Domestic Violence and Health Care Protocols

Posted by Kyle Coleman

There are a number of important steps to take in preparing a health care setting or practice for identifying and responding to patients experiencing domestic violence. It is critical to develop or adapt protocols that assist and support staff. This approach enables the staff in any health care setting to respond to domestic violence in a comprehensive and institutionalized manner including screening, identification/assessment, treatment, documentation, safety planning, discharge planning and referral.

Futures Without Violence has selected model protocols from various health care settings across the United States as well as highlights about the health care practice that has implemented the model protocol. As you will see, some of the protocols are comprehensive and others brief but adequate in addressing the role of providers. There are protocols that address specific settings and others that demonstrate creative strategies in responding to domestic violence or lifetime exposure to violence. All are designed to provide you with a blueprint for preparing for and responding effectively and efficiently to patients experiencing domestic violence.

Minimal Elements of a Domestic Violence Protocol & Implementation of a Domestic Violence Protocol

Model Protocols:

Domestic Violence and Strangulation Policy (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, MA)

Guidelines for Clinical Assessment and Intervention (Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center, OR)

Employee Domestic Violence Policy and Procedure: Guidelines for Increasing Safety and Providing Support (Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center, OR)

San Francisco Department of Public Health

Protocol for Adolescent Relationship Abuse Prevention and Intervention (Futures Without Violence)

More Than A Quarter Of Teens In A Relationship Report Digital Abuse

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center released a 2013 study examining the role technology plays in teen dating abuse. According to the study, 26 percent of teens in a romantic relationship said their partners had digitally abused them during the previous year using social media, email, and text messages. The findings, published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, are based on a survey of 5,647 dating middle-school and high-school students, making it the most comprehensive study of its kind to date.

Although previous studies have examined teen dating abuse, until today few of them illuminated how abusers use technology to hurt their partners. The new study, conducted by Urban Institute researchers Janine Zweig and Meredith Dank, gives insight into the methods perpetrators use, who the victims are, and when the abuse is carried out.

“New technologies–social networking sites, texts, cell phones, and emails–have given abusers another way to control, degrade, and frighten their partners,” Zweig stated.

“Abusers use technology to stalk their partners, send them degrading messages, embarrass them publicly, and pressure them for sex or sexually explicit photos,” Dank added.

Among the study’s key findings:

  • Girls in a relationship are digitally victimized more often than boys, especially when the abuse is sexual. Overall, girls in relationships report being victims of digital abuse more frequently than boys: 29 and 23 percent, respectively. This divide widens when the reported abuse involves sexual behavior. Approximately 15 percent of girls report sexual digital abuse, compared with 7 percent of boys. The gap narrows when the reported digital abuse is not sexual: 23 percent of girls compared with 21 percent of boys.

 

  • Tampering with a partner’s social media account is the most prevalent form of digital abuse. More than one in twelve teens in a relationship (8.7 percent) say their partner used their social networking account without their permission.

 

  • Acts of sexual digital abuse are the second and third most-reported complaints. Approximately 7 percent of teenagers say their partner sent them texts and/or emails asking them to engage in unwanted sexual acts. The same percentage says their partner pressured them to send a sexually explicit photo of themselves.

 

  • Digital harassment is a red flag for other abuse. Digital abuse in a relationship rarely happens in isolation: 84 percent of the teens who report digital abuse say they were also psychologically abused by their partners, 52 percent say they were also physically abused, and 33 percent say they were also sexually coerced. Only 4 percent of teens in a relationship say the abuse and harassment they experienced was digital alone.

 

  • Roughly 1 out of 12 teens report being both perpetrators and victims of digital abuse. Approximately 8 percent of teens say they were subjected to digital abuse, but also said they treated their partners the same way.

 

  • Schools are relatively free from digital harassment, but remain the centers for physical and psychological abuse. Most digital harassment happens before or after school; only 17 percent of the teens who report digital harassment say they experienced it on schools grounds.

 

  • Victims of relationship digital abuse include girls and boys, middle-school and high-school students, and teens of all sexual orientations. All have one thing in common: they rarely seek help from teachers or authorities.

Video on Dating Violence from the White House

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Vice President Joe Biden has released a public service announcement (PSA) that will air on ESPN, MLB Network and Fox Sports. The PSA features the President, Vice President, and several professional athletes – role models who deliver the message that dating violence is unacceptable and that respectful and healthy relationships are essential.

Despite the significant progress made in reducing violence against adult women, young women continue to face the highest rates of dating violence and sexual assault. In the last year, one in 10 teens have reported being physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend. One in five young women have been sexually assaulted while they’re in college. In response to these alarming statistics, Vice President Biden launched the 1is2many campaign. The campaign focuses his longstanding commitment to reducing violence against women specifically on teens and young women ages 16-24. By targeting the importance of changing attitudes that lead to violence and educating the public on the realities of abuse, the 1is2many campaign aims to prevent violence before it occurs.

U.S. Government Allocates $150 Million to Prevent Global Gender-Based Violence

Posted by Kyle Coleman

For the first time in our history, the U.S. government has allocated $150 million specifically for ending gender-based violence globally – and an additional $50 million is allocated for women’s leadership programs. The funding, included in the Omnibus budget that has been approved by Congress, is specifically for the implementation of the U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally, which was developed around the framework called for in the International Violence Against Women Act.

These new funds are a critical down payment on our efforts to help end the violent beating, raping, and killing of women and girls around the world. They will go toward implementing a multi-sectoral, multi-country strategy that addresses multiple forms of violence as rape, child marriage, domestic violence, and sex trafficking.

We’re grateful to key players, including Vice President Joe Biden, our new Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, Cathy Russell, and our key allies on Capitol Hill. We at Futures also take particular pride in the role that our board member, (former) Congressman Bill Delahunt played in guiding our strategy and building momentum on the Hill for this issue.

We continue to gain momentum for the International Violence Against Women Act in this Congress. Introduced in the House this past November, the legislation will soon be introduced by a bi-partisan slate in the Senate

IRS Issues New Policy to Protect Victims of Domestic Violence

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued important guidance to address a serious problem that has prevented domestic abuse victims from accessing health insurance through the federal insurance marketplaces.

Federal rules required that legally married women count their husbands’ income when applying for health insurance through the marketplace–even when the woman was estranged from the spouse, living separately, or had no access to their husband’s income. This meant that women who by themselves would qualify for financial help to buy coverage were unable to get it.

The IRS has now implemented policy that says that even if the survivor is still married, they can be eligible for financial help for health insurance if they live apart from their spouse at the time they file taxes and indicate on their taxes that they are unable to file jointly due to domestic abuse. These women have also been given a special enrollment period to get coverage.

At this time, it is unclear what documentation will be needed, if any, to prove domestic violence.

Senate Hearing on Global GBV

Posted by Kyle Coleman

After re-introducing the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) with bipartisan support last month, the Senate held a Standing-Room-Only hearing on global gender-based violence yesterday to draw attention to the biggest human rights challenge of our time.

The hearing, entitled, “Combating Violence and Discrimination Against Women: A Global Call to Action,” took place in front of a room packed with survivors, advocates, and policy makers demanding an end to gender-based violence. Among those testifying were Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Representatives from the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development were also present to report on the Obama Administration’s efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in its many forms. Rounding out the witnesses were three members of the NGO community who emphasized the need to engage men and boys as allies and partners – a belief we at Futures Without Violence have championed for decades – among other helpful preventative measures. FUTURES President and Founder, Esta Soler, contributed a statement on the global scourge of gender-based violence.

Did you miss the hearing? You can watch the full recording online.

President Signs Act to Prevent Sexual Violence in Military

Posted by Kyle Coleman

President Obama signed the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, which included amendments to significantly reform the Department of Defense’s sexual assault and sexual harassment policies. NDAA is a robust bill that specifies the budget and expenditures of the Department of Defense, and contains sections that deal with military issues ranging from retiree benefits to programs protecting military personnel from sexual violence.

The sexual violence amendments will improve reporting protocols, hold offenders accountable for their actions, and help protect the men and women of U.S. military from sexual assault and harassment. In total, 19 amendments were included in the landmark bill—the largest number of sexual violence provisions ever signed into law.

We commend the bipartisan Members of Congress who were instrumental to the drafting of the NDAA language, as well as Leon E. Panetta, Secretary of Defense, and General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for supporting these significant policy and training changes to address sexual violence the military. Panetta introduced sweeping, department-wide initiatives within the Department of Defense, even before NDAA became law. Futures urges the Department of Defense to swiftly implement these policies so that women and men in uniform can serve knowing that they are safe from sexual assault and harassment.

According to the Department of Labor, a staggering one in three military women has been sexually assaulted. In recent years, the Department of Defense has faced public pressure to address sexual violence within the military thanks to advocacy organizations’ work, increased media coverage of abuse, and awareness-generating vehicles such as the Invisible War.

To learn more about the sexual violence and harassment amendments included in NDAA, click here. For more information about sexual abuse in the military, check out our Fact Sheet.

Military Rape Victims Speak Up in New Documentary: The Invisible War

Posted by Kyle Coleman

[UPDATE: The Invisible War, one of the most talked about documentaries at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, received the festival’s Audience Award January 31st, and Grammy Award winner Mary J. Blige pledged to write an original song when the film is distributed.]

The Invisible War examines the epidemic of rape within the US military. Today, a female soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. Directed by Kirby Dick and executive produced by a line-up of activists including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Geralyn Dreyfous, Abigail Disney, Nicole Boxer Keegan and Maria Cuomo Cole, the film features hard-hitting interviews with rape survivors, high-ranking military officials, and members of Congress.

The Invisible War proposes that not only does violence and harassment from fellow soldiers and officers traumatize victims, but the absence of impartial justice is often compounded by personal retaliations faced after reporting the crime.

When several of the rape victims who are featured in the film appeared at a Sundance screening, there was an unexpected and touching result. Kori Cioca, who suffered repeated sexual assaults by a superior officer in the Coast Guard, described the enormous medical costs it will require to repair her dislocated jaw. A couple from the audience, who were attending the Sundance event, approached her following the screening and committed to paying her medical bills, estimated at $60,000. Cioca’s emotional story was the rare bright moment in an otherwise difficult conversation. Check out the video online.

Stay tuned for updates about when and where you can see this powerful film in the months ahead.

Advocates Turn Horrific Events Into Successful Call for Action

Posted by Kyle Coleman

In every corner of our world, women and children are beaten, raped and in other ways abused each day. Rates of rape and sexual assault often spike during times of conflict or crisis, like the current situations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Haiti, Libya and Yemen.  PBS stations around the country aired Pushing the Elephant, which tells the story of how Rose Mapendo survived brutal violence in war-torn DRC. In conjunction with the documentary, groups working to stop this violence cited Mapendo’s story in their call for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to appoint a senior level person responsible for addressing gender-based violence (GBV) and the needs of women and girls.

No strategy currently exists to shape the United States’ formal response to GBV. Appointing a USAID Senior Gender Advisor to oversee and coordinate the agency’s GBV and women’s empowerment activities was a key component of the proposed International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA). Activists are now calling on the Obama Administration to take the lead and make such an appointment. In a letter to President Obama, they urged:

“We need a high level advocate at USAID to oversee and coordinate the agency’s activities on GBV and women’s empowerment. Please appoint a Senior Gender Advisor at USAID immediately to work directly with the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Melanne Verveer, at the Department of State to create a comprehensive strategy for reducing gender-based violence and fund implementation. A U.S. strategy to combat gender-based violence must include a concerted effort from USAID’s various bureaus as development and women’s elevated status in society goes hand-in-hand with reducing the prevalence of violence.”

Following the Pushing the Elephant premiere on PBS’ Independent Lens, Futures Without Violence (formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund), Jewish Women International (JWI) and Arts Engine hosted a conference call for allies and supporters to discuss the needed policy changes – like reintroducing I-VAWA – and how to prevent and end this violence. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Pushing the Elephant filmmaker Elizabeth Mandel and Futures Without Violence Director of Public Policy and Advocacy Kiersten Stewart presented on the conference call. JWI Executive Director Loribeth Weinstein moderated. Some 150 activists from across the country participated, echoing the need for President Obama to appoint the USAID senior position.

