Mission

Printable version

The National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence (NCDSV) designs, provides, and customizes training and consultation, influences policy, promotes collaboration and enhances diversity with the goal of ending domestic and sexual violence.

Background

The National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Austin, Texas. Deborah D. Tucker, MPA, and Sarah M. Buel, JD, co-founded the National Center in May 1998. Their vision was to create an organization that encouraged and created unprecedented levels of collaboration among professionals working to end violence against women.

The reason behind this vision was simple: after decades of work in the field, Debby, Sarah and the founding Board members understood that the most successful efforts - the kind of efforts that save lives and transform society - are always the result of individuals and organizations working together.

The National Center helps a myriad of professionals who work with victims and perpetrators: law enforcement, dispatchers; legal system professionals such as prosecutors, judges and probation officers; health care professionals including emergency response teams, nurses, doctors, therapists and substance-abuse counselors; domestic violence and sexual assault advocates and service providers; social workers; corporate security, human resources and employee assistance professionals; and human services staff including TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) and child welfare workers. NCDSV also works with local, state and federal agencies; state and national organizations; educators, researchers, faith community leaders, media, community leaders, elected officials, policymakers and all branches of the military.

This breadth of experience brings a high level of expertise to our work, whether that work involves training, consultation or public policy advocacy. Having partnered with so many diverse groups - in all 50 states, as well as Mexico and Puerto Rico - we are able to share the big picture around issues of domestic and sexual violence.

Training

Our trainers are among the most knowledgeable in the field, so you receive the most current information and learn the best practices. All National Center trainers are excellent communicators who know how to make complex issues understandable. And it is obvious that NCDSV trainers and consultants genuinely enjoy working with people. NCDSV has extensive experience sponsoring national and regional conferences to inform professionals about current research and best practices on violence against women. Participants in our trainings feel safe. They feel connected. They feel valued. They feel they are being informed. Above all, they feel empowered.

Law Enforcement Training

From 1998-2005, the National Center collaborated with the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the National Sheriffs' Association and the National Center for Rural Law Enforcement to train law enforcement officers, advocates, dispatchers and prosecutors across the country to improve their response to domestic violence and sexual assault cases. Through these collaborations, nearly 5,000 officers, dispatchers, prosecutors and advocates were trained. The Office on Violence Against Women funded these training efforts.

Customized Training

NCDSV trainers:

Consulting

The National Center provides customer-focused consultation and technical assistance. Our staff and consultants:

Advocacy

NCDSV staff and consultants have extensive experience advocating changing laws and influencing policies on domestic and sexual violence at the local, state and federal levels. Our staff and consultants have been intimately involved for more than 20 years changing laws that impact victims of domestic and sexual violence in Texas and Illinois. In addition, they were directly involved in the drafting and passage of the original Violence Against Women Act in 1994. They also assisted in drafting VAWA 2005 and worked for its successful reauthorization.

The National Center’s major focus area for advocacy is the military's response to domestic and sexual violence.

Military Response to Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

NCDSV's Executive Director, Debby Tucker, served as co-chair of the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence (DTFDV). The Task Force examined the responses to both offenders and victims, made recommendations for improvement of systems and collaboration with civilian groups, and reported annually to Congress. While this was a three-year project, the U.S. Department of Defense and Congress are continually conferring with NCDSV as they implement the recommendations of the Task Force. In addition, National Center is collaborating with numerous organizations across the country to implement the Task Force's training recommendations for military law enforcement, chaplains, Family Advocacy Staff, JAG officers and command staff.

As the military has started responding to sexual violence within their own ranks, the National Center has provided consultation, expertise and assistance.

At the invitation of the Battered Women’s Justice Project, Minneapolis, MN, the National Center is working on the Military/Civilian Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence Demonstration Project funded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Defense.  The project will conduct parallel assessments of civilian/military responses and focus on civil and criminal justice intervention, medical response and services for victims and their children and perpetrators.  Two models will be developed from the experiences of two jurisdictions in the project, each located near a sizeable military installation, where significant numbers of these cases are handled annually and issues relating to civilian/military coordination arise on a regular basis.  The participating jurisdictions are: Jacksonville, FL, with its two naval stations, and the Army’s Fort Campbell near Clarksville, TN and Hopkinsville, KY.

The DTFDV's three reports, more information about domestic and sexual violence in the military and links to military resources are available on the National Center's website at www.ncdsv.org.

Board of Directors

Bios on National Center Board members are available at www.ncdsv.org.

Staff and Consultants

One of the most important things to know about the work of NCDSV is how much the staff and consultants enjoy training, consulting and advocacy. We look forward to helping you in any way we can, as we work together to end violence against women. Our extremely qualified and experienced staff and consultants have worked at the local, state and national levels for numerous years.

Bios on National Center staff and consultants are available at www.ncdsv.org.


Top