I am pleased to announce the completion and release of the Final Report of the National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women (NAC).  When Attorney General Holder re-chartered the NAC in 2010, his interest was in learning more about solutions to protect children from the harmful consequences of experiencing and witnessing violence in the home.  Developed and written by some of the leading experts in the field, this report provides recommendations for developing innovative and successful interventions with children and teens who witness or are victimized by domestic violence, dating violence and sexual assault.

 Protecting these children is extraordinarily important to my staff and me. One of the key ways we currently support children exposed to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking is through child-centered prevention and intervention projects that augment community-based efforts and evidence-informed practices. Grant programs through the Office on Violence Against Women support prevention strategies that involve community organizing, public education and the mobilization of men as mentors and partners in this work.

 My staff and I look forward to learning from the recommendations of this esteemed NAC and have been enriched by our association with this group over the past two years.  The recommendations will not only influence OVW’s work but will be discussed and considered throughout the Department of Justice, at the Department of Health and Human Services, and at the Department of Education.

 I want to publicly thank the NAC members for their collaboration, matchless dedication, and productivity. We were fortunate to have guidance and expertise from the best and brightest in the field. I would also like to thank former OVW Director Susan Carbon for the vision and leadership she showed as the first designated federal official for the NAC.

 I have confidence that this Final Report will truly inspire and help strengthen the federal government’s work alongside many people and organizations in the field who share the goal of protecting children and ending the scourge of violence against women.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Annual Attorney General’s Awards. I feel privileged to announce that Ellen Pence and Marnie Shiels received awards at the Attorney General’s Awards ceremony held on October 17, 2012. Ellen was honored with The Attorney General’s Award for Meritorious Service and Marnie received The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service.

The Attorney General’s Award for Meritorious Service The Attorney General’s Award for Meritorious Service is the top public service award granted by the Department of Justice and is designed to recognize the most significant contributions of citizens and organizations that have assisted the Department in the accomplishment of its objectives. Only one Meritorious Public Service Award was recommended this year and it is both with great pride and a heavy heart that I announce that Dr. Ellen Pence, Founder and Executive Director of Praxis International, Inc. was posthumously awarded The Attorney General’s Award for Meritorious Public Service for her “Outstanding Dedication to Ending Violence Against Women and Children.”

Dr. Ellen Pence was an advocate, social activist, mentor, and leader in the battered women’s movement for over 35 years. Since 1975, she focused her work on legal reform efforts, particularly in the areas of domestic violence, child protection, housing, and welfare reform. Ellen received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Toronto in 1996, the same year she founded Praxis International. Her commitment to eliminating violence in the lives of women and children was unparalleled and felt by all of those impacted by her work. Ellen’s partner, Amanda McCormick, accepted the award on her behalf.

The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service Marnie Shiels, an Attorney Advisor in the Office on Violence Against Women, is one of thirteen recipients of The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for her involvement in the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Working Group. The Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service is the Department of Justice’s second highest award for employee performance.

I am thrilled to announce these special recognitions and can think of no two people more deserving!

The Office on Violence Against Women, along with the entire Department of Justice, the President and the Vice-President, is proud to join with our partners in the field to recognize October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. If you have not already seen it, take a moment to read President Obama’s 2012 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Proclamation which asserts the strong commitment of this Administration.

Over the past year, we have continued to witness improvements in responses to domestic violence in communities across the country. We have seen the development of specialized domestic violence law enforcement units and prosecution programs, programs that meet the needs of underserved communities, and programs that target children who have witnessed violence at home – just to name a few. But we know there is still more to do.

It is the commitment of those of you who work every day to support the woman who has been abused by her partner, the child who has witnessed violence in his or her home, or to ensure that the abuser is held accountable for his behavior, that keeps the issue of domestic violence at the forefront of our minds. Much of this work is unsung. But at least once a year, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we ask the country to pause and say thank you to the people who have made it a mission in their lives to support and serve victims and to stop the scourge of domestic violence.

At OVW, we recognize that an effective response to domestic violence must emphasize core support services for victims. Building safe homes and safe communities requires access to safe shelter and housing, law enforcement protection, access to justice and economic opportunity. Victim service agencies play an integral role in the lives of domestic violence victims and survivors, and OVW has prioritized deepening and strengthening these service agencies. Without these protections, victims are potentially forced to make life-threatening decisions.

