Posts Tagged “VAWA”

Jun 11 2008

2008 Federal Appropriations for VAWA Funding

Posted by: TheForensicNurse in Laws, Resources, tags: , ,

VAWA programs were both cut and received funding for new programs in the 2008

Omnibus Appropriations Bill. However, the Victim of Crime Act Fund (VOCA) has been

cut by $35 million. The President’s budget called for the elimination of the VOCA Fund

by absorbing the balance into the Treasury. However, NCADV fought hard to save

VOCA even ask for a raise the VOCA cap. Though many Members of Congress

supported increases to the VOCA cap, pressure from the White House and continued

vetoes of appropriations bills proved too delicate a political issue at this time.

Many essential VAWA programs received increases, including:

· $8.8 million increase for STOP Grants

· $2.6 million increase for Transitional Housing

· $1.6 million increase for Services for Rural Victims

New programs that received funding are:

· $2.8 million money for Services for Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

· $2.8 million for Services for Teens

· $2.8 million for Engaging Men and Youth in Prevention

· $9.4 million for the Sexual Assault Services Program

Although VAWA programs received an overall increase, some programs were cut.

There was a $2.1 million cut to Legal Assistance for Victims and a $3.2 million cut to

Grants to Encourage Arrest.

Labor Health and Human Services programs like the Family Violence Prevention

Services Act (FVPSA), the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and Rape Prevention

and Education received no funding increases or cuts, leaving them the same as last

year. Each year, however, all programs have a small percent taken off their overall

budget, called a rescission. This year the rescission is at 1.747% which essentially cuts

funding to these programs.

FVPSA will now be funded at $122.6 million (a $2.2 million cut) and the National

Domestic Violence Hotline will be funded at $2.9 million (a $52,000 cut).

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Apr 10 2008

SEXUAL ASSAULT SERVICES PROGRAM

Posted by: TheForensicNurse in Forensic Nursing Events, Forensic Nursing Terms, Resources, tags: , ,

Cindy Dyer, Director for the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), today announced the newly designated Sexual Assault Services Program. The program will support the establishment, maintenance and expansion of rape crisis centers and other programs and projects to assist those victimized by sexual assault. This program was authorized as part of the Violence Against Women Act and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005.

“The new Sexual Assault Services Program will focus on providing improved services for sexual assault victims and a stronger criminal justice response to sexual assault crimes,” said Ms. Dyer, who made the announcement during National Sexual Assault Awareness month. “I look forward to working with sexual assault victim advocates, service providers and criminal justice professionals to implement this important program.” Ms. Dyer is an experienced prosecutor and a recognized authority on the topic of family violence and sexual assault.

In addition to establishing rape crisis centers, awards made through the program will assist states, Indian tribes and territories to provide intervention and related assistance services. These may include: 24-hour hotline services; accompaniment and advocacy through medical, criminal justice and social support systems, including medical facilities, police and court proceedings; crisis intervention; and community-based, linguistically and culturally specific services and support mechanisms, including outreach activities for underserved communities.

An announcement regarding eligibility requirements, funding thresholds and application procedures for the Sexual Assault Services Program will be forthcoming. Once available, the grant solicitation will be posted on www.ovw.usdoj.gov

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, provides leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation. Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. In addition to overseeing 12 federal grant programs, OVW often undertakes initiatives in response to areas of special need, dedicating resources to develop enhancements in areas requiring particular attention or in communities facing particularly acute challenges. More information is available at www.ovw.usdoj.gov

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Jan 18 2008

International Violence Against Women Act

Posted by: TheForensicNurse in Education, Laws, Prevention, Resources, tags: , ,

The international version of the popular Violence Against Women Act, the I-VAWA act was recently introduced in the United States Senate on October 31st by Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN). It will become one of the largest funded resources for ending gender based violence in the world. Funding will exceed over $1 billion over a five year period.

I-VAWA has three main components. It:
Creates one central Office for Women’s Global Initiatives to coordinate the United States’ policies, programs and resources that deal with women’s issues. Never before has such a high-level office been created to report directly to the Secretary of State on issues related to gender-based violence and the needs of women and girls.

  1. Mandates a five-year comprehensive strategy to fight violence against women in 10 to 20 selected countries and provides a new, dedicated funding stream of $175 million a year to support programs dealing with violence against women in five areas: the criminal and civil justice system, healthcare, girls’ access to education and school safety, women’s economic empowerment, and public awareness campaigns.
  2. Requires training, reporting mechanisms and a system for dealing with women and girls afflicted by violence during humanitarian, conflict and post-conflict operations. As the recent reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo make tragically clear, in situations of humanitarian crises, conflict and post-conflict operations, women and girls are particularly vulnerable to violence. Reports of refugee women being raped while collecting firewood, soldiers sexually abusing girls in exchange for token food items, or women subjected to unimaginable brutality and torture as a tactic of war are shocking in number and inhumanity. There is a dire need for increased training and reporting requirements for refugee workers to help crack down on these brutal acts of violence. In addition, the bill crafts a new designation of “critical outbreaks” and requires emergency measures when rape is used as a weapon of war or in conflicts where violence against women is sharply escalating with impunity.

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