Urgent Action Alert

Protest Downgrading of Violence Against Women Office

January 28, 2000

Action Needed Immediately:

The U.S. Department of Justice is about to submit a plan to re-organize its Office of Justice Programs (OJP), as required by the D.C. Appropriations bill for the current fiscal year.  Unfortunately, the plan developed by the OJP would take apart the Violence Against Women Office (VAWO), placing different functions in other programs managed by the OJP and will result in
a less effective program. The restructuring proposal is to be submitted to Congress on February 1st. Therefore, your immediate protest against this downgrading of VAWO is essential.

We don't have an email address for them, so please pick up the phone and call the numbers listed below.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The new plan is for the Violence Against Women Office's functions to bedivided up as follows:

1) A centralized Information Office would receive technical assistance calls regarding all grants (such as the STOP grants) but the staff there would not have any special expertise in VAWA grants;

2) the Office of Grants Management would monitor and manage all OJP and VAWA grants, but staff would not necessarily have any knowledge or background in violence against women issues

3) the Program Development Office would include VAWA experts, but would have limited power, no oversight authority, and would mainly make suggestions to the Office of Grants Management.

NOW and other advocates for battered women believe that the re-organization will virtually eliminate this strong and unified voice in reducing violence against women. The re-structuring would also make it considerably more difficult for state coalitions, researchers and activists to obtain accurate and useful information from well-trained experts in the field. Without a centralized and expert VAWO operation, service providers' ability to serve battered women will be seriously limited. Those who will suffer the most are the survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault who rely on effective federally-assisted programs.

YOUR MESSAGE:

Please call the Attorney General's chief of staff (Ann Harkins) at (202) 514-3892, and the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 616-2777 as soon as possible and tell them that:
 
  • You oppose breaking up the Violence Against Women Office and urge that it remain a centralized unit staffed by experts, and
  • If you are a service provider, you may want to describe how your program may be negatively affected by such a change.


    • Please forward this email alert to shelters and other such programs in your area, as well as to any allies.

    Thank you for any help that you can provide in getting this strong message to the Justice Department.

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