The Obama Administration and Vice-President Biden are committed to ending the tragedy of domestic violence-related homicides. There are several evidenced-based models for successfully identifying high-risk cases, intervening, and, ultimately, reducing domestic violence-related homicides. These successful models need to be replicated, and that is the goal of our recently released Domestic Violence Homicide Reduction Call for Concept Papers. We encourage anyone interested in applying to review the posting on our website and submit applications by October 16, 2012.

As we amass more data and tools to help break the cycle of violence in our communities, we are able to identify more effective interventions in combating domestic violence. However, we must be continually aware that there is no universal approach to combating violence against women. We need to ensure that the approaches we develop and use to address domestic violence are based in the cultures and experiences of the victims with whom we are working. This is why I am excited to participate in the Annual Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation in Tulsa, OK and “Bridging the Gap: Creating a Community of Support for Survivors with Disabilities” in Louisville, KY. With alarming rates of domestic violence among America Indian/Alaskan Native women, women with disabilities and Deaf women, events such as these enhance awareness and strengthen community responses for victims of domestic violence.

In the era of a twenty-four hour news cycle and the explosion of social media, more people are aware of domestic violence than at any point in the past. In recent years, we have witnessed the development and accessibility of emerging technologies like on-line advocacy that help victims of domestic violence. We also know that domestic violence is a complex crime and victim service providers have an increasingly difficult task in maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of the victims they serve. In that vein, OVW is excited to announce the release of a new toolkit developed in partnership with the National Network To End Domestic Violence’s Safety Net Project and The Confidentiality Institute. The “Technology and Confidentiality Toolkit” will help victim service organizations, programs, and partnerships address concerns of confidentiality and privacy in their work to support victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.

Raising awareness and increasing knowledge about domestic violence provides us with an opportunity to empower and support victims. We must seize this moment to build community alliances and collaborations, and to provide all victims of domestic violence with the critical and life-saving services they need.

At the Office on Violence Against Women, we remain committed to our programs and our partners. As we continue working to end violence by supporting victims, holding perpetrators accountable, and preventing abuse before it starts, we know we cannot do it alone. We all have a role in this together – at work, at home and in our communities.

And a special message for practitioners on the front-line: You have an important role in the nation’s response to domestic violence. I am honored to work side by side with you and thank you for your continued commitment to victims of domestic violence.

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 (7233).

This month started off with a stark reminder of the importance of the work that each of us does every day. On June 5, Teresa Wilson, sister of West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence co-director Tonia Thomas, was the victim of a brutal and fatal beating allegedly as a result of domestic violence by her live-in boyfriend, who has been arrested for the deadly attack. Hearing the news of Teresa’s death reminds us that violence against women is always close to home – if it isn’t us, it’s our family, our friends, our neighbors, our colleagues. All of us here at OVW send Tonia and the rest of her family our deepest sympathies and our resolve to continue doing all we can to support the life-saving work of coalitions and service providers across the country.

OVW is committed to reducing the incidence of domestic violence-related homicides. Since the passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, we have seen domestic violence homicides drop significantly across the country. The work of domestic violence advocates, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, health care providers and many others has enabled so many victims to break through the isolation and find opportunities to escape violence. 

However, there are still areas throughout the country where progress has been slow or uneven – and even one homicide is one too many. Some communities have witnessed little change in homicide numbers, while some jurisdictions have seen increases in recent years. Intimate partner homicides account for 14% of all homicides in the US, and researchers estimate that for every victim of domestic violence who has been killed, nine are nearly killed.

There is, however, a growing consensus among researchers and practitioners that many domestic violence homicides are predictable and therefore preventable. In the majority of these homicides, there was a prior history of domestic violence, as well as other high risk indicators. Several evidenced-based models for successfully identifying high-risk cases, intervening, and, ultimately, reducing domestic violence-related homicide are in use in some large and small jurisdictions across the country, and it is a priority of the Obama Administration to see these models replicated. In the coming months we will be launching a special initiative aimed at reducing the incidence and impact of domestic violence-related homicides. We look forward to working with many of you on this life-saving initiative.

As we mourn the tragic loss of Teresa Wilson — and so many women like her — it is essential to remember that by all of us working together, we can stop this heartbreaking violence.

Thank you for everything you do in the struggle against violence against women.