More information, including a screening guide.

Futures Celebrates International Day of the Girl (10/11)

Posted by Kyle Coleman

We applaud the United Nations for recognizing the value of girls and declaring October 11th the International Day of the Girl. Every girl deserves to live an empowered life free of discrimination, abuse, economic disparities, and violence. This landmark day celebrates the importance of girls, and will generate conversation about specific injustices that girls face across the globe.

In honor of the first International Day of the Girl, Futures Without Violence helped lead the fight against the harmful practice of child marriage, a form of gender-based violence and human rights violation. Child marriage prevents more than 10 million girls a year from being able to reach their full potential and makes it harder for families, communities, and countries to escape poverty. Child brides are more likely to drop out of school, contract HIV, experience domestic violence, and die during child birth.

Futures is a part of Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of over 180 organizations working to end child marriage all over the world. Together, we aim to give a voice to girls at risk of child marriage, defend their rights to health and education, and give them the opportunities they need to fulfill their potential.

During her remarks to group of Girl Scouts yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton championed the inaugural International Day of the Girl and announced new private and public initiatives to prevent child marriage and promote girls’ education around the world. Secretary Clinton condemned the shooting in Pakistan of a 14-year-old girl who courageously advocated for girls’ rights, and called child marriage, “a threat to the fundamental human rights of girls.”

We are proud to support the inaugural International Day of the Girl and help lead the fight against child marriage. Visit their website to find out more about Girls Not Brides and see how you can take action on International Day of the Girl and beyond.

Rape is Rape: Facts Not Fiction

Posted by Kyle Coleman

For over 30 years, we’ve been deeply immersed in supporting and developing programs, studies, policies, and legislation intended to prevent and stop rape and sexual violence.

Here are the facts:

  • 1.3 million U.S. women were raped during 2009, the year preceding the latest survey from CDC (Centers for Disease Control).
  • In the United States, the health care cost of intimate partner rape, physical assault and stalking totals $5.8 billion each year, nearly $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health services.
  • Nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the US report having been raped at some time in their lives.
  • 81% of women who experienced rape, stalking or physical violence by an intimate partner reported significant short or long term impacts related to the violence experienced in the abusive relationship, while 35% of men report such impacts of their experiences.
  • In a nationally representative survey: for the first rape experience of female victims, perpetrators were reported to be intimate partners (30.4%), family members (23.7%), and acquaintances (20%).
  • U.S. women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest rates of rape and sexual assault, and people ages 18 and 19 experience the highest rates of stalking. Violence limits young women’s ability to manage their reproductive health and exposes them to sexually transmitted diseases.
  • The United Nations Development Fund for Women estimates that at least one of every three women globally will be beaten, raped, or otherwise abused during her lifetime. In most cases, the abuser is a member of her own family.
  • Sexual violence is a pervasive global health and human rights problem. In some countries, approximately one in four women and girls over age 15 may experience sexual violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives, and rates of sexual abuse by non-partners ranges from one to 12 percent over the course of a woman’s lifetime.
  • Sexual violence and rape have been used during armed conflict to torture, injure and degrade women, and have been a feature of recent conflicts around the world, including those in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Darfur region of Sudan, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia.

Read the full National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey from the CDC.

Sportswriters Are Standing Up, Not Standing By

Posted by Kyle Coleman

As the facts continue to unfold in the Penn State and Syracuse abuse cases, the only good news may be that the country has reached a tipping point on the subject of child sexual abuse. Thousands of voices have denounced the silence that prevailed for years inside two of the country’s top sports franchises.

And do you know who we think is doing a great job fueling the public conversation? Sportswriters.

We’re impressed by guys like Mitch Albom at Detroit Free Press, Greg Couch at Fox Sports, Mike Lupica at The New York Daily News and Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated. They could have circled the wagons to protect the legacies of Penn State’s coach Joe Paterno and Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim, kept an editorial distance, and reported the facts with complacent indifference. Instead, they acknowledged the shame and called for dismissal of the higher-ups who turned a blind eye while children were betrayed. They’ve been willing to stand up for accountability, even if it meant that a university president would stand down.

As we thank the many sportswriters who have been willing to address the problem, we also want to suggest some of the solutions, including our program Coaching Boys Into Men. We enlist athletic coaches as positive role models to deliver messages of respect and non-violence to high school athletes in an effort to build healthy relationships. A key component of the curriculum is teaching young men that as bystanders they must speak out when witnessing abuse by adults or peers.

Another solid program, The Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Model is a gender violence, bullying, and school violence prevention approach that encourages young men and women from all socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds to take on leadership roles in their schools and communities.

Judicial Response to Elder Abuse

Posted by Kyle Coleman

JudicialResponseReported cases of elder abuse are increasing throughout the United States. At the same time, identification of elder abuse issues by courts is considered “fair” or “poor.” To address the increased numbers of reported cases—particularly those where the victim is in an ongoing, trusted relationship with his or her perpetrator—the justice system must develop a concerted approach to resolving elder abuse cases. Along with the identification of the various forms and definitions of elder abuse, the courts face numerous challenges including the lack of reliable data and research on this form of abuse; the lack of laws, legal precedent, or appropriate remedies in elder abuse cases; complex evidentiary challenges; issues of victim capacity and victim choice, as well as assumptions about age and aging, limited resources, and the lack of a coordinated community response to elder abuse.

Download the PDF now!

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The High Price of Teen Sexting

Posted by Kyle Coleman

When racy photos of celebrities or politicians turn up online, it becomes national news. But sexting – the transmission of sexually-explicit images and text via mobile phone – is not just a quirk of public figures with outsized egos. It is alarmingly common among the lay population – especially teens.

58 percent of American teenagers now own smartphones, nearly all of which enable users to sext with unprecedented ease. Recently, Snapchat – a mobile application that allows users to send photos that delete after a certain amount of time – made news when it was called out as a sext-enabling tool. The co-founder of Snapchat denies that his app is for sexting, but concedes that Anthony Weiner’s sexting scandal helped inspire the company.

Whatever their intended purpose, applications such as Snapchat and Facebook’s Poke are sparking a national dialogue about the issue of sexting and the rise of digital abuse. Technology that automatically deletes pictures after a certain amount of time can give the false impression of security. But the fact is sexting has serious consequences that can’t be mitigated by an app.

According to a study in Pediatrics, sexting has been linked to risky sexual behavior among teens. Additionally, teens who sext do so often as a result of pressure or coercion from their friends or significant others. In certain states, teens who sext are even at risk of being prosecuted under child pornography laws. Those convicted may face serious time in prison as well becoming registered sex offenders.

A 2012 study reported that 28 percent of teens had sent fully nude pictures of themselves. Compare this to 2008, when only 20 percent of teens reported sending nude or even semi-nude photos. As more teens gain access to technology, sexting will continue to be a pervasive issue facing our society. The response will demand attention and cooperation from parents, educators, and teens.

To learn more about That’s Not Cool, our anti-digital abuse campaign aimed at teens, visit: www.thatsnotcool.com. To learn more about effective responses to teen sexting, visit our Guide for Judges and Other Professionals.

February is Teen Dating Violence Prevention & Awareness Month

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Marcus McTear and Ortralla Mosely were once among the most popular kids at Reagan High School in Austin, Texas. He was a football star and she was a beautiful cheerleader with straight ‘A’s. From the outside, It looked like an ideal teenage romance, but inside the relationship, Marcus was an emotional wreck who demanded complete control over his 15-year-old girlfriend. After several violent outbursts with her, he pulled an 8 inch kitchen knife out of his backpack in the school hallway and stabbed her to death.

What went wrong? How did a boy with such rage escape the attention of parents and teachers?

Throughout the month of February, advocates and educators from across the country are focused on the risk factors associated with teen dating violence, and what can be done to prevent it. According to a national survey conducted by the University of New Hampshire Crimes Against Children Research Center, teen victims of dating violence are overwhelmingly more likely to have been victims of other forms of violence, such as sexual violence and child abuse.

Cyberbullying also was linked to teen dating violence. Youth who had been cyberbullied were three to four times more likely to be teen dating violence victims than other youth.

The other forms of victimization experienced by teen dating violence victims frequently did not come at the hands of dating partners. More than half of victims reported a history of some form of child abuse, with 40 percent of victims physically abused by a caregiver, and nearly 70 percent having witnessed violence in their families. An alarmingly high percentage — 60 percent — had also experienced at least one type of sexual victimization, with the most common types being verbally sexually harassed (30 percent), flashed by a peer (25 percent), and sexually assaulted (20 percent).

Hurters hurt,” says Esta Soler, Founder and President of Futures Without Violence. “With evidence building in support of the link between childhood exposure to violence and abusive and unhealthy relationships later in life, the need for programs that prevent violence before it occurs is clearer than ever.”

According to Sherry Hamby, lead author of the new study, “We know that some youth are just generally more at risk for everything than other youth. . . In particular, we need to help kids from violent families, kids who have been bullied or kids who have been sexually abused from getting involved or staying in an assaultive relationship.”

We’ll be talking about the importance of such programs at a congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. at the end of the month. Among other supporters, baseball legend Joe Torre will speak about the unique role that men can play as mentors to young boys in preventing violence against women and children.

For more information on our programs to prevent teen dating violence, check out:

The Business Case for Domestic Violence Programs in Health Care Settings

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The Business Case for Domestic Violence Programs in Health Care Settings includes:

  • A PowerPoint presentation targeted at health care decision-makers and administrators that makes the case for domestic violence intervention programs. This presentation provides information about the health impact of abuse, the related health care costs and make a persuasive argument about the potential to cut these costs with domestic violence intervention programs.
  • Presentation References
  • Return on Investment Tool: An excel-based program Return on Investment Tool helps analyze the cost and potential benefits of implementing a comprehensive domestic violence response program within health settings. The program promotes quality of care by using evidence to support key changes in infrastructure to care for victims of violence and promotes future outcomes research by offering a model to track and assess clinical improvement goals based on improved patient health and safety.

Developed by Futures Without Violence and Physicians for A Violence Free Society, in collaboration with an expert advisory committee of health care, managed care leaders, purchasers, clinicians, researchers and domestic violence advocates these materials are an invaluable tool for anyone working in a health care setting!

Download the full Business Case package and other resources for DV programs in Health Settings now!

Family to Family Initiative

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Since 2000, Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund has helped to significantly improve the response of the child welfare system to children and their families exposed to domestic violence. As a national leader in these efforts, Futures Without Violence has worked with every major child welfare reform effort, including The Family to Family Initiative (F2F) ,and other efforts that prioritize the safety of children exposed to domestic violence. In 2005, the Futures Without Violence began concentrated work on the F2F initiative, a program of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

At its core, F2F applies four basic principles:

  • A child’s safety is paramount;
  • Children belong in families;
  • Families need strong communities; and
  • Public child welfare systems need partnerships with the community and with other systems to achieve strong outcomes for children.

The F2F model provides states and communities with an opportunity and the tools to redesign their child welfare system to establish:

  • A network of care that is neighborhood-based, culturally sensitive, and located where the children in need live;
  • Less reliance on institutional care, such as hospitals, shelters, correctional facilities, and group homes;
    An adequate number of foster families for any child who must, for safety reasons, be removed from the family home;
  • A team approach including foster care families; and
    Screening services to safely preserve the family while understanding the needs of the child.
  • In 2005, Futures Without Violence started with a needs assessment process by conducting a multi-site assessment. Through this process, we interviewed over 100 people including: TDM facilitators, fatherhood program staff, state domestic violence coalitions, attorneys, domestic violence programs, parents, foster care recruiters, child welfare administrators and front line staff. The groups were held at F2F sites in San Francisco, San Jose, Cleveland, Detroit and Colorado Springs.

The results of these focus groups were compiled into a Recommendations Report (PDF) and published in 2006. The major recommendations in the report were then synthesized into an application process for sites to apply for targeted technical assistance on how to address domestic violence within the core strategies of the F2F model. With the support of Annie E. Casey Foundation, we were able to select two sites in 2006/2007 to begin intensive training and technical assistance. The two sites are San Francisco County, CA and Macomb County, MI. Together with the sites, Futures Without Violence created a series of tools for CPS workers and Team Decision Making Facilitators to make better decisions for families who experience domestic violence and are involved in the child welfare system.

