Domestic Violence PSAs
Feb 8, 2005 Many viewers have been alarmed that CBS’ Emmy Award winning reality show, The Amazing Race, featured a contestant who persistently abused his wife, on the air, this year. Jonathan Baker and Victoria Fuller were eliminated a few weeks ago, but only after viewers witnessed weeks of verbal abuse that turned physical when Baker shoved and nearly knocked Fuller to the ground in January. [...]
Domestic Violence & The Super Bowl: The Myth
Feb 1, 2005 On February 6, millions of people will tune in to watch Super Bowl XXXIX. In the past, Super Bowl Sunday has been a time of public debate over the prevalence of domestic violence in our communities. At times, domestic violence experts and those working to help victims have been criticized, in part because of decade-old claims that abuse increases on game day. [...]
Children in Peril
Jan 25, 2005 Our hearts go out to all the victims of the recent tsunami, Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler said, and reports that the youngest victims are being kidnapped and sold into slavery are a profoundly disturbing reminder that child trafficking and sexual slavery are pervasive and unsolved problems in our world. [...]
Ashcroft Delays Decision in Key Asylum Case
Jan 25, 2005 After taking the asylum request of Rody Adali Alvarado Peña, a domestic violence survivor, under advisement and delaying a decision for years, Attorney General John Ashcroft will leave office without deciding the case, he announced Friday. [...]
Pelosi Provides $1.5 Million To Stop Abuse
Dec 22, 2004 Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House Democratic leader, included $1.5 million for the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) in the Fiscal Year 2005 federal budget to support the FVPF’s International Center to End Violence. [...]
Violence Contributing To Vast Growth in HIV/AIDS Among Women Worldwide, Report Finds
Nov 30, 2004 A major new report released jointly by the United Nations and the World Health Organization finds that the number of women living with HIV has risen in most regions of the world over the past two years. [...]
Peterson Guilty
Nov 15, 2004 Jurors found Scott Peterson guilty of two homicides in the death of his wife, Laci, and their son, who was to be named Conner. [...]
Ruling May Help New York’s Battered Mothers Keep Their Children
Oct 28, 2004 The New York State Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Tuesday that the child welfare system cannot remove children from non-abusive parents simply because there is domestic violence in the home. [...]
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Sept 24 October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and across the country, battered women’s advocates are joining elected officials, health care providers, business leaders, police officers, faith-based groups, concerned citizens and many others to organize events and activities that raise awareness about domestic violence. [...]
Criminal Case Against Bryant Dropped
Sept 1, 2004 In a move that was widely anticipated by experts and those close to the case, the judge in the sexual assault trial against Kobe Bryant yesterday dropped criminal charges against the basketball star. The move came after prosecutors filed for dismissal, saying that Bryant’s accuser was unwilling to continue because she feared her rights would be further violated during trial. The civil lawsuit she has brought against Bryant will proceed. [...]
