Announcing...
Today, we’re proud to launch The RESPECT! Challenge, a national public action campaign and contest that we hope will spark a conversation about the critical role that parents, teachers, coaches, family, and mentors play in shaping young lives and promoting a respectful society. We’ll be honoring the everyday heroes who encouraged us to value those who are different, or urged us to believe in ourselves. In fact, we’re asking the public to answer a very simple question: Who would you like to thank for teaching you Respect?
We’re particularly grateful for responses from some high profile friends; For Nicole Kidman, it was her parents. America Ferrera credits her fifth grade teacher. Willie Mays names his dad, Willie Howard Mays, Sr. They each took a moment to stop and reflect on a person who made an everlasting impact. Watch the video below for more of their responses and to enter the RESPECT! Challenge yourself.
As children head back to school, and the Presidential election ramps up, we hope Respect will be part of the conversation at dinner tables and in classrooms all across the country. In the weeks ahead, we’ll explore what Respect has meant to public figures as well as private lives. In the meantime, take a moment to think about the role models in your life who taught you the value of respect. And enter The RESPECT! Challenge!
18th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act
September 13, 2012
Eighteen years ago, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was signed into law. Today we celebrate and thank all the policy makers who have stood with us to support this critical legislation, particularly Vice President Joe Biden who was instrumental in drafting the first VAWA. The Office of the Vice President released the following statement to mark the anniversary:
Eighteen years ago today, the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was signed into law. It was founded on the basic premise that every woman deserves to be safe from violence, and since its passage, we have made tremendous strides towards achieving that goal. We gave law enforcement and the courts more tools to combat domestic violence and hold offenders accountable. We created a national hotline to direct victims to life-saving assistance. And since VAWA passed, annual rates of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60 percent.
But we still have much work to do. Three women still die every day as a result of domestic violence. One in five women have been raped, many as teenagers, and one in six women have been victims of stalking. While women and girls face these devastating realities every day, reauthorization of a strengthened VAWA languishes in Congress. VAWA is just as important today as it was when it first became law, and I urge Congress to keep the promise we made to our daughters and our granddaughters on that day—that we would work together to keep them safe.
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Alaska Governor Sean Parnell Addresses CBIM Champions
"In travelling around Alaska, I've seen firsthand how critical it is for men to be part of the solution to prevent violence against women and children," said Alaska Governor Sean Parnell in a video address that greeted about forty Coaching Boys into Men (CBIM) champions in Anchorage last week. The audience comprised of coaches, advocates, and educators from around the state met as a part of the Governor's "Choose Respect" initiative. Futures Without Violence staff conducted this two-day training in partnership with the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault based in Juneau with the goal of building confidence and capacity with coaches and advocates to implement the program this school year 2012 – 2013.
CBIM works to inspire coaches to teach their male athletes about the importance of respectful, healthy relationships and that violence never equals strength. Since early July, we have been in high gear working with local advocates and hundreds of high-school athletic coaches around the country preparing for the upcoming fall season.
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