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Speech
Honolulu
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At events in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans today, Attorney General Eric Holder, Deputy Attorney General James Cole, and Acting Director of the Office on Violence Against Women Bea Hanson called on Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which has drastically reduced instances of violence and provided support to victims and their families since first being enacted in 1994. The landmark legislation expired in 2011 and is currently awaiting reauthorization in Congress. Speaking at the White House event on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Attorney General Eric Holder said:
Deputy Attorney General James Cole also echoed the administration’s commitment to preventing domestic violence and reauthorizing the VAWA in his remarks at the 12th Annual International Family Justice Center Conference in New Orleans:
The department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) provides national leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of the VAWA. Family Justice Centers are an example of a the type of program the OVW and the Violence Against Women Act support. These centers give victims and their children access to trained advocates, police officers, prosecutors, judges and medical professionals – all in one location – so they don’t have to go from place to place to get the help they need and deserve. Bea Hanson, the Acting Director of the Office on Violence Against Women, spoke in New Orleans about how the Family Justice Center model has effectively worked throughout the country:
Much has been done in the years since the VAWA became law, but domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse are still too prevalent in our communities. In America, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 13 men will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. Nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been raped at some time in their lives. Each day, on average, three women die as a result of domestic violence. These crimes impact not only the immediate victims, but their families, neighbors, friends, and indeed their entire communities. This is a problem that affects people of every background, ethnicity, age, ability or sexual orientation. The Violence Against Women Act is a key tool in the fight against these crimes. The proposed VAWA legislation combines tough new penalties to both prosecute offenders and offer aid and support to victims. While waiting on Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, the federal government continues to take steps to stop the violence. At the White House today, President Barack Obama signed a presidential memorandum that will require federal agencies to develop policies to address the effects of domestic violence and provide assistance to employees who are experiencing domestic violence. The Department of Justice will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect citizens and support victims of violence. For more information about our work in this area visit the Office on Violence Against Women. We remind all those in need of assistance, or other concerned friends and individuals, to call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.