Key Resources

Order free materials from our online store!

Health Care-Based & Medical Advocacy Domestic Violence Programs

Posted by Kyle Coleman

ARIZONA:
Center for Healthcare Against Family Violence
Maricopa Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
2601 East Roosevelt Street, Phoenix, AZ 85008
Website

CALIFORNIA:
Highland Domestic Violence Program
1411 East 31st Street, Oakland, CA 94602
510-437-4949 or 510-437-4688

Kaiser Permanente Family Violence Prevention Program
Contact person: Carey Watson, MD
1950 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612
510-987-4493
Website

K’ima:w Medical Center – Hoopa Valley Tribe
Contact person: Judith Surber, Project Coordinator
P.O. Box 1288, Hoopa, CA 95546
530-625-4261, ext. 245
Website

Look to End Abuse Permanently (LEAP)
San Francisco, CA
Email: info@leapsf.org
Website

CONNECTICUT:
Harford Hospital
Contact person: Danica Delgado, MSW
80 Seymour Street, PO Box 5037, Harford, CT 06102-5037
860-545-3001
Website

KANSAS:
SAFEHOME – Healthcare Advocacy
PO Box 4563 Overland Park, KS 66204
913-262-2868 (24-7 Confidential Hotline)
Website

MAINE:
Maliseet Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocacy Center
Contact person: Jane Root, Director
690 Foxcroft Road, Houlton, ME 04730
207-532-3000
Website

MARYLAND:
Anne Arundel Medical Center’s Abuse & Domestic Violence Program
Contact person: Rae Leonard
2001 Medical Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401
443-481-1209
Website

Dimensions Healthcare, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center
Contact person: Karalyn Mulligan
3001 Hospital Drive, Suite 3000, Cheverly, MD 20785
301-618-3154
Website

Greater Baltimore Medical Center, SAFE Domestic Violence Program
Contact person: Sally Hess
6701 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21204
443-849-3323
Website

Mercy Medical Center, Family Violence Response Program
Contact person: Colleen Moore
301 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202
410-332-9470
Website

Northwest Hospital, Domestic Violence (DOVE) Program
Contact person: Audrey Bergin
5401 Old Court Road, Randallstown, MD 21133
410-496-7555
Website

Sinai Hospital of Baltimore Family Violence Program
Contact person: Beth Huber, LCSW-C
2401 W. Belvedere Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215
410-601-8692
Website

MASSACHUSETS:

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
330 Brookline Avenue, Boston MA 02215
617-667-8141
Website

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Passageway
75 Francis Street, Boston MA 02115
617-732-8753
Email: passageway@partners.org
Website

Hospitals Helping Abuse and Violence End Now (HAVEN) Program
Massachusetts General Hospital
55 Fruit Street, Boston MA 02114
Boston: 617-724-0054
Chelsea: 617-887-3513
Revere: 781-485-6108
Email: haven@partners.org
Website

Newton-Wellesley Hospital
2014 Washington Street, Newton MA 02462
617-243-6521
Website

MISSOURI:
The Bridge Program of Rose Brooks Centers
Contact person: Tanya Draper Douthit
P.O. Box 320599, Kansas City, MO 64132
816-523-5550, ext. 421
Website

NEW MEXICO:
Blue Corn Mothers Alliance
Contact person: Beverly J. Wilkins, Volunteer Director
1208 San Pedro, NE #212, Albuquerque, NM 87110
505-340-6646
Office: 505-268-5863 (messages)

NORTH CAROLINA:
Duke University Health System
Contact person: Elizabeth Stern, MPH
3643 North Roxboro Road, Durham, NC 27704
919-470-6545

PENNSYLVANIA:
A Woman’s Place, Inc.
PO Box 299, Doylestown, PA 18901
800-220-8116
Website

Abuse & Rape Crisis Center
PO Box 186, Towanda, PA 18848
866-839-0440

ACCESS-York, Inc.
320 East Market Street, York, PA 17403
800-262-8444
Website

Alle-Kiski Area Hope Center
PO Box 67, Tarentum, PA 15084
800-299-HOPE
Website

Berks Women in Crisis
50 North Fourth Street, Suite 101, Reading, PA 19601
610-372-9540; Spanish line: 610-372-7463
Website

The Blackburn Center Against Domestic & Sexual Violence
PO Box 398, Greensburg, PA 15601
888-832-2272
Website

The Center for Victims
410 Ninth Street, McKeesport, PA 15132
866-644-2882
Website

Clinton County Women’s Center
34 West Main Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745
570-748-9509
Website

Congreso De Latino Unidos
216 West Somerset Street, Philadelphia, PA 19133
866-723-3014
Website

Crisis Center North
PO Box 101093, Pittsburgh, PA 15237
866-782-0911
Website

Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County
1218 West State Street, New Castle, PA 16101
724-652-9036
Website

Domestic Abuse Project
14 West 2nd Street, Media, PA 19063
610-565-4590
Website

Domestic Violence Service Center
PO Box 2177, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18703
800-424-5600
Website

HAVIN, Inc.
PO Box 983, Kittanning, PA 16201
800-841-8881
Website

Laurel House
PO Box 764, Norristown, PA 19404
800-642-3150
Website

Lutheran Settlement House
1340 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125
866-723-3014
Website

SAFE, Inc.
PO Box 108, Clarion, PA 16214
800-992-3039

Safenet
PO Box 1436, Erie, PA 16512
814-454-8161
Website

Schulykill Women in Crisis
PO Box 96, Pottsville, PA 17901
800-282-0634
Website

Survivors, Inc.
PO Box 3572, Gettysburg, PA 17325
800-787-8106
Website

Turning Point of Lehigh Valley
444 East Susquehanna Street, Allentown, PA 18103
877-437-3369
Website

Victims Intervention Program
PO Box 986, Honesdale, PA 18431
800-698-4VIP
Website

Victim Outreach Intervention Center
111 South Cliff Street, rear, Butler, PA 16001
800-400-8551
Website

Victim’s Resource Center
71 North Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
866-206-9050
Website

Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh
PO Box 9024, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
412-687-8005
Website

Women’s Center of Montgomery County
8080 Old York Road, Suite 200, Elkins Park, PA 19027
800-773-2424
Website

Women’s Center, Inc of Columbia/Montour
111 North Market Street, Bloomsburg, PA 17815
800-544-8293; Multilingual connection: 888-847-7205
Website

The YWCA of Greater Harrisburg
1101 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17103
800-654-1211
Website

VIRGINIA:
Empowerhouse (formerly the Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence)
PO Box 1007, Fredericksburg, VA 22402
540-373-9372; 24-Hour Hotline: 877-734-7238
Website

The James House
Hopewell office: 1016 Maplewood Avenue, Hopewell, VA 23860
804-458-2704
Petersburg office: 2006 Wakefield Street, Petersburg, VA 23805
804-732-1711
Website

Regional Hospital Accompaniment Response Team (RHART)
Contact person: Natalie Martin, Coordinator
6 North Fifth Street, Richmond, VA 23219
804-643-6761 ext. 101
Website

Sexual Assault Center and Domestic Violence Programs
Department of Community and Human Services
Contact person: Claire Dunn, Division Chief
421 King Street, Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314
Domestic Violence Program: 703-746-4911
Sexual Assault Center: 703-683-7273
Website

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Filed under: Health

Healthcare-Based Domestic Violence Programs

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Most women visit health care providers for routine medical care, and victims of domestic violence (DV) also see health care providers for treatment of their injuries. This puts health care providers in a unique position to help victims of abuse and provide them with referrals and support. The healthcare-based DV model approach, applicable to hospitals and clinical settings, enables the staff of a health care institution in conjunction with local DV and sexual assault (SA) programs to respond in a comprehensive manner. By networking with local DV and SA advocacy programs, providers can help their patients access essential services including safety planning, housing, peer support and counseling, and legal options that can be life saving.

Health care providers are an essential link in the coordinated effort to break the cycle of violence and build a healthy community. Identifying and responding to DV in health care settings can make a tremendous difference for patients’ physical health, mental health, safety, and quality of life. Although women are disproportionately impacted by DV, anyone can be a victim regardless of sex/gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, age, income, or level of education. Victims of domestic violence turn to health care providers by the thousands every day seeking:

  • treatment for acute injuries;
  • other associated physical and mental health conditions;
  • support;
  • information and referrals.

Research demonstrates the negative impact of DV on health, and routine inquiry and assessment can result in early identification of victims of DV. Asking about DV and having resources and referral materials in health settings sends a prevention message that domestic violence is unacceptable and has serious and long-term health consequences. It also communicates to patients that providers are a resource and source of help for patients who are abused.

Assessment for exposure to lifetime abuse facilitates:

  • primary prevention and early intervention to end the cycle of violence;
  • validation of patients’ experiences;
  • provision of information about domestic violence, available resources and safety options;
  • identification of appropriate referrals to services;
  • improved health and quality of life.

When health care providers identify past or present domestic violence in their patients, they will benefit from a better understanding of the root cause of their patients’ health concerns such as chronic pain, depression, obstetric complications, STIs, poorly controlled chronic conditions, substance abuse, and other health problems.

Resources:

1) Learn How to Create a Healthcare-based Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Program(PDF).

2) Download the Resource List (PDF).

3) View the IPV Screening and Counseling Toolkit.

4) View a list of healthcare-based DV programs.

5) Order (S&H) educational and clinical tools for providers and patients from our online store.

6) Join our free Webinars.

7) Sign up for our newsletter.

8) Download the presentation slides from the 2012 National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence (NCHDV) on the topic of healthcare-based DV programs.

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Filed under: Health

Health e-Bulletin

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The Health e-Bulletin is a semi-annual online publication produced by FUTURES and the National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence. The publication began in October 2013, and replaces the Family Violence Prevention and Health Practice E-Journal.

Sign up to receive the semi-annual Health e-Bulletin

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This special Domestic Violence Awareness Month issue of the Health e-Bulletin, created in partnership with the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental Health, focuses on how DV advocates and communities are working to support people who use drugs or struggle with drug addiction.

Download the DVAM 2018 Health e-Bulletin.

In this edition:

Letter from guest editor, Dr. Carole Warshaw from the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental health

Committed to figuring it out: Meeting survivors where they are at in Ohio by Rachel Ramirez, Ohio Domestic Violence Network

Interview with a harm reductionist: Haven Wheelock, Outside In

Changing landscape: 30 years at the intersection of healing, accountability, and addiction by Tony Lapp, Menergy

Interview with an advocate who is doing the work: Stefani Keys, Family Refuge Center

ebulletinsmallThe Fall 2017 Health e-Bulletin highlights the ground-breaking strides in the field of domestic violence advocacy across the country to advance the health and wellness of survivors and their families.

Download the Fall 2017 Health e-Bulletin

In this edition:

Exploring the Intersection Between Domestic Violence and ACES: Advances in DV Advocacy – Linda Chamberlain, PhD, MPH

Intimate Partner Violence Advocacy and Health Care Partnership Initiatives in Oregon – Christine Heyen, MA, Oregon Safer Futures Project, Oregon Department of Justice, Crime and Victims’ Services Division; Emily Fanjoy, Tillamook County Women’s Resource Center; Kimber Lundy, Tillamook County Women’s Resource Center

Re-imagining Survivor Healing and Self-Sufficiency: A Different Kind of Advocacy in Kentucky – Darlene Thomas, MSSW, GreenHouse17

The Summer 2016 Health e-Bulletin highlights the work being done around the country with young people who have experienced violence and harassment. This edition lifts their voices to find how we, as a field, can meet their needs and better support young people in ways they deserve.

Download the Summer 2016 e-Bulletin

In this edition:

Young Moms, Strong Kids: A New Resource to Promote Healthy Relationships With Parenting Teens – Heather Baeckel, MSW, Insights Teen Parent Services, and Erin Fairchild, MSW, Defending Childhood Program

Cyber Dating Abuse and Adolescents – Rebecca Dick, MS, University of Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital of UPMC, and Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital of UPMC

 

cover

The Winter 2015 Health e-Bulletin highlights the work being done around supporting survivors of trauma in health settings and the intersection of HIV and and violence – including model programs, a survivor story and policy changes.

