Hart Applauds Passage of Violence Against Women Act

Hart Applauds Passage of Violence Against Women Act
September 29, 2005

Hart also Announces Pennsylvania Funding to Help Put an End to Domestic Violence

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Melissa Hart, a national advocate for victims of violent crime, applauded the passage of the Violence Against Women Act and announced today that both the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape have been awarded federal grants of $85,457. The grants are awarded through the U.S. Office on Violence Against Women which was created to provide support to rape crisis centers through funding, training and technical assistance.

The Pennsylvania Coalition to End Domestic Violence is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and helping battered women and their children re-establish physical, social and economic dignity. The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape is an organization working at the state and national levels to prevent sexual violence.

In announcing the grants, Congresswoman Hart also praised the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act by the House of Representatives. "These grants and the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act are further steps in the right direction in ending domestic violence and rape. It is a national disgrace that nearly one in four women experiences at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood. Of the almost 692,000 victims of partner violence, 85 percent are women," said Hart.

Congresswoman Hart noted that the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act will continue to provide assistance to women in need. "This legislation allows us to train police officers, judges, prosecutors, victim advocates and child welfare workers across the country and enhance their preparedness to deal with violence against women. Most importantly, it reinforces the work of organizations and agencies dedicated to ending crimes of violence. These programs have helped establish hotlines and shelters for women and make legal assistance available for those in need," said Hart.

Elizabeth Clark-Smith, executive director of Victim Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe) in Butler County maintained that the funding sources in the legislation are critical in meeting victims' needs. "Violence Against Women Act funding has been a driving force in allowing victim service agencies to meet the critical, and previously unmet, needs of survivors. The loss of the funding would be catastrophic for victims," said Clark-Smith.

Congresswoman Hart highlighted that the legislation is tailored to address the specific needs of both rural and urban communities. "One of the lessons we have learned since the Violence Against Women Act was first passed 10 years ago is that victims face unique obstacles depending on their location and economic status. For example, the dynamics of small rural communities pose special challenges to intervention. In rural areas, victims may live several hours from the nearest shelter program and may not have access to transportation and other needed services. Over the last decade this legislation has helped fund specialized services to improve victim safety in rural areas, such as paying for attorneys on wheels programs to help women living in rural areas get to court," said Hart.

Reauthorization of the legislation also focuses on preventing violence against children. Specifically, the legislation places special victim assistants in local law enforcement agencies to serve as liaisons between law enforcement and victims. It also creates a national education curriculum for state and national judicial educators to ensure that all courts have access to information about relevant laws and extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting human trafficking offenses and offenses against children to 10 years.

http://hart.house.gov/News.asp?FormMode=detail&ID=266