June 26, 2008
High Court Rules in Cases Affecting Victims of Violence
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.
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June 24, 2008
UN Debates Women, Peace and Security
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.
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June 18, 2008
Senators Biden and Lugar Urge Passage
Of I-VAWA
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).
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June 16, 2008
A Father's Day Message Against Violence
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.
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June 3, 2008
Abuse of Children by Aid Workers Common & Under-Reported, Study Finds
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.
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May 1, 2008
International Violence Against Women Act Introduced in House of Representatives
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.
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April 21, 2008
New Studies Examine Violent Deaths, Child Maltreatment
Two studies released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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.
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April 21, 2008
Two Supreme Court Cases Could Affect Victims of Violence
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.
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April 1, 2008
Mixed News on Sexual Violence in the Military
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.
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March 12, 2008
Impact of Violence Lasting, Severe
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.
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February 25, 2008
FVPF to Lead New Initiative to Build Healthy Teen Relationships
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced a new, four-year initiative designed to stop violence among the next generation. Working with the Family Violence Prevention Fund, which it named as its National Program Office for the project, the Foundation will spend $14.625 million over the next four years to prevent teen dating and sexual violence and promote activities that build healthy and safe relationships among youth ages 10 to 14.
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February 8, 2008
Survey Finds Health Problems More Common for Victims of Violence
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.
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February 6, 2008
Bush Budget Threatens Violence Prevention Programs
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 into a block grant.
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January 31, 2008
Stopping Gender-Based Violence Key to Preventing HIV
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.
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December 20, 2007
Justice Department Releases '05 Intimate Partner Violence Data
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.
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December 19, 2007
Dating Violence Up in NYC Schools
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.
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November 29, 2007
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
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.
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November 1, 2007
International Violence Against Women Act
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.
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November 1, 2007
UN Finds 'Hideous' Violence Follows Conflicts
“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.
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October 31, 2007
Where There is Violence Against Women, There is AIDS
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.
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September 27, 2007
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Activities
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.
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September 25, 2007
Partner Violence, Teen Pregnancy Linked
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.
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August 28, 2007
State Legislation
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.
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August 14, 2007
Traumatized Soldiers Need Better Care
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.
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August 14, 2007
WHO Says World Must Step Up Violence Prevention
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.
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June 29, 2007
More Nations Cited for Trafficking
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.
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June 17, 2007
On Father’s Day, A Special Group of Men Say: No More Violence
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.
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June 13, 2007
Most Men Will Support Efforts to Prevent Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault
More than half of men think it is very or fairly likely that, at some point in their lives, they will know a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, and most are willing to take action to raise awareness, help victims, and promote healthy, violence-free relationships, according to a poll released in Washington last week. Issued in time for Father’s Day, the poll was conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Family Violence Prevention Fund, with support from Verizon Wireless.
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June 6, 2007
Violence on Congress' Agenda
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.
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May 17, 2007
‘No Private Matter’ Winners from India, Kenya, U.S.
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.
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April 17, 2007
The Murders at Virginia Tech
"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."
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March 30, 2007
National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence
More than 1,000 leading health and violence prevention experts from 30 countries gathered in San Francisco for the 2007 National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence earlier this month, hearing from former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, activist Denise Brown, Medscape Editor in Chief George Lundberg, Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler, and Congresswoman Lois Capps, among others.
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March 9, 2007
Advocates Urge Full Funding for VAWA
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.
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February 16, 2007
PBS Airs ‘Beyond Beats & Rhymes’
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.
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January 31, 2007
Showcasing Innovative Prevention Programs
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.
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January 17, 2007
Government Reports Drop in Domestic Violence
"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."
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December 22, 2006
New System Tracks Homicides, Suicides
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.
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December 15, 2006
Advocates Alarmed About Immigration Raids
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.
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November 22, 2006
UN Report Finds Violence Against Children Pervasive
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.
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November 22, 2006
16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
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.
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November 20, 2006
Fox “Acted Responsibly” by Cancelling Simpson Special, Soler Says
"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."
