Justice Department Commemorates Fifteen Years of the Violence Against Women Act

/PRNewswire/ -- The Department of Justice today commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was signed into law on September 13, 1994. This critical legislation was created in recognition of the severity of the crimes associated with domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The anniversary also marks 15 years since the creation of the Department's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), which administers financial and technical assistance to communities around the country to facilitate the creation of programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.

"We've made tremendous progress since the Violence Against Women Act first passed in 1994, but we have much more to do. We cannot rest. It will take all of us to fulfill the promise to end domestic violence and sexual assault," said Vice President Joe Biden, the author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act.

"The Violence Against Women Act forever changed the way this nation meets our responsibility to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. It has been an essential building block in the Justice Department's work to end violence against women," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "It is only in working together that we can make a difference and save lives, and the Justice Department will continue to take every possible step to enforce laws protecting victims of violence and to provide resources to aid victim service providers."

"Without a doubt, VAWA would never have happened without the steadfast commitment and work of the countless advocates, coalitions and community partners who worked tirelessly for federal legislation to mark the importance of the issue and provide vital resources," said Catherine Pierce, Acting Director of OVW. "In the past 15 years, countless lives have been saved, the voices of survivors have been heard, families have been protected, and the criminal justice community has been trained on the complex responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking."

The anniversary marks the start of a year-long anniversary effort to raise public awareness on issues around violence against women, to reinforce and build coalitions among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and victim services communities, and to reinforce the goal of ending domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking for men, women and children across the country.

In recognition of the severity of the crimes associated with gender-motivated violence, Congress passed VAWA as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. VAWA is comprehensive legislative designed to end violence against women through criminal penalties, civil remedies, federal grant programs, and research and was reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. Since the passage of VAWA, there has been a paradigm shift in how the issue of violence against women is addressed in communities throughout the nation.

OVW was created to specifically implement VAWA and subsequent legislation. Currently, OVW administers two formula grant programs and 17 discretionary grant programs, all of which were established under VAWA and subsequent legislation. The office has also maintained a 15-year partnership with state, local and tribal governments, coalitions, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges and court personnel, victim advocates, health care providers and national organizations.

Every day, VAWA funding makes a difference in how communities across America help victims and hold offenders accountable. For example, subgrantees receiving funding awarded by states through OVW's STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program reported that, in calendar year 2007:

-- More than 505,000 victims were served;
-- Over 1,201,000 services were provided to victims; and
-- More than 4,700 individuals were arrested for violations of protection
orders.

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National Poll: More Than One-in-Four Teens Think Violent Behavior is Acceptable; Many Say It's OK to Settle a Score

RJ Note: Well, Ollie, that's another fine mess you've gotten us in to. We Americans had best wake up when it comes to our children.

/PRNewswire/ -- While today's teens are learning the Three "Rs" of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic in school, new research shows that many are justifying violence to practice a fourth -- Revenge. In a youth culture where violence is often believed to be acceptable, these and other findings not only present disturbing implications for school safety, but for the workplace as well, say experts.

A new poll of 750 teens from Junior Achievement and Deloitte and conducted by Opinion Research shows that more than one-in-four teens (27 percent) think behaving violently is sometimes, often or always acceptable. More students thought violence was acceptable than was cheating (19 percent), plagiarizing (10 percent) or stealing (3 percent). And fully 20 percent of respondents said they had personally behaved violently towards another person in the past year, and 41 percent reported a friend had done so.

When the teens who agreed that violence was acceptable were asked more specifically about rationale for such behavior, most noted self-defense (87 percent) and to help a friend (73 percent). However, more than a third said violence was acceptable to settle an argument (35 percent) and for revenge (34 percent). Other justifications were dislike of the person who is the target of the violence (22 percent), to gain respect (21 percent), peer pressure (14 percent), and simply for "the thrill" of it (10 percent). Of considerable concern is that more than three-fourths (77 percent) of those who think violence is acceptable also consider themselves ethically prepared to enter the workforce.

"It is highly troubling that so many teenagers have a self-image of ethical readiness and the confidence in their ability to make good decisions later in life, yet at the same time freely admit to current behavior that is highly unethical," said David W. Miller, Ph.D., Director of the Princeton University Faith & Work Initiative, and professor of business ethics at Princeton University. "Employers will have their hands full if a quarter of teens grow up still willing to resort to violence and other unethical behavior when it comes to making decisions about how to settle differences, protect their interests or get ahead."

The poll also shows that teens feel more accountable to themselves (86 percent), than they do to their parents or guardians (52 percent), their friends (41 percent) or society (33 percent). Teens' feelings about accountability, coupled with self-reported unethical behavior, raises a potential concern among employers because ties within a community, school, work environment or social network often guide behavior. If teens lack accountability to others, the data suggests that their choices may be driven purely by self-interest, and not by interest in the greater good.

"The results of the survey reveal considerable ethical relativism among teens and raises questions about their ability to make good decisions later in life," said Sean C. Rush, President and Chief Executive Officer of JA Worldwide. We're understandably concerned about these results but recognize that they do point to a major learning opportunity."

The survey results also show that many teenagers are lacking role models. Only about half (54 percent) cite their parents as role models. Most of those who don't cite their parents as role models are turning to their friends, or they said they didn't have a role model -- which begs the question why more parents, teachers, clergy, politicians or business leaders are not viewed as role models -- and what society can do to improve this statistic.

"Teens need training in ethical decision-making, practical tools and behavioral role models that help them understand not only how to make the right choices, but how those choices will impact their personal success and the success of the organizations they join," said Ainar D. Aijala, global managing partner, Consulting, Deloitte and chairman of the board, JA Worldwide. "That is why Deloitte continues to support ethics education in collaboration with Junior Achievement."

Junior Achievement and Deloitte offer "JA Business Ethics(TM)" as part of their $2 million initiative to help young people make ethical decisions. "JA Business Ethics" was developed in response to the needs of high school students; it provides hands-on classroom activities and real-life applications designed to foster ethical decision-making as students prepare to enter the workforce and addresses issues such as lying, cheating and violence. Students examine how their beliefs align with major ethics theories and learn the benefits and advantages of having a code of ethics. Additionally, Junior Achievement recently updated the original "Excellence through Ethics(TM)" program, which is available online at www.ja.org/ethics free of charge and provides age-appropriate lessons for students in grades 4-12. At the high school level, the "Excellence through Ethics" lessons include appropriate methods of conflict resolution in the workplace. For example, through role-playing exercises, students learn how to overcome disagreements with co-workers by finding common ground.

Methodology

This report presents the findings of a telephone survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, among a national sample of 750 teens comprising 375 males and 375 females 12 to 17 years of age, living in private households in the continental United States. Interviewing for this TEEN CARAVAN(R) Survey was completed during the period October 9-12, 2008. The survey's margin of error is +/- 3.6 percent.

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