FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???? ?????? ??????????? ????AG
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2003????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202-514-2007
ATTORNEY GENERAL PARTICIPATES IN WHITE HOUSE
ROUNDTABLE
ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Washington, D.C. ? Attorney General John
Ashcroft and Health and Human Services Secretary ?Tommy Thompson participated today in a White House Roundtable on
violence against women.? Advocates,
policymakers, practitioners, business leaders and celebrity activists discussed
the Bush Administration?s accomplishments on the issue and additional ways to
address the problem.? The event was held
during Lifetime Television?s ?Stop Violence Against Women Week,? which is
taking place March 3-8.
?This Roundtable is part of our concerted
effort to eliminate violence against women in this country,? said Attorney
General John Ashcroft.? ?The keen
insight and valuable contributions provided by these leaders will help fortify
our work to keep women safe, hold offenders accountable, and bring communities
together in our ongoing efforts to end violence against women, ? added
Ashcroft.
Since 1994, the Justice Department?s Office
on Violence Against Women has awarded more than $1 billion in grant funds to
help communities increase support services for victims of domestic violence,
sexual assault, and stalking.? This
Administration has increased the violence against women budget by $100 million
in FY 2002 and FY 2003, which has greatly expanded the ability to reach even
more communities.? More than $24 million
has been dedicated to improving the criminal justice response to older victims
and victims with disabilities who are abused or sexually assaulted.? Another $30 million has been dedicated to
the creation of safe, supervised visitation centers for children in families
experiencing domestic violence.?
In addition to the Attorney General and
Secretary Thompson, the Roundtable participants included:
Margaret Spelling, Domestic Policy Advisor, White House
Cristina V. Beato, M.D., Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Health, Department of Health and Human Services
Reverend Cheryle Albert, Assistant Pastor, Union Baptist Church,
Cambridge, MA and Director of Programming for the Family Violence Prevention
Project at Safe Havens Interfaith Partnership Against Domestic Violence,
Boston, MA
Scott Berkowitz, founder and president of RAINN (Rape, Abuse
& Incest National Network)
Carole Black, President and CEO of Lifetime Entertainment
Services
Michael Bolton, Singer/Songwriter and Co-Chair, National
Coalition Against Domestic Violence Board of Advisors
Sheryl Cates, Executive Director of the National Domestic
Violence Hotline, a program sponsored by the Department of Health and Human
Services
Kellie Greene, founder and director of Speaking Out About
Rape, Inc. (SOAR)
Casey Gwinn, City Attorney, City of San Diego
Don McPherson, Executive Director, Sports Leadership
Institute, Adelphi University, and former professional football player and
national spokesperson on violence prevention issues
Connie Morella, former U.S. Representative for the Eighth
District of Maryland and original sponsor of the Violence Against Women Act
Emma Morena, Director of Federal Relations, League of United Latin American
Citizens
Lynn Rosenthal, Executive Director, National Network to End
Domestic Violence
Delilah Rumburg, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania
Coalition Against Rape and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Rita Smith, Executive Director, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Dennis ?Denny? Strigl, CEO and President of Verizon Wireless
The Attorney General was also joined by
Office of Justice Programs Assistant Attorney General Deborah J. Daniels and
Diane M. Stuart, Acting Director of the Department?s Office on Violence Against
Women.? Earlier this week, the President
announced his intent to nominate Ms. Stuart as the Director of the Office.? Under a law passed last year by Congress,
the head of the Office must now be confirmed by the Senate.?
?As I travel around the country speaking and
meeting with victim advocates, I always ask people in the field to tell me what
I need to know in order to be more effective,? said Diane Stuart, Acting
Director of the Office on Violence Against Women.? ?Today, we heard some ideas about what we can do to have a
broader national impact on reducing violent crimes against women.?
Stuart has served as Director of the Office
on Violence Against Women since her appointment by President Bush in October
2001.? Prior to her appointment, Stuart
was the State Coordinator for the Utah Domestic Violence Cabinet Council,
serving in that capacity since 1996.
Prior to that, she worked as a Domestic Violence Victim Advocacy
Specialist in the Division of Child and Family Services for the State of
Utah.? She served as Director of the
Battered Women?s Shelter and Rape Crisis Center in Logan, Utah from 1989
through 1994.?
For additional information about the
participants or the Roundtable, media should contact Linda Mansour at the Office
of Justice Programs? Office of Communications on (202)616-3534 or Monica
Goodling, Office of Public Affairs, Justice Department on (202) 514-2008.
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