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Your Knowledge & Actions Can Help Save The Lives of Thousands of Women & Children in Despair
Take Action Now!
The Crime Victims Fund is the main source of federal funds for victim services and victim assistance in prosecutors’ office, but it is nearly depleted. Immediate action is required to ensure that victim service providers across the country do not face further catastrophic funding cuts!
Annual deposits to the Crime Victims Fund–monetary penalties from federal criminal cases–have dropped by an average of $1.5 billion annually in the past decade. By spending down the balance of the Fund, Congress has been able to prevent the worst of the cuts so far, but that buffer is gone. The cuts we have seen so far have been disastrous, but without action, worse is yet to come.
Urge Senate Leadership to Pass the
CRIME VICTIMS STABILIZATION ACT NOW!
YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION WILL HELP THE LIVES OF COUNTLESS GIRLS AND WOMEN
The Portia Southern Foundation
Your donation of any amount will help support us in our work to educate and help victims get the help they deserve and to create a better world in which domestic violence is no longer an issue.
Thank you for your support and see all the ways below that you can get involved and help.
Resources
WOMEN'S LAW
Empowering Survivors for 25 Years
Website: www.womenslaw.org
Spanish Website: https://www.womenslaw.org/es
Information
Financial Abuse Occurs in 99% of Domestic Violence Cases
Financial abuse occurs in 99% of domestic violence cases and can result in damaged work histories, ruined credit scores, homelessness, and poverty.
For this reason, NNEDV provides training for advocates (in partnership with the Allstate Foundation) to strengthen their ability to assist survivors seeking financial security.
Through the Independence Project, a credit-building micro-lending program, we are helping survivors of domestic violence improve their credit scores and gain access to resources. But we can't do this work without your support!
Understanding the Legislative Process
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The legislative process is the means by which a bill becomes a federal law.
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How a Bill Becomes a LaW
First, a member of the House or Senate drafts a bill and introduces it in their chamber. The bill is then considered and voted on by the committee of jurisdiction and then it is sent to the floor to be voted on by the entire chamber. The process may then be repeated in the other chamber, or a similar bill may be proceeding at the same time. Eventually, legislation that is passed by the House and Senate must go to “conference” where House and Senate members work out the differences before passing the legislation through their respective chambers. Then the bill is sent to the President to be signed into law.
For more information on how a bill becomes a law, please visit:
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October is
Domestic Violence Awareness Month
First observed in October 1981 as a national “Day of Unity,” Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) is held each October as a way to unite advocates across the nation in their efforts to end domestic violence.
Communities and advocacy organizations across the country connect with the public and one another throughout the month to raise awareness about the signs of abuse and ways to stop it, and to uplift survivor stories and provide additional resources to leaders and policymakers.
Watch our page for Domestic Violence Awareness Month updates and events.
The Remedy Is Collaboration
Division is a tool of oppression.
The remedy is collaboration.
Advocates across social justice movements have long known the power of solidarity. However, often the very institutions that sustain us also perpetuate a system of divisiveness and competition among organizations whose goals and values intersect, and between movements searching for voice and visibility. It takes humility and courage to prioritize collective action over individual agendas, and to step back to make space for others, which are necessary shifts in order to achieve true social transformation.
“Transformative movements recognize that we are whole people, our communities are whole, and because the issues and problems are interconnected our systemic solutions and movements must be as well.
How can movement building support our efforts for social change and collective thriving?, explores the Idaho Coalition’s journey to engage in multi-generational movement building work in order to actualize “beloved communities with social equity and collective liberation.” They describe this work as “building a bigger we,” which includes intentional efforts to build authentic relationships with leaders and organizations connected to and rooted in historically marginalized communities.
Similarly, NRCDV’s CEO, Farzana Safiullah, has articulated a clear and bold vision for moving our transformative work forward. Among other priorities in service to this charge, she has emphasized proactive efforts to deepen NRCDV’s commitment to racial justice, to cultivate authentic relationships with community leaders and movements, to invest in stronger connections with community-driven social change efforts, and to engage diverse voices to create healthy relationships and beloved communities.
In May 2018, the Global Fund for Women engaged researchers, advocates, and philanthropists in a conversation that identified the following broad-based movement trends.
• “There are new forms of solidarity across issues, sectors, and geographies. We are seeing social justice organizations linking up and bridging issues, such as environmental justice with land rights or domestic worker rights with migrant worker rights—bringing together movements advancing racial, gender, social, and political justice. By seeking commonalities and overlapping goals, our collective impact is more inclusive, effective, and sustainable.”
• “There are interesting new forms of transnational activism both online and offline, such as #NiUnaMenos, #Neveragain, and #MeToo. These movements are led by women who have been historically left out of the conversation. They are bringing the marginalized to the center, crossing borders, and allowing online organizing of major protests that bring thousands together in person.”
• “Intersectionality is being recognized as a critical component of social movements. Audre Lorde understood that we must acknowledge the various ways that discrimination intersect and the commonalities across our organizing when she said, ‘There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives.’”
Now is the time. We must act together.
What are some concrete ways that you can “build a bigger we” during Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Beyond?
Content from Working Together Towards Collective Liberation
By Casey Keene, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV)