Conference Announcements

The National Center for Victims of Crime First National Conference

Ninth International Family Violence Research Conference

IN THE NEWS

Violence Against Women Act Introduced in Senate

Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 in the United States Senate on June 8. The bill, which was first enacted in 1994 and re-authorized in 2000, will expire in September unless Congress acts.

"The bill we are introducing today provides a comprehensive approach to combating domestic violence," Senator Biden said. "It stiffens penalties for repeat offenders, provides more money for vital services, and will help battered women get the assistance and support they need. It also focuses on breaking the cycle of violence through education and helping rural victims in under-served areas. "

Co-sponsors of the new bill, S. 1197, are Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Mike DeWine (R-OH), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Charles Schumer (D-NY).

Details of Legislation

VAWA 2005 would continue essential programs and enhance the civil and criminal justice response to violence. It would increase funding to $5 million per year to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and create a new dedicated grant program for sexual assault victims that will strengthen the 1,300 rape crisis centers across the country.

"VAWA has achieved so much over the past ten years to enhance justice and community responses to violence against women," said Marybeth Carter, President of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence. "We are especially pleased about the new Sexual Assault Services Act, which provides the first funding exclusively focused on support services for victims of sexual assault."

The bill also includes measures to:

*Promote collaboration between domestic violence experts and child welfare agencies

*Strengthen the health care system's response to family violence with programs to train and educate health care professionals, foster family violence screening for patients, and study the health ramifications of family violence

*Provide money for programs to support children exposed to violence, to train and develop curricula for home visitation programs on domestic violence, to stop violence and help victims through housing and economic security, and to engage men and youth in preventing violence

*Address the needs of victims of trafficking, victims from communities of color, and immigrant and tribal victims

A bipartisan group of House Members will introduce their version of VAWA in coming days. More information on VAWA, tools for advocates and more is available at www.endabuse.org/vawa and and www.vawa2005.org/

ONLINE RESOURCES

MedlinePlus: An Online Health Resource on Domestic Violence

MedlinePlus is an online website provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, devoted to providing trusted health information to the general public. It is a useful resource accessed by medical professionals regardless of discipline as well as by non-health care providers. Their domestic violence entry is a useful site for information written in Spanish and English. Interested in hearing the latest research on domestic violence and health, obtaining an overview of domestic violence, or reading about the symptoms, prevention and assessment, coping, and statistics of domestic violence? Please visit MedlinePlus to learn more.

The American Medical Student Association Takes a Stand on Domestic Violence

AMSA represents a diverse constituency of 50,000 physicians-in-training and for over 55 years has used its voice to best serve the public. AMSA has identified domestic violence as an issue relevant to medical student education and activism efforts. Domestic violence is one of five priority issues for its Community Health and Public Health Action Committee. To learn more about AMSA's stance and gain access to more resources, please visit AMSA's Website.

CONFERENCE ANNOUCEMENTS

The National Center for Victims of Crime First National Conference "Forging Alliances, Building Leadership"

June 20-22, 2005. Omni Shoreham Hotel. Washington, D.C.

This conference features more than 130 leading experts, 65 skill-building workshops, and countless opportunities to forge alliances and build leadership. As the nation's leading resource and advocacy organization for crime victims and those who support them, the National Center for Victims of Crime is providing a unique forum to challenge our thinking and foster the development of new skills on issues such as: human trafficking, criminal profiling, youth leadership to help crime victims, repeat rapes by undetected offenders, the neurobiology of trauma, and mass violence and community resilience. The conference includes talks by nationally recognized speakers, skill-building workshops, networking opportunities, and no-cost exhibit opportunities. For more information visit www.ncvc.org.

Ninth International Family Violence Research Conference

Sponsored by Family Research Laboratory and Crimes Against Children Research Center Conference at the University of New Hampshire. Co-sponsored by the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute

July 10-13, 2005. Sheraton Harborside Hotel and Conference Center. Portsmouth, New Hampshire

This conference is part of an ongoing series addressing all aspects of family violence and child victimization dating back to 1981. It is a unique opportunity for researchers, scientist/practitioners, students, and non-researchers from a broad array of disciplines to come together for the purpose of sharing, integrating and critiquing accumulated knowledge on family violence. 300 to 400 researchers from around the world usually attend, and presentations include cutting-edge research findings discussed by outstanding invited researchers, shorter research paper presentations, and poster sessions. For more information visit http://www.unh.edu/frl/conferences.

Health Students and Faculty Against Domestic Violence is a monthly listserv aimed to network health students and faculty from across the country who are interested in improving the health sector response to domestic violence. To subscribe email arunavenk@gmail.com.

We encourage you to use this listserv to announce upcoming events you are planning or to pose questions to the group. To post an announcement or ask a question, send an e-mail to arunavenk@gmail.com.

The listserv is moderated by Aruna Venkatesan, Health Intern with the Family Violence Prevention Fund and First Year Medical Student at the University of California, San Francisco

Thank you for contributing to our community!

To learn more please visit our website http://www.endabuse.org/health