Download the Winter 2015 Health e-Bulletin

In this edition:

Addressing Lifetime Trauma in Primary Care: Caring for Ourselves While Caring For Others – Leigh Kimberg, MD UCSF and Eddy Machtinger, MD UCSF Women’s HIV Program

A Moment in Time, Now: Mindfulness and Healing From Trauma – Lisa Lachance Hartwick LICSW,  Center for Violence Prevention and Recovery

Fostering Choice, Voice and Agency to Improve the Health and Wellness of Women Living With HIV: Trauma Informed Care at Christie’s Place – Erin C. Falvey, PhD, Christie’s Place and  Sara Durán, Christie’s Place

Priscilla’s Story – Priscilla Mahannah, Christie’s Place

Changing Policies to Address Violence and Trauma for Women Living With HIV – Naina Khanna, Positive Women’s Network-USA and Jennie Smith-Camejo, Positive Women’s Network-USA

summer 2015 health e bulletin cover

The Summer 2015 Health e-Bulletin showcases some of the amazing work that was presented at the 2015 National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence on health care coverage for survivors, safety decision aids, new approaches to assessing for violence, and more!

Download the Summer 2015 Health e-Bulletin

In this edition:

Development of a Web-Based Safety Decision Aid For Intimate Partner Violence – Nancy Glass PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

The Affordable Care Act and Survivors of Domestic Violence – Lena O’Rourke, MPP, O’Rourke Health Policy Strategies

Research to Enhance Patient-Centered Care for Intimate Partner Violence in the Veterans Health Administration – Melissa E. Dichter, PhD, MSW, VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion Katherine M. Iverson, PhD, MA, Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine

Sex Work and Sex Trafficking: Developing and Piloting a Gender-Based Violence Intervention for Women “in The Game” –  Michele Decker, ScD, MPH,  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

“I’ll do whatever as long as you keep telling me that I am important”: Dating Violence Victimization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children – Emily F. Rothman, ScD, Boston University School of Public Health

 

Cover imageThe Summer 2014 Health e-Bulletin highlights innovative practices and evidence-based interventions for home visitation programs that serve families and children experiencing domestic violence.

Download the Summer 2014 Health e-Bulletin

In this edition:

Why ACA-Mandated Screening Matters – Bullock, L. PhD, RN, FAAN, University of Virginia, School of Nursing Bacchus, L., PhD, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Dept. of Global Health and Development Sharps, P., PhD, RN, FAAN, Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing

Reproductive Coercion as a Violence Against Women Issue – Laurie K. Crawford, MPA, Sexual and Domestic Violence Healthcare Outreach Coordinator, Virginia Department of Health

Innovations in Home Visitation to Support Survivors – Erin Fairchild, MSW Defending Childhood Initiative Coordinator, Multnomah County Domestic Violence Coordination Office

Strengthening Home Visiting’s Approach – Pam LaHaye, Coordinator, Maine Families Home Visiting

Increasing Women’s Autonomy and Supporting Children – Leigh Hofheimer, Program Coordinator, Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence

healthebullsmall2013The Fall 2013 Health e-Bulletin focuses on children and families experiencing domestic violence.

Download the Fall 2013 Health e-Bulletin

In this edition:

Discovery Dating – Alice Skenandore, Executive Director & Jen Schanen, Program Outreach Specialist, Wise Women Gathering Place

Parent Child Trauma Recovery Program – Gail Arnold, M.Psych, LMHC, Clinical Director, Parent Child Trauma Recovery Program, MassGeneral for Children, North Shore Medical Center, Salem, Massachusetts Peg Tiberio, Director of Trauma Recovery Services, HAWC (Healing Abuse, Working for Change), Salem, Massachusetts

Promising Futures – Leiana Kinnicutt, MSW Program Manager Futures Without Violence

About the Editor

Linda Chamberlain, PhD, MPH

Scientist, author, professor, dog musher, and founder of the Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project, Dr. Linda Chamberlain is an internationally recognized keynote speaker and champion for health issues related to domestic violence and adverse childhood experiences, brain development and trauma, and the amazing adolescent brain. She is known for her abilities to translate science into practical information with diverse audiences and convey a message of hope and opportunity. Dr. Chamberlain holds faculty appointments at the University of Alaska and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She earned public health degrees from Yale School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University. The author of numerous publications and resources including the Public Health Toolkit and the Amazing Brain booklet series, she is also co-author of Addressing Intimate Partner Violence, Reproductive Health and Sexual Coercion Guidelines and Healthy Moms, Happy Babies, a train-the-trainer curriculum on domestic violence and reproductive coercion, developed for home visitation programs. Awards and recognition for her work include a National Kellogg Leadership Fellowship and an Alaska Women of Achievement Award. She served as the 2012-2013 Inaugural Scattergood Foundation Scholar for children’s behavioral health. Living on a rural homestead outside of Homer, Alaska with her husband and dog team, she has created an innovative lecture series on leadership and teamwork that incorporates lessons from the trail based on her experiences as a dog musher. For more information about Dr. Chamberlain, visit www.drlindachamberlain.com.

2012 National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The 6th Biennial National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence was held in San Francisco, CA, on March 30, 2012. The conference offered more than 11 in-depth pre-conference institutes, 70 workshop sessions, and 5 plenaries.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee Johanna Orozco and Anna Deavere Smith
Vincent J. Felitti, Jeanne A. Conry, Aleisha A. Langhorne, Robert Block, Patricia Salber Rebecca Levenson, Jacquelyn C. Campbell, Gail Wyatt, Elena Giacci
Poster presenters discuss their studies and projects during the Poster Viewing Sessions. Conference attendees gather resources and materials in the Exhibit Hall.

Macy’s Thank-a-Mom Challenge a Success!

Posted by Kyle Coleman

You helped us raise thousands of dollars sending thousands of Mother’s Day e-cards, and for that we say THANK YOU! We set a goal of sending 50,000 Mother’s Day e-cards to the special women in our lives, and because of your contributions, we not only reached, but exceeded it! We thanked our moms, sisters, aunts and grandmothers – and all for a great cause!

For each e-card you sent, Macy’s donated $2 to FUTURES. Money raised through the Macy’s Thank-a-Mom challenge will support our violence prevention and education programs focused on critical issues—from bullying and digital abuse to domestic violence and sexual assault.

This year was an even bigger success than last, and it’s all because of your efforts! Even though the fundraising campaign is over, you can keep sending the outstanding women in your lives Mother’s Day e-cards. All you have to do is visit the Macy’s Thank-a-Mom Facebook app and choose Futures Without Violence as the charity recipient. Then, celebrate all of the Moms in your life! Send up to 15 e-cards via Facebook, and 10 cards via email per day.

Top Leaders Convene at our Childhood Trauma Summit

Posted by Kyle Coleman

“Child trauma is the number one public health problem facing our country today.”

That’s how Dr. Robert Ross, a pediatrician, and president of The California Endowment, started our day-long Summit in Los Angeles called SOMEBODY STOOD UP FOR ME: Changing the Future for Children Experiencing Bullying, Trauma, and Violence. Produced by our talented team here at FUTURES, the program gathered many of the country’s most creative thinkers and doers who are addressing the impact of childhood trauma and toxic stress on our next generation.

With two out of three children in the U.S. exposed to, or experiencing violence, childhood trauma remains a hidden epidemic—which is exactly why we invited 100 national leaders to spend a day sharing successful strategies and solutions that can meet the resulting mental and physical challenges faced by millions of kids today. We asked them to step out of their individual fields—including justice, health, education, and community action—and consider innovative ways to collaborate.

Among our inspiring and informative speakers of the day were keynote speaker Associate Attorney General Tony West, Los Angeles Superintendent of Schools John Deasy, New York Times columnist David Bornstein, Pittsburgh Steelers’ cornerback William Gay, Senior Vice President of Sesame Workshop Jeanette Betancourt, Founder and President of Playworks Jill Vialet, and Principal Deputy Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services at the U.S. Health Department Kana Enomoto.

We’ll have much more to say—and do—about childhood trauma in the months to come. Our thanks to The California Endowment and Blue Shield of California Foundation for their ongoing support of this critical issue.

Coaching Boys Into Men Goes Global

Posted by Kyle Coleman

FUTURES has taken the nationwide success of Coaching Boys Into Men and expanded it into the international space, hosting trainings, supporting program adaptations, and partnering with international organizations to expand the reach of CBIM across the globe.

In 2006, FUTURES partnered with UNICEF, FIFA (Fèdèration Internationale de Football Associacion), Nike, and The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), among others, to develop CBIM program adaptations, and implement and evaluate CBIM in various communities around the world. Over the years, CBIM has reached countries including Australia, South Africa, Angola, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, Norway, and Trinidad.

Coaching Boys Into Men in association with Athletes As Leaders has been noted in the World Health Organization’s INSPIRE Handbook: Seven Strategies for Ending Violence Against Children as a promising approach that changes adherence to restrictive and harmful gender and social norms.

Our specific work with global partners to date includes:

CBIM Australia

Most recently in 2017, FUTURES supported an implementation in Australia and New Zealand, training local advocates on how to host Coaches’ Clinics for sports coaches in the region. FUTURES continues to provide technical assistance and program materials for the continued expansion of CBIM.

International CBIM Guide

Futures Without Violence teamed up with UNICEF to develop and distribute a new International Coaching Boys Into Men Guide at the 2006 FIFA (Fèdèration Internationale de Football Association) World Cup in Germany. Informed by FUTURES’ highly successful Coaching Boys Into Men Playbook, this International Guide helps coaches find teachable moments during which they can talk to young athletes about their attitudes toward women and girls, promote tolerance, and teach them that violence does not equal strength.

The International Coaching Boys Into Men guide was published in the three languages (English, French, and Spanish). Angola, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Japan, Mexico, Norway, and Trinidad were among the many nations that piloted the new guide with local football coaches in community soccer leagues, and FIFA distributed it to its National Football Associations in more than 200 countries.

CBIM South Africa

In an effort to protect the rights and livelihood of children in South Africa, UNICEF partnered with the South African Department of Education to create a sports program that will reinvigorate ailing life skills curricula, mobilize communities to support and protect their children, and decrease the incidence of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, violence, and HIV/AIDS transmission. Capitalizing on the FIFA Soccer World Cup tournament in 2010, UNICEF used the excitement surrounding the games to launch its Sports for Development Program in South Africa.

Pilot programs using the International Coaches Guide were held in every one of the nine South African provinces. Although the pilot initially aimed to reach 45 schools, it was so well received during inter-school tournaments that a total of 126 schools and 5,000 students gained exposure to the CBIM message.

CBIM India

Funded by the Nike Foundation, Parivartan is by far the most extensive adaptation of CBIM to date. Parivartan is a culturally specific adaptation in Mumbai, India, of the Coaching Boys into Men program to address gender-based violence and gender equity using the sport of cricket to reach men and young boys. Parivartan was implemented in 46 Mumbai area schools and two poor slum communities.

Evaluation and implementation partners included The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), Apnalaya, the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA), and Breakthrough who conducted the short-term public education component. Check out the findings from ICRW’s study on the effectiveness of the program. Visit the Parivartan website for access to program materials, evaluation results, and partner information.

Judicial Institute on Adolescent Relationship Abuse

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, in partnership with Futures Without Violence, and with the support of the Office for Victims of Crimes (OVC), will offer a new three-day, highly interactive workshop that will help state court and tribal court judges enhance their skills and ability to respond to cases involving adolescents and relationship abuse.