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October 16, 2006
New Studies Document Prevalence, Cost of Violence, Inadequate Response
Several studies and surveys released in recent months underscore the grave impact of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women and children.
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October 11, 2006
Violence Against Women Pervasive Problem Worldwide, Says New UN Report
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.
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October 1, 2006
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Activities
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.
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August 17, 2006
Violence Threatens Health of Pregnant Women & Newborns, Study Finds
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.
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August 13, 2006
Women a Focus at XVI International AIDS Conference
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.
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June 29, 2006
12 Nations Cited for Human Trafficking
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.
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June 19, 2006
Founding Fathers 2006: Thousands of Men Are Re-defining Father’s Day
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.
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June 9, 2006
A Call To Action: New Legislation Will Address Findings From WHO Study
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.
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May 10, 2006
“Becoming Myself” Book Tour
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.
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April 21, 2006
Echoes of Trauma
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.
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April 14, 2006
PSAs Urge Dads, Role Models to Teach Boys that Violence is Wrong
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.
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April 14, 2006
Stop Violence Against Women Week
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.
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March 28, 2006
Supreme Court Cases
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.
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March 28, 2006
Teen Dating Violence Week
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.
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February 15, 2006
Supreme Court to Hear Domestic Violence Case
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.
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January 6, 2006
Bush Signs Violence Against Women Act Into Law
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.
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December 19, 2005
Congress Completes Work on Violence Against Women Act
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."
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November 30, 2005
Domestic Violence Widespread, Harms Health of Millions of Women Worldwide
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.
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October 27, 2005
FVPF Partners in North Country National Premiere
 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.
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October 4, 2005
Senate Passes Violence Against Women Act
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."
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September 28, 2005
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Activities
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.
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September 9, 2005
Donate to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund
 Donate to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund and help victims of family violence and sexual assault affected by the disaster in the Gulf Coast.
Donate now
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October 12, 2005
FVPF Joins DreamWorks and Others in Movie Premiere
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.
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July 28, 2005
House Judiciary Committee Passes Violence Against Women Act
 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.
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June 29, 2005
Sports Leaders Help Unveil New Playbook at “Founding Fathers” Event
 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.
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June 27, 2005
Gonzales Ruling a “Serious Blow” to Victims of Violence Who Need Police Protection
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."
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June 13, 2005
New Family Violence Study
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.”
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June 14, 2005
Violence Against Women Act of 2005 Introduced in House & Senate
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.
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May 31, 2005
Coaching Boys Into Men Is Transforming Attitudes
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.
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May 12, 2005
Sexual Assault Reports Rise Sharply in Armed Forces
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.
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May 12, 2005
Exposure to Violence Harms Children's Health
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.
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April 12, 2005
The World Health Report 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.
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April 1, 2005
Supreme Court Hears Arguments In Gonzales Case
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.
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March 18, 2005
Homicide Is One Of The Leading Causes Of Pregnancy-Associated Injury Deaths, Study Concludes
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.
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March 16, 2005
A Champion Passes
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.
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February 8, 2005
CBS Airs Domestic Violence PSAs
 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.
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February 1, 2005
Domestic Violence & The Super Bowl:
The Myth
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.
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January 25, 2005
Ashcroft Delays Decision in Key Asylum Case
 After taking the asylum request of Rodi 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.
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January 25, 2005
Children in Peril
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.
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December 22, 2004
Pelosi Provides $1.5 Million To Stop Abuse
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.
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November 30, 2004
Violence Contributing To Vast Growth in HIV/AIDS Among Women Worldwide, Report Finds
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.
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November 15, 2004
Peterson Guilty
Jurors found Scott Peterson guilty of two homicides in the death of his wife, Laci, and their son, who was to be named Conner.
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October 28, 2004
Ruling May Help New York’s Battered Mothers Keep Their Children
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.
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September 24, 2004
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
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.
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September 1, 2004
Criminal Case Against Bryant Dropped
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.
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