Head of the Civil Rights Division Vanita Gupta Delivers Remarks at the End Violence Against Women International Conference

Good morning and thank you for that warm welcome.  I want to acknowledge my outstanding colleagues here with me today – Bea Hanson, who leads the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women, and Ron Davis, Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS Office.

For more than a decade, End Violence Against Women International has helped lead the fight against gender-based violence by providing critical support, robust resources and comprehensive training to those on the front lines of this work.  And you believe – as we do too – that violence against women not only hurts women.  It hurts all of us.  It ruins lives and tears apart families.  It inflicts harm that can linger for years.  And it threatens the bedrock of civilized society: decency, dignity and humanity for all people.

As we discuss the most effective solutions to prevent gender-based violence, we must engage with all stakeholders.  We must talk with women and men from every area of our communities: officers on the street; captains in the locker room; teachers in the classroom; and students in high school and college.  And we must hear from the most vulnerable among us – people living in poverty, people with disabilities and people who speak English as a second language.  Together, we must continue to build new alliances and forge new partnerships to protect the safety and civil rights of all people in this country.

In recent years, the Department of Justice has focused on addressing how gender bias and stereotypes can undermine the law enforcement response to sexual assault and domestic violence.  Combined with misinformation about sexual violence, gender bias and stereotypes inflict a devastating impact – on victims seeking protection, on officers investigating crimes and on prosecutors administering justice.  Of course, gender bias can appear in many forms – from implicit bias to outright discrimination.

In the Civil Rights Division, we’ve seen the devastating impact of gender bias through our investigations into local police departments, including in Missoula, Montana; New Orleans; and Puerto Rico.  Following each of these investigations, we engaged directly with a range of stakeholders – from leaders in law enforcement, to survivors of sexual violence – and we crafted comprehensive settlement agreements to bring real reform to their communities.  Our agreements helped law enforcement organizations develop a victim-centered and trauma-informed response to sexual assault and domestic violence.

After each of these cases, we heard from an array of stakeholders – including officers, victims and advocates – urging us to issue informative and detailed guidance.  We listened and then we responded.  Last December, we released new guidance to help state and local law enforcement agencies across the country incorporate a series of key principles into clear policies, comprehensive training and effective supervision measures to more effectively protect victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

These principles include using trauma-informed interview tactics that encourage victims to participate – replacing prejudiced statements that assume what happened with neutral, open-ended questions to learn what actually occurred.  They advise police officers to adopt a victim-centered approach that addresses the medical, emotional and safety needs of victims, including referrals to appropriate services.  And they urge law enforcement agencies to train their officers in recognizing the potential for abusers to report domestic violence complaints preemptively, portraying themselves as victims rather than perpetrators.

Each day across America, brave men and women in law enforcement work tirelessly to keep us safe and to combat the scourge of sexual violence in our communities.  And we look forward to continuing to partner with law enforcement officials around the country dedicated to preventing – and responding more effectively to – sexual assault and domestic violence.  Together, we can help keep our friends and our families safe.  Together, we can defend the values of human decency and dignity.  And together, we can build a world where all our children – regardless of what they look like or whom they love – can live free from violence, discrimination and harassment.

And so as you participate in discussions with your colleagues here this afternoon, I urge you to engage with one another, to collaborate with each other and to never lose faith in the collective power we hold to combat and prevent domestic violence and sexual assault.  I look forward to our continued partnership in this vital work.  And now, please join me in welcoming to the stage one of our most devoted allies in this work – my esteemed colleague and a visionary leader in the fight against domestic violence and sexual assault – Bea Hanson.