A judge participating in this workshop will be better able to:

  • Define adolescence and describe the impact of brain development and environmental factors on adolescent behaviors, particularly in cases of adolescent relationship abuse.
  • Identify the dynamics of adolescent relationship abuse, and the short and long term impact on victims and perpetrators.
  • Make distinctions between dynamics in violent adult relationships and adolescent relationships.
  • Identify effective outcomes for youth in abusive relationships.
  • Assess risk factors in the adolescent cases you see, including the presence and impact of trauma.
  • Recognize protective factors that might enhance an individual youth’s resiliency, well-being, and safety.
  • Evaluate the utility, accuracy, comprehensiveness, and efficacy of youth assessments.
  • Select developmentally appropriate interventions and accountability mechanisms that recognize the circumstances unique to adolescent relationship abuse cases.
  • Rule on evidentiary issues particular to cases that involve adolescent parties.
  • Define the terms culture and cultural competence and enhance respect for the dynamics of difference in cases involving adolescent abuse.
  • Identify a judge’s role in the court and the community to promote healthy relationships amongst adolescents.
  • Initiate or enhance communication and collaboration amongst justice system and community partners to improve services for youth involved in adolescent abuse.

For more information and next conference dates, check The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

Continuing Judicial Skills (CJS) in Domestic Violence Cases

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The Continuing Judicial Skills in Domestic Violence Cases (CJS) Program is designed specifically for judges and judicial officers who have successfully completed the Enhancing Judicial Skills (EJS) in Domestic Violence Cases Workshop or a similar intensive, foundational program. The CJS program addresses judges’ specific court assignments at a more advanced level and introduces new topics of special interest.

The CJS Program features four 1.5-day court assignment courses and four 1-day special topic courses.

Court Assignment Courses

Court Assignment Courses are designed as highly interactive small group seminars of 15 – 20 participants focused exclusively on one court duty assignment.

Criminal–Participants will be better able to:
  • Set bail, establish conditions of release, and structure sentences that reduce risk, promote victim safety and autonomy, and minimize economic deprivation, while accounting for collateral consequences.
  • Rule on pretrial motions to exclude evidence post-Crawford.
  • Manage the legal implications of victim recantation.
  • Create effective on-going structures for maximizing compliance with post-disposition controls.
Civil (Protection Order)–Participants will be better able to:
  • Use risk and danger assessment tools when rendering decisions in domestic violence cases.
  • Apply an understanding of domestic violence when issuing economic relief on behalf of victims and their children.
  • Manage cases involving pro se litigants and recognize the ability to promote a pro se litigant’s access to justice within the ethical constraints as a judge.
  • Identify the wide range of enforcement mechanisms available to ensure compliance with protection orders, including civil and criminal contempt proceedings.
Family–Participants will be better able to:
  • Evaluate whether domestic violence cases are appropriate for ADR processes in family courts, and, if so, develop safeguards to use in those cases.
  • Promote safety and accountability in all family court related interventions, such as custody evaluations and assignment of parenting coordinators, GAL’s, parenting education, supervised visitation, and arbitrators.
  • Craft effective parenting orders to match unique family circumstances and needs.
  • Determine the appropriate role of the family court to monitor and review custody/parenting decisions.
Rural–Participants will be better able to:
  • Identify physical, attitudinal, and systemic barriers that limit a victim’s access to justice.
  • Coordinate existing resources and influence the development of new resources in domestic violence cases.
  • Assess the lethality risk associated with access to firearms and apply state and federal laws despite competing cultural pressures in rural and tribal communities.
  • Manage and resolve domestic violence cases safely and effectively despite the challenges appurtenant to life in rural communities.
  • Develop a leadership philosophy to address the social, political, and cultural realities unique to the role of a rural judge.

Special Topic Courses

Special Topic Courses are designed as seminars of 15 – 20 judges to address specific challenges in new or emerging complex topics facing the courts.

Interstate & International Custody–Participants will be better able to:
  • Analyze how and why domestic violence is relevant to adjudicating interstate and international custody disputes.
  • Develop and promote practices and tools to resolve interstate and international custody disputes efficiently and safely.
  • Determine when the court is authorized to take jurisdiction over an interstate custody case and how best to exercise any discretion it may have when domestic violence is present.
  • Identify and access resources to help meet the judicial challenges presented by interstate and international disputes.
Immigration & Trafficking–Participants will be better able to:
  • Identify “red flags” that suggest the presence of immigration and trafficking.
  • Assess the immigration implications of civil protection orders and criminal convictions.
  • Assess the immigration implications of civil protection orders and criminal convictions.
  • Craft civil dispositions that enhance victim safety and autonomy while considering collateral consequences.
  • Document facts in state court proceedings to preserve the victim’s immigration remedies.
Effective Batterer Accountability–Participants will be better able to:
  • Tailor interventions and orders to the unique circumstances and needs of the parties.
  • Identify the various batterer intervention programs and other forms of intervention.
  • Establish program standards and develop effective oversight procedures.
  • Facilitate community collaboration to enhance batterer accountability. Interstate & International Custody–Participants will be better able to:
  • Analyze how and why domestic violence is relevant to adjudicating interstate and international custody disputes.
  • Develop and promote practices and tools to resolve interstate and international custody disputes efficiently and safely.
  • Determine when the court is authorized to take jurisdiction over an interstate custody case and how best to exercise any discretion it may have when domestic violence is present.
  • Identify and access resources to help meet the judicial challenges presented by interstate and international disputes.
Supervised Visitation–Participants will be better able to:
  • Identify factual, legal, procedural, and resource issues in cases involving domestic violence, custody, and visitation.
  • I Assess the efficacy of various custodial and visitation arrangements in light of domestic violence.
  • Analyze how to balance parental access with victim and child safety.
  • Determine appropriate batterers treatment/intervention for violent men who have access to supervised visitation/safe exchange.

Eligibility and Costs

The CJS Program is open to all state and tribal court judges and judicial officers who have attended the EJS workshop or a similar foundational program on domestic violence and the courts. To maintain the highly interactive, seminar format each course is limited to 20 judges.

The education program is provided free of charge. An activity fee will offset expenses that cannot be financed with OVW grant funds.

Some courts might cover their judges’ travel and per diem expenses. All participants are responsible for their own travel and per diem expenses if they cannot obtain funding from another source.

Upcoming CJS Programs

 

CJS Application and Attendance

For additional information, including registration/application materials, click on the web link to be directed to the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence website www.njidv.org/ or contact Brianne Smith with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, bsmith@ncjfcj.org or 775-784-1559. Limited scholarship assistance for travel expenses might be available.

Judges who are accepted for admission to the CJS Programs are required to attend all education sessions. Otherwise, program partners will be unable to certify program participation, which might impact reimbursement for travel expenses.

Enhancing Judicial Skills in Elder Abuse Cases Workshop Program Overview

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence (NJIDV), a partnership of Futures Without Violence (formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund), the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, offers a four-day, hands-on, highly interactive workshop that will help new and experienced state court and tribal court judges and judicial officers to enhance their skills and ability to respond to cases involving elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

 

 

A judge participating in this workshop will be better able to:

  • Identify the signs of elder abuse in the various contexts it would emerge in the justice system.
  • Define ageism and its connection to oppression within the context of elder abuse cases.
  • Consider the diverse lived experiences of older victims and others who may access the court and related institutions to reach more informed decisions.
  • Fashion safe, appropriate and creative judicial remedies in response to elder abuse cases.
  • Identify and improve access to community resources for victims.
  • Discuss and promote promising practices to address elder abuse in the courts and the community.

Next Workshop

April 7 – 10, 2024

Tyson, VA

Who is Eligible to Attend?

All state court and tribal court judges and judicial officers nationwide are eligible to attend the workshop. First priority will be given to judges from jurisdictions currently receiving funding from Enhanced Training and Services to End Violence and Abuse of Women Later in Life Program. Second priority will be given to judges from other OVW grant programs such as Court Training & Improvements Grant Program; Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders; STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program; Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking, and Child Abuse Enforcement Assistance Program; and Domestic Violence Transitional Housing Assistance Program. Priority is also given to OVW-funded jurisdictions that send more than one judge.

All participants are responsible for their own travel and per diem costs. Local OVW-funded agencies and some courts might cover these costs for their judges.

How Do You Apply to Attend?

To apply for participation in the workshop, please visit http://www.njidv.org or fill out this form.

Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to the eligibility guidelines outlined above. Partial coverage of travel expenses may be available to a limited number of participants with special funding needs. Please note that your application is not confirmed until you receive an acceptance letter via email.

*Please note this workshop is pending approval. Please wait to book any travel until you receive a confirmation packet from the registrar. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Jenny Talancon at jtalancon@ncjfcj.org

Enhancing Judicial Skills (EJS) in Domestic Violence Cases

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The Institute continues to offer this three-day, hands-on, highly interactive education workshop provided more than 3,500 judges nationwide since 1999. The program provides the essential foundation for new and experienced judges who handle criminal, civil, and family law cases involving domestic violence.

Three workshops are scheduled annually for judges and judicial officers (for dates and locations, see Upcoming Programs, below). At the four-day workshop, all participant-judges will engage in practical courtroom exercises and lively discussions with their student and faculty peers. The interactive format, tailored to workshop participants’ needs, will enable new and experienced judges to take home fresh ideas and techniques on how to handle difficult, complex issues in cases involving domestic violence.

Objectives

Judicial participants will leave the workshops with greater knowledge and skills for handling cases involving domestic violence. Judges participating in the workshop will be better able to:

  • Evaluate impact of violence on adult victims and children who witness violence.
  • Identify the protection and restoration requirements of domestic violence victims.
  • Describe patterns of batterer conduct, assess dangerousness of specific batterers, and impose effective intervention and accountability mechanisms for batterers.
  • Resolve difficult evidentiary issues and apply an understanding of domestic violence to judicial fact-finding.
  • Identify administrative and community barriers to accessing/ achieving justice in DV cases.
  • Devise methods of overcoming barriers to justice, become motivated to work to remove barriers, and use information regarding available community resources to assist in removing barriers.
  • Recognize and apply ethics rules that govern participation in extrajudicial activities, e.g., domestic violence councils, legislative proposals, local court rulemaking, and education programs of non-judge providers.
  • Define culture and cultural competence, enhance respect for the dynamics of difference, and identify ways in which culture is relevant in the courtroom.
  • Identify common decision-making points where understanding DV might affect how you make decisions and what you decide.
  • Draft and issue effective orders that (a) stop violence, (b) protect adult victims & children, (c) require appropriate batterers treatment in criminal and civil DV cases, and (d) facilitate enforcement in DV cases.
  • Assess the impact of domestic violence on cases involving sentencing, custody and visitation issues.
  • Evaluate batterers intervention programming and information regarding appropriate treatment/intervention options.
  • Identify the potential benefits of conducting review hearings (in conjunction w/ probation services) to monitor batterer conduct in DV cases.

Eligibility and Costs

Participation in each program is limited to 50 judges. All law-trained state and tribal court judges and judicial officers nationwide are eligible to attend the workshops, but priority will be given to judges from jurisdictions currently receiving one of the following OVW Grants:

(1) Grants to Encourage Arrest,

(2) STOP Violence Against Indian Women Grants, or

(3) Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement Grant Program. Priority is also given to OVW funded jurisdictions that send more than one judge. Priority will also be given to judges who have not attended the workshop previously.

The program’s interactive format ensures that workshop meets the education needs of judges at all experience levels, providing them with solid foundational materials applicable in all types of cases involving domestic violence. This workshop is a prerequisite for attending the mid-level Continuing Judicial Skills (CJS) in Domestic Violence Cases Program, described below.

The program is offered free of charge. An activity fee covers the expenses of a group dinner and a reception, which cannot be financed with OVW grant funds.

Some courts might cover their judges’ travel and per diem expenses. All participants are responsible for their own travel and per diem expenses if they cannot obtain funding from another source.

Upcoming EJS Programs

 

 

EJS Application and Attendance

Participation is open to new and experienced state, tribal, and territorial judges and judicial officers wishing to enhance their skills in handling civil and criminal domestic violence cases. Participation is limited to 50 judges and judicial officers. Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

For additional information, please click here or contact Brianne Smith at (775) 784-1559 or e-mail bsmith@ncjfcj.org.

There is no charge for the workshop. Participants are responsible for their own lodging, travel arrangements, and costs. For more information on the workshop, travel, and lodging, please visit www.njidv.org, or contact the registrar. Please not not make travel arrangements until you have been confirmed by the registrar.

Using Music, Movies, Video Games & School Curricula, Start Strong Is Promoting Healthy Relationships

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The middle school years offer key moments to educate young people and their parents about healthy relationships and teen dating violence prevention. Programs that are doing this work should meet youth where they spend time, such as in schools, and engage a range of community partners. And when these programs are effective in engaging youth as advocates and peer leaders, they can have lasting benefits.

Those are among the lessons that adolescent experts, researchers and advocates shared with representatives from diverse federal agencies at a forum at the United States Department of Justice. The “Teen Dating Violence Prevention: Why Middle School Matters” forum marked the halfway point of the four-year Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) administered by Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund. Its goal is to prevent teen dating violence.

Two panels – one of researchers and one of Start Strong program directors – briefed a group of representatives from the Federal Interagency Workgroup on Teen Dating Violence, which represents 19 federal agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Justice and answered questions.

Researchers discussed why teen dating violence prevention messages are essential for middle school youth, and strategies to engage parents and encourage them to talk to their children about healthy relationships. “If we’re going to talk about teen dating violence prevention, we’re too late by the time youth are teenagers,” said Futures Without Violence President, Esta Soler. “We need to start talking and reaching out to youth in middle school, the time when judgment and attitudes are forming. This is why middle school matters.”

Abigail Davenport, Senior Vice President at Peter Hart Research Associates, cautioned that the best approach when working with parents is to, “prepare them, don’t scare them.”

Dr. David Wolfe, Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, discussed why the middle school years are so important, and Dr. Jonathan Cohen, Center for Social and Emotional Education, discussed social norms and academic achievement. More resources are available here.

Representatives of Start Strong programs from Idaho, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Texas discussed the innovative ways they are reaching teens. Start Strong Boston is using music to reach teens and has created a scorecard to rate Top 40 songs. Start Strong Idaho created a series of events around the “Eclipse” premiere and encouraged teens to join a “Campaign for a Third Choice.” Start Strong Rhode Island has created a 3-D, immersive video game designed to help teens learn about healthy relationships. Barri Rosenbluth of Start Strong Austin discussed how to embed healthy relationships into school policies to create positive change. Sherry Iverson of Start Strong Idaho discussed the role that health care providers can play in helping youth build healthy relationships.

A 2008 National Council on Crime and Delinquency Focus found that approximately one in three adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner – a figure that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence affecting youth.

Start Strong is the largest initiative ever funded to target 11-to-14-year-olds to promote healthy relationships as the way to prevent teen dating violence and abuse. RWJF and Blue Shield of California Foundation are investing $18 million in 11 communities across the country to identify and evaluate the most promising pathways to stop dating violence and abuse before it starts. RWJF is funding 10 sites and Blue Shield of California Foundation is funding one site in California. Futures Without Violence is the National Program Office for Start Strong.

Each Start Strong community is creating innovative prevention models that can be replicated across the country. Each community also has developed a comprehensive plan that focuses on four core strategies involving education, policy change, community outreach and cutting-edge social marketing campaigns to empower teens to develop healthier relationships throughout their lives.

What can the NHRC provide?

Posted by Kyle Coleman

The National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence provides personalized, technical assistance to domestic and sexual violence advocates and to health care practitioners, administrators and systems, students, policy makers, and others at all levels as they improve health care’s response to domestic violence. The Center is funded by a grant from the Family Violence Prevention & Services Program, Family & Youth Services Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and is a member of the Domestic Violence Resource Network (DVRN).

To help address the health care system’s response to domestic violence in your community, the HRC provides:

  • Free training tools
  • Free patient and provider tools
  • Promising practice resources
  • Technical assistance
  • Webinars for coalitions and DV/SA programs
  • In person training or calls

We also invite advocates to get involved with HRC work groups and to partner with us on the development of policy briefs and clinical tools.  Please contact us at health@futureswithoutviolence.org if you would like to be more involved in working groups or partnering on policy briefs.

Please note: We do not provide crisis services. If you are in an abusive relationship and need assistance, please call the toll-free National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.

Technical assistance includes the ability to contact Center staff by email, phone and fax to help facilitate the work being conducted in the area of health care’s response to domestic violence. If you have a question, or would like to talk to a staff member, please contact us and provide a detailed description.

Contact us:
Email: health@futureswithoutviolence.org
Phone: (415) 678-5500
Fax: (415) 529-4889

Mail:
Futures Without Violence
Attn: National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence
100 Montgomery Street, The Presidio
San Francisco, CA  94129

First Impressions: Exposure to Violence and A Child’s Developing Brain

Posted by Kyle Coleman

This informational video illustrates the dangers of chronic exposure to violence on a child’s developing brain. Combining inspirational true-life stories and nationally recognized experts, viewers are given information on a child’s developmental risk if regularly exposed to domestic violence and other violent situations. Youths and adults affected by violence share how exposure to violence has impacted their lives. Experts in child psychology and social work explain the connection between exposure to violence and mental health problems. The stories and research presented detail the developmental challenges and resiliency of children who are exposed to violence.

Included on this film:

  • First Impressions: Exposure to Violence and a Child’s Developing Brain (15 minutes), closed captioned in English and Spanish (on DVD).

Bonus Materials:

  • Tony’s Story and The Spaghetti Story – Two short excerpts suitable for trainings, workshops, and other public presentations.
  • Window of Opportunity: Reducing Children’s Exposure to Violence – A more in-depth video on chronic exposure to violence and a child’s developing brain. (13 minutes) closed captioned in English and Spanish (on DVD).

Stream this film on Youtube:

Permission for Use: Futures Without Violence did not produce this material, but has been one of the distributing organizations. Permission for use requires that the film be used in it’s entirety. Anyone is welcome to use the film as long as there is no money charged, and that it is not edited or broken up in pieces. This film was created by the California Attorney General’s Office, Crime and Violence Prevention Center, any inquiries for permission to use of this film can be directed to the Arrotney General’s office rep. Janet Mistchenko: Janet.Mistchenko@doj.ca.gov

 

Power and Control Wheel (Spanish)

Posted by Kyle Coleman

power and control wheel in spanishThe wheels were adapted by Asesoria Capacitación y Asistencia en Salud A.C., with permission from the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project de Duluth, Minnesota, as part of a project for the manual “Violencia y Salud Materna, Mejorando la Respuesta de las Mujeres.

 

 

Download the PDF now!

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The equity wheel analyzes positive partner behavior that allows a healthy life, free of violence. The wheel highlights respect, gender equity, cultural diversity, self-esteem, and a healthy and respectful reproductive decision making.

Download the PDF now!

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The power and control wheel is a way of visually representing the tactics typically used in abusive relationships: economic abuse, threats, intimidation, emotional abuse, use of power, isolation, or black mail using children.

Announcing the Winners of the 2014 Break The Silence Awards!

Posted by Kyle Coleman

During the recent Speak Up To Take Rape Culture Down Summit at Harvard University, Futures Without Violence announced Betsy McCandless Break The Silence Awards, which supports college campaigns and activities that encourage survivors, allies, and bystanders to take action or speak out against gender-based violence on campus.

We’re pleased to announce the award recipients, who will receive funding for their initiatives! The Break The Silence Awards honor the legacy of Betsy McCandless, a graduate of Simmons College who was murdered by her violently abusive ex-husband. The awards were started by Betsy’s brother Stephen to honor her memory.

Congratulations to the 2014 award recipients!

Lasell College
As part of their project, Peer Health Educators at Lasell College will create a training program for students that accurately portray college-based domestic violence. The training will be modeled after the “In Their Shoes” and “In Her Shoes” program created by the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. It will also include information gathered from interview with survivor resources on campus and in the community.

University of Massachusetts Lowell
The No One Left Behind club at the University of Massachusetts Lowell works to raise awareness on domestic violence and sexual assault with peers, faculty, staff, and the general public of Lowell. Their Break TheSilence project will use fun and educational awareness raising and workshops during the first week of the fall 2014 semester. These events will focus on working with incoming freshmen around the issues of sexual assault and domestic violence on campus.

MIT
MIT Students Advocating For Education on Respectful Relationships (SAFER²) is an MIT group aiming to reduce sexual violence and advocate for healthy relationships. As part of their Break The Silence project, SAFER will expand their campus efforts to include: dorm workshops, lobbying for harassment training, and developing an educational poster campaign on campus. They will also use the award to support the first summit on sexual assault and harassment called: One Night Stand for Student Rights.

Simmons College
The Betsy’s Friends Organization, founded in 1997 at Simmons College, is an organization dedicated to reducing intimate partner violence and gender-based violence on campus, primarily through the education of these sensitive topics. The purpose of the project is to create a two-part initiative, called IIRT, at Simmons College with the goal of informing, identifying, reporting and treating situations of intimate partner violence.  The project is a comprehensive, LGBTQ-friendly, multilingual initiative that will be used as a prototype for other colleges.

Northeastern University
The Violence Support, Intervention and Outreach Network (ViSION) at Northeastern University provides a coordinated campus and community response to sexual assault and all types of violence. Their project entails updating an existing bystander awareness video/public service announcement. The announcement will be played during all new student orientation programs reaching approximately 3,500 new students each year. It will also be broadcast campus-wide via student affairs and academic programming, athletic events, and social media.

Speak Up to Take Rape Culture Down Summit

Posted by Kyle Coleman

In 2013, FUTURES, with generous support from Avon Foundation for Women, hosted Speak Up to Take Rape Culture Down, a one-day Summit at Harvard University. The event brought together over 200 student leaders, administrators, and anti-violence advocates in the Boston area to share strategies in order to raise visibility and demand action to prevent rape and sexual assault on college campuses.

Speakers in attendance included Angela Epifano, a former Amherst student and rape survivor whose first-person story in the college newspaper gained worldwide attention, student leaders Dana Bolger and Alexandra Brodsky, co-founders of Know Your IX, and Jackie Cruz from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

Activist and author Jaclyn Friedman presened a keynote called “Sane, Safe and Strong.” Friedman is a founder and the Executive Director of Women, Action & the Media, where she recently led the successful #FBrape campaign that forced Facebook’s hate-speech policy to prohibit gender-based violence.

On-site presentations and workshops featured some of the nation’s best known organizations and leaders working to end sexual assault and rape culture, including:

  • Diane Rosenfeld, director of the Gender Violence Program at Harvard Law School who will help student leaders understand the policies and guidelines that have been created to empower survivors, including Title IX, the Clery Act, and the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act.
  •  Debjani Roy, deputy director of Hollaback!, who will talk about how they’ve leveraged technology to start a movement to end street harassment.
  • Nancy Schwarzman, co-creator of the award-winning Circle of 6 app, and executive producer of The Line Campaign, who will discuss the use of mobile applications to prevent violence
  •  Emily Greytak, from SAFER, who will help student leaders and advocates navigate school policies regarding sexual violence and harassment on campus.

During the summit Futures Without Violence announced the Betsy McCandless Break The Silence Awards, which will support college campaigns and activities that encourage survivors, allies and bystanders to take action or speak out against gender-based violence on campus.

Breaking the Cycle: Fathering After Violence

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Curriculum Guidelines and Tools for Batterer Intervention Programs Produced by Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund with generous support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Climbing the mountain drawingMany men who have been violent have contact with their children. The contact may be supervised or unsupervised, in the home or elsewhere, but relationships between fathers and children tend to endure. Even men who do not have direct contact with their children live on in their children’s minds. Positive involvement by a father figure is important to children’s development. Yet, until now, few tools have been available to help fathers who have perpetrated family violence relate to their children in positive ways.

Breaking the Cycle, Fathering After Violence: Curriculum Guidelines and Tools for Batterer Intervention Programs offers information, exercises and more to help batterer intervention programs begin these essential conversations. Tested by the Simmons School of Social Work, it includes:

  • A Rationale for Working with Men on Fathering Issues.
  • Background on the Cultural and Parenting Issues Affecting this Work.
  • Staff Training Activities.
  • Evaluation Findings from Pilot Tests.
  • Exercises on Empathy, Modeling and the Reparative Process that were tested in partnership with the Dorchester Community Roundtable with three Boston-based batterer intervention programs: Common Purpose; Emerge; and Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Services.
  • Materials in both English and Spanish.
  • A CD with the Story of a Man who Witnessed and Perpetrated Abuse.
  • Much More!

“I learned a tremendous amount. These exercises have the potential to help support the change process for men who use violence, and are badly needed in the field.”
– Dr. David Adams, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Emerge

Breaking the Cycle offers hope to the next generation. The curriculum guidelines and exercises can be downloaded from this website:

Curriculum Guidelines and Tools

Audio Stories

President Obama Addresses Human Trafficking

Posted by Kyle Coleman

President Obama delivered a moving speech before the Global Clinton Initiative in New York, vowing to crack down on the widespread practice of human trafficking and calling it, “one of the greatest human rights causes of our time.”

While the President’s remarks and initiatives have helped shed light on human trafficking, we have been working to combat this deplorable form of gender-based violence for decades. Futures Without Violence advocated for the passage of both the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the International Violence Against Women Act—two crucial pieces of legislation that protect victims of human trafficking.

In addition to shaping legislation, we’ve also collaborated with the Office on Violence Against Women to help improve responses to trafficked victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Futures Without Violence helps train and educate service providers, law enforcement, and other community organizations to best help international trafficking victims who have faced violence in the U.S.

We are proud to be play in role in combating what President Obama has accurately referred to as “modern slavery.” For more information about our anti-human trafficking work, check out our resources: Collaborating to Help Trafficking Survivors and Turning Pain Into Power.

Human Trafficking: A Hidden Problem

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Norma, México
Norma came to the United States when she was 18 with her boyfriend, Marco. Over the period of time she was with him, he forced her to have sex with strangers for money. Marco would take her to a discount strip mall to be picked up by men. Or she was driven by taxi to various apartment complexes to perform sexual acts with several men throughout the day. Norma stayed with Marco because she believed that she could not survive without him. He was the only person she knew in the U.S. and she depended on him for “everything.” At times she would decide to leave Marco, but fear held her back. He constantly terrorized her, resorting to physical beatings when she resisted going to work.

Human Trafficking: A Global Problem

Human trafficking involves people being bought, sold, and forced into labor and/or sexual exploitation. The United Nations recently reported that four million people are traded each year against their will to work in servitude in their own country or around the globe. Many are trafficked into the United States. It’s estimated that eighty percent of trafficking victims are women and girls.

Human Trafficking, A Problem in the U.S.

  • Because of its covert nature, the magnitude of the problem is difficult to ascertain.
  • The United States government suggests that approximately 600,000 to 800,000 people each year are traded against their will to work in one or more forms of servitude.
  • The United States government estimates that 14,500-17,500 women and children are trafficked each year into the United States, primarily from Latin America, countries of the former Soviet Union and Southeast Asia. This figure may be conservative since many trafficked women may not report to law enforcement. This is according to U.S. Government-sponsored research completed in 2006.

Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000

In 2000, the U.S. government enacted the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, which helps prosecute traffickers and assist victims. The number identified victims of trafficking have risen since then, as have prosecutions and social service providers working with survivors. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 provides resources and initiatives to assist the 18,000 to 20,000 victims of human trafficking who are trafficked into the United States every year. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 was signed into law on January 2006. For an in depth summary, please visit the Freedom Network .

Similarities Between Human Trafficking and Intimate Partner Violence

Victims of trafficking are often subject to the same kinds of abuse as are battered women and children:
  • Restriction on freedom of movement,
  • Isolation,
  • Financial control,
  • Threats,
  • Intimidation,
  • Physical and sexual violence, and
  • Fostering of drug and alcohol dependencies due to their situations.
In addition they:
  • May have physically isolation
  • Don’t know the language,
  • Are not connected to any family or community of support,
  • Don’t know their legal rights,
  • May not trust the police, and
  • May fear deportation.
Trafficking Survivors Needs:
  • Trafficking survivors may need counseling and help with sexual or domestic abuse they have suffered, as well as trauma from other crimes.
  • They need help identifying their legal options for gaining immigration status and filing any civil suits to challenge their exploitation.
  • If survivors want immigration status they must work with, or attempt to work with, the criminal justice system investigation of the trafficking and related crimes.
  • They likely need healthcare, and perhaps also mental health and dental services.
  • They need public benefits, and safety planning, and someone to help them understand their options.Survivors must make their own choices, however, which means they may need someone to help buffer them from conflicting agendas.

Collaborating to Help Trafficking Survivors

Futures Without Violence  believes that the only way you can ensure trafficking survivors get everything they need is to build relationships with organizations and allies in key systems that encounter or help crime victims. Futures’ Building Collaborative Responses Project on human trafficking helps build multidisciplinary collaborations. For more information, resources, and training opportunities click here.

What you can do to help stop human trafficking:
  • Educate yourself
  • Tell your friends and family
  • Contact your elected representatives – they need to hear from you
  • Support anti-trafficking organizations
  • Report a suspected case of trafficking

Resources

To request technical assistance or for more information on the Building Collaborative Responses Project, please contact Monica Arenas at: marenas@futureswithoutviolence.org.

Futures’ Work to Engage Men Highlighted During Capitol Hill Briefing

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Congressional staffers packed a House of Representatives hearing room to learn more about important and effective programs to engage men and boys in the work of ending violence against women. Futures Without Violence’s Coaching Boys Into Men program was highlighted and Futures’ newest team member, Casey Corcoran, led the panel. William Kellibrew shared the personal and heart-breaking story of witnessing his mother and brother’s murder and being forced to beg for his own life as a 10-year-old boy. He has committed himself to working to end domestic violence through the foundation that bears his name.

Drew Wing from Maine’s Boys to Men program spoke on their successful work as a grantee of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Engaging Men Program, and Dawn Dalton from Chicago Battered Women’s Network spoke about innovative programs happening in Chicago that work with adolescent boys to develop new social norms around masculinity that promote respect and non-violence. Neil Irwin, Executive Director of Men Can Stop Rape, a long-time collaborator with Futures Without Violence, rounded out the panel discussing their newest program working with college-aged men.

The Engaging Men Program is one of the critical programs that Futures helped create in the Violence Against Women Act, federal legislation that is up for a vote in the House of Representatives this week.

Engaging Men Program Orientation a Success

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Futures Without Violence is partnering with the Office on Violence Against Women, Men Stopping Violence, A CALL TO MEN, and The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, as the lead technical assistance provider for the Engaging Men Program – an exciting new federal program focusing on engaging men to prevent violence against women. Twenty-three sites have been chosen from across the country to create public education campaigns and community organizing strategies to engage men and boys in their communities to prevent violence against women.

In August 2011, representatives from each of the 23 sites, Futures Without Violence, Men Stopping Violence, and the Office on Violence Against Women met in Miami for a successful three day program orientation. Presenters included Beth Richie, Catlin Fullwood, and Jay Otto. Program grantees had the opportunity to do strategic planning, learn more from these presenters, and each other, about the incredible opportunities for engaging men in violence prevention.

The grantees left the orientation with new resources and information necessary to complete their strategic plans and begin to build their programs. Futures Without Violence is eager to continue our work with program grantees as they begin implementing their plans and developing new male leaders in their communities around the issue of violence against women.

Stay tuned for more updates on how the 23 communities’ projects are progressing!

Watch this clip of Beth Richie’s presentation for a taste of what the grantees learned at their program orientation:

Engaging Men Program Grantees Come Together in D.C.

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Futures Without Violence is continuing our partnership with the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) as the lead technical assistance provider for the Engaging Men Grant Program – an exciting federal program focusing on engaging men to prevent violence against women and girls. In March 2013 we held two successful meetings with grantees of the program in Washington DC.

Since their orientation in August 2011, the inaugural class of Engaging Men Program grantees have been doing groundbreaking work in communities across the country utilizing public education campaigns and community organizing strategies to engage men in the prevention of violence against women. Last week, we celebrated their innovative work in a two-day Institute which provided grantees with an opportunity to learn from each other and share their wisdom with a new class of Engaging Men Program grantees, just announced Fall 2012.

As the first class of grantees looks forward to a new chapter in their work to engage men, the newly announced grantees are just beginning and they got off to a great start with their orientation last week. The new grantees heard from leaders in the field such as Gary Barker of Instituto Promundo and Annie Lyles of the Prevention Institute, in addition to learning from the challenges and successes shared by the previous class of Engaging Men Program grantees.

Along with performances by Men Can Stop Rape’s MOST Club participants and Add Verb Production’s You The Man play, the Engaging Men Program Institute and New Grantee Orientation meetings were truly engaging events which will continue to inform the practice of Engaging Men Program grantees moving forward.

Batterer Intervention

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Batterer intervention programs (BIPs) have become the preferred way for responding to perpetrators in the domestic violence field. However, the research on their efficacy has been mixed. Some major studies have shown little or no effect on participants, whereas other research has demonstrated significant improvement in a subset of men who complete the programs.

These contradictory research results have created confusion among professionals who work in fields related to domestic violence and criminal justice. Domestic violence advocates often tell victims that abusive men will never change, whereas BIP practitioners sometimes see that men can progress in a positive direction. Some judges and probation officers regularly mandate men to attend BIPs (sometimes because of the lack of other options), whereas others do not, citing the lack of evidence of success. The great majority of states do not allocate any funds to support these programs, though many attempt to regulate them through guidelines that are seldom based on research.
The Family Violence Prevention Fund received funding from “The Woods” Charitable Foundation to organize a two-day meeting of experts on BIP and domestic violence research and practice. The meeting took place on December 3 and 4, 2009 in Washington DC and was co-organized and co-sponsored the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Instead of focusing only on whether BIP programs work or not, the goal of the meeting was to explore how the systems that work with perpetrators of DV could be improved and how research could be more helpful to the field. The meeting examined the state of the current research on BIPs, highlighted some innovative practices and looked at how related fields of research are approaching similar problems.

Twenty national experts in the various disciplines of batterers intervention and domestic violence research and practice were the primary discussants at the meeting. Additionally, 30 auditors were invited to observe the proceedings. The auditors represented key constituents to aid in the dissemination of the meeting’s report and the implementation of its recommendations, such as federal and state policy makers, domestic violence and BIP activists, judicial officers, researchers and others.FVPF and NIJ published a report on the meeting and four commissioned papers by leading researchers and practitioners.Report:

Papers:

Engaging Men to Prevent Violence Against Women

Posted by Kyle Coleman

What are ordinary men willing to do to end violence against women and girls?  Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund, has been asking this question for more than a decade.  The good news is that many men are willing to get involved and act as influencers of children, other men and institutions.

Futures Without Violence has created several programs to involve men in preventing violence against women, including Coaching Boys Into Men and the Founding Fathers Campaign. In 2010, we were chosen to be the lead technical assistance provider for the Engaging Men Program, an exciting new federal program. We are partnering with the Office on Violence Against Women, Men Stopping Violence, A CALL TO MEN, and the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault to support 23 projects across the country that create public education campaigns and community organizing to encourage men and boys to work as allies with women and girls to prevent sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

This program was created by the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 as part of its new emphasis on prevention and it marks the first time in the history of OVW that a grant program focuses primarily on the critical roles men play in preventing violence against women and girls. The program will support multi-faceted strategies that involve men as allies, upstanders (active positive bystanders) and influencers of other men and youth.

The program aims to develop new male leaders in the field who are willing to publicly speak and act to oppose violence against women and girls; and create a ripple effect, encouraging men in many more states and communities to get involved.

8 Ways You Can Coach Boys into Men

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Teach Early. It’s never too soon to talk to a child about violence. Let him know how you think he should express his anger and frustration – and what is out of bounds. Talk with him about what it means to be fair, share and treat others with respect.

Be there. If it comes down to one thing you can do, this is it. Just being with boys is crucial. The time doesn’t have to be spent in activities. Boys will probably not say this directly — but they want a male presence around them, even if few words are exchanged.

Listen. Hear what he has to say. Listen to how he and his friends talk about girls. Ask him if he’s ever seen abusive behavior in his friends. Is he worried about any of his friends who are being hurt in their relationships? Are any of his friends hurting anyone else?

Tell Him How. Teach him ways to express his anger without using violence. When he gets mad, tell him he can walk it out, talk it out, or take a time out. Let him know he can always come to you if he feels like things are getting out of hand. Try to give him examples of what you might say or do in situations that could turn violent.

Bring it up. A kid will never approach you and ask for guidance on how to treat women. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need it. Try watching TV with him or listening to his music. If you see or hear things that depict violence against women, tell him what you think about it. Never hesitate to let him know you don’t approve of sports figures that demean women, or jokes, video games and song lyrics that do the same. And when it comes time for dating, be sure he knows that treating girls with respect is important.

Be a Role Model. Fathers, coaches and any man who spends time with boys or teens will have the greatest impact when they “walk the walk.” They will learn what respect means by observing how you treat other people. So make respect a permanent way of dealing with people – when you’re driving in traffic, talking with customer service reps, in restaurants with waiters, and with your family around the dinner table. He’s watching what you say and do and takes his cues from you, both good and bad. Be aware of how you express your anger. Let him know how you define a healthy relationship and always treat women and girls in a way that your son can admire.

Teach Often. Your job isn’t done once you get the first talk out of the way. Help him work through problems in relationships as they arise. Let him know he can come back and talk to you again anytime. Use every opportunity to reinforce the message that violence has no place in a relationship.

Become a Founding Father. Show him how important the issue of violence against women and children is to you. Join thousands of men across the country who are taking a stand against violence. Become a Founding Father yourself.

IPV Screening and Counseling Toolkit

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Puzzled by all the details in new health care laws that benefit millions of women and girls? We’re here to help.

In February of 2013, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued new recommendations to support screening and response to intimate partner violence (IPV) also known as domestic violence (DV) and designated it with a “B” grade – recommending that health plans provide the service. With this and other new coverage requirements for screening and response, addressing DV in the health setting is becoming the standard of care.

This toolkit offers health care providers and advocates for victims the tools to prepare a clinical practice to address domestic and sexual violence, including screening instruments, sample scripts for providers, patient and provider education resources. It also offers strategies for forging partnerships between health care and domestic and sexual violence programs.

Futures Without Violence’s National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence (HRC) has been supported by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Administration for Children and Families for over 16 years. In that time, we have created resources to help providers identify and support women and girls experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). We know that health providers and advocates have limited time to develop the tools to help integrate screening and counseling into their practice, and this toolkit provides resources that can help.

Click here to view the online toolkit.

Learn more about the IPV Screening and Counseling Guidelines in the Affordable Care Act
 Using Social Media to Increase Awareness

With new national health policy recommendations in support of screening for domestic violence, using social media can support your marketing and outreach for upcoming health and domestic violence trainings or events, or help get the conversation started.

To help health care providers with their online efforts to connect with their patients virtually, Futures Without Violence has developed a graphic: You Are Not Alone. This graphic may be posted via Facebook, Twitter, or texted to patients.

100 of Nation’s Top Leaders Convene at Los Angeles Summit

Posted by Kyle Coleman


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
May 12, 2014 Marsha Robertson
415.678.5617

Futures Without Violence, one of the nation’s leading organizations working to prevent childhood bullying, trauma, and violence, hosted Somebody Stood Up for Me, an interactive summit that brought together leading experts and innovators in the fields of health, education, juvenile justice and community action.

LOS ANGELES, CA (May 7, 2014) Futures Without Violence, one of the nation’s leading organizations working to prevent childhood bullying, trauma, and violence, hosted Somebody Stood Up for Me, an interactive summit that brought together leading experts and innovators in the fields of health, education, juvenile justice and community action. With two out of three children in the U.S. exposed to, or experiencing violence, leaders from around the country agreed that multiple sectors must work together to identify and scale innovative programs. Dr. Robert K. Ross, CEO of The California Endowment opened the Summit by saying, “Childhood trauma is the number one public health crisis in the country. What comes next is the courage to do things differently.”

On the need for investment in America’s children:

“A society that fails to make investments in its children does so at its own peril,” said keynote speaker Tony West, Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. West acknowledged the sobering data on the effects of violence against children, but also stressed the importance of identifying and investing in evidence-based programs that are already making a real impact around the country. “The violence is not inevitable,” he said.

“We need a limitless regard and belief in kids,” said Dr. John Deasy, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Speaking of the need to reform the education system to help children experiencing trauma and violence, Dr. Deasy said, “We need to fund youth in peril more than we fund anything else.”

On the dramatic discoveries of brain science:

“We need to take the information out of the [science] journals and put it into practice,” said Dr. Victor Carrion, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. “The battle between nature and nurture is over. We now know it’s not one or the other, it’s the confluence of both,” he said, stressing the need to create environments for children that are conducive to healing the brain, body, and mind.

A growing body of research indicates that repeated trauma literally blocks children’s bodies and minds from developing in a healthy way. Ultimately, the pervasiveness and severity of childhood trauma impacts all of us by weakening public health, producing poor educational outcomes, harming the economy, and putting a strain on the justice system.

How to model Healing Communities from programs that are getting it right:

“We need to be talking about the ‘how done-its,’” said New York Times journalist David Bornstein, speaking of the media’s role in highlighting innovative programs around the country that are helping children every day.

“L.A. is America only sooner and we are coming to a hometown near you,” said Dr. Deasy, referring to Los Angeles’ diverse population and its response to trauma in the community.

“The science is way ahead of the policy,” said Dr. Robert K. Ross, CEO of The California Endowment. Speaking on a panel with leaders from various sectors, Dr. Ross touched on an important aspect of building healing communities: the importance of promoting programs that reflect the evidence.

Pittsburgh Steeler’s journey from childhood trauma to resilience and success:

The luncheon keynote featured Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback William Gay, a childhood trauma survivor and advocate for children and survivors of domestic abuse. He spoke about his experience recovering from the trauma of his mother, who was shot and killed by his stepfather. “Talking about it allowed me to get out bottled up feelings. I got on the field to play for something,” he said. “I wanted to beat the statistics,” referring to data that shows children who experience such traumas face major difficulties later in life.

Great programs and paths to policy:

Successful programs were highlighted by presenters including Dr. Jeannette Betancourt, Senior Vice President of Sesame Workshop; Jill Vialet, CEO and Founder of Playworks, Dave Simpson, Youth Guidance, and artist-activist Walt Pourier. The final policy panel, hosted by Ron Brownstein, Editorial Director of the National Journal, confirmed the importance of working together across policy sectors to address childhood trauma. “Our systems aren’t good at identifying children in need but our tools our great. We just need to begin systematizing our tools,” said Kana Enomoto, Principal Deputy Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services at the U.S. Health Department.

Event organizer Esta Soler, Founder and President of Futures Without Violence, introduced the necessity of a national pubic education campaign to raise visibility on childhood trauma in the year ahead, and thanked the Summit sponsors, The California Endowment and the Blue Shield of California Foundation.

Visit www.somebodystoodup.squarespace.com to learn more about the event agenda and speakers. Read the hashtag #SomebodyStoodUp to see the event’s Twitter activity. To learn about Futures Without Violence, visitstage.futureswithoutviolence.org

 

 

 

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Futures Awards

Posted by Kyle Coleman

Charity Navigator Four Star Charity (2006-2010); top recognition from America’s premier independent charity evaluator. According to Charity Navigator, only 13 percent of the charities they rate have received 3 consecutive 4-star ratings, indicating that Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund, consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most charities in America.

FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award (2011): The San Francisco division of the FBI recognized Futures Without Violence for extraordinary contributions to violence prevention.

 Y-Pulse GennY Award Finalist (2011): The GennY Award honors initiatives that use new and innovative techniques to connect with teens, tweens, and college students. Futures Without Violence was recognized for its innovative public education campaign, That’s Not Cool.

Mujeres Unidas y Activas 2005; Quinceañera (15 Year Anniversary Celebration) Recognition Award for Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund, work on behalf of immigrant women, survivors of domestic violence.

America’s 100 Best Charities (2002 and 2003); selected for this esteemed list by Worth Magazine two years in a row based on an analysis of skill, innovation, effectiveness, and strategic insight.

Asian Women’s Shelter Award (2002) is an organizational honoree and recognition at annual community event.

HealthyWay Best of the Web Award (1999) acknowledging www.endabuse.org as “one of the best online resources for health and wellness information.”

Sara Lee Foundation Award (1998) for leadership in the field by the Sara Lee Foundation, and was hosted to a San Francisco event by the Foundation to acknowledge the organization’s staff amongst its local allies.

AllState Safety Leadership Award (1997) for the There’s No Excuse for Domestic Violencepublic education campaign.

First-Ever Annual Howell Heflin Award (1996) presented at the U.S. Supreme Court by the State Justice Institute for Futures Without Violence’s CD-ROM “Domestic Violence: a Virtual Conference for Judges in the Criminal Court.”

Clarion Award (1995) from Women In Communications, Inc. for best multi-media advertising campaign.

20th Annual Commendation Award (1995) given by the American Women in Radio and Television, Inc. recognizing the There’s No Excuse for Domestic Violence public education campaign.

ADDY Award (1995) for “The Best of Print Advertising” after the launch of the There’s No Excuse for Domestic Violence public education campaign.

Gold Quill Award of Merit (1995) presented by the International Association of Business Communicators, Division of Community and Government Relations, to both Futures Without Violence and Marshalls Against Domestic Violence for cause-related marketing.

San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women Certificate of Achievement (1995)for enormous local community impact.

Victim Service Award (1984) from the office of the Governor of California in recognition of outstanding contributions to improve the quality of life for all Californians.

John R. May Award (1982) from the San Francisco Foundation for excellence in community service.

Mudderella and FUTURES Partner Up!

Posted by Kyle Coleman

We’re proud to announce that we’ve been selected to be the official national charity partner for Mudderella, a new obstacle course challenge that motivates women to own their strength, work together as a team to overcome challenges and have fun at the same time. Mudderella participants will embark on a muddy five- to seven-mile obstacle course that emphasizes teamwork, resilience, and inner strength. All fundraising proceeds from the events will benefit Futures Without Violence’s programs to prevent abuse against women and children. Created by women for women, Mudderella’s inaugural event will launch on Saturday, September 21, 2013 in Tamiment, Pennsylvania in the Poconos and will expand to cities across the U.S. in 2014. “We’re so honored to be working with Mudderella, an organization that values the importance of empowering women as much as we do,” says Esta Soler, founder and CEO of Futures Without Violence. This support will allow us to continue building prevention and education programs –and support victims and survivors of violence and abuse throughout the country.” For more information about upcoming events visit Mudderella.

Obama Issues Workplace DV Order

Posted by Kyle Coleman

On April 18, 2012, President Obama  took a major step  to protect the lives of women and men who are federal employees when he issued an order directing all federal agencies to develop a policy to prevent and respond to domestic violence experienced by employees that affects the workplace. He published the Presidential Memorandum — Establishing Policies for Addressing Domestic Violence in the Federal Workforce.

“From moms dropping their children off at day care centers to front line staff at our national parks to our military families, a workplace policy will help ensure that federal employees and their co-workers are protected from violence,” said Esta Soler, President and Founder of Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund.

A policy for the federal workforce has been a goal of violence against women advocates for many years, both because it can play a critical role in protecting and assisting federal employees, but also because it can help demonstrate best practices to private employers as well.

“Workplace domestic violence policies make sense — they can help save lives and money,” Soler continued. “They contribute to safer and more productive workplaces for all employees, and can also be an important tool to hold accountable employees who are perpetrators. We cannot express enough our deepest gratitude to the President for making the issue of violence against women and girls such an important priority for his Administration.”

Just last week, researchers at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health released a new study documenting the extent of intimate partner homicide in the workplace. Women who are murdered at work are almost as likely to be killed by a spouse, other relative or acquaintance as they are by a stranger.

As part of a series of initiatives designed to prevent violence and help victims, Workplaces Respond to Domestic and Sexual Violence: A National Resource Center is an unprecedented resource that makes it easier than ever for employers to adopt vitally important policies to protect employees from domestic and sexual violence.

The Resource Center was created in October 2010 by a partnership of eight national organizations led by Futures Without Violence and funded by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). It includes a website for employers with information and a set of powerful tools that were never available before.