Catherine Pierce
National Domestic Violence Hotline Event
April 28, 2009, 11:00 AM
Austin, TX
Welcome and good morning.
Thank you all for being here. And thank you especially to the Texas Council on Family Violence, its Executive Director, Sheryl Cates, and her extraordinary staff for hosting this event.
My name is Catherine Pierce. I have the privilege of serving as Acting Director of the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice. I bring greetings today from my colleagues at the Department and from Attorney General Eric Holder.
As some of you know, it is the mission of the Office on Violence Against Women to lead the national effort to respond to the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.
Here in the United States–for far too many women and children–home is not a safe place. In 2007, over half a million women were assaulted or raped by an intimate partner. One-third of all female murder victims are killed by husbands or boyfriends. Countless children witness this violence and are forever changed by what they see and hear.
We are here today to honor the remarkable work of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and its Teen Helpline – www.loveisrespect.org. We are also here to recognize the unique role the hotline plays in stemming violence.
Since 1996, with the help of public and private partners, the hotline has provided hope to hundreds of thousands of women and girls who seek safety, well-being, and a life free of abuse.
The hotline is supported by federal funds made available through the Violence Against Women Act through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office on Violence Against Women. It also receives tremendous support from a host of private donors–many of whom are represented here today:
- The Liz Claiborne Corporation
- The Mary Kay Foundation
- The Swalm Foundation
- The RGK Foundation
- Hester Capitol Management, and
- The Allstate Foundation.
Thank you very much for your support.
For many years, most of us who did this work focused on providing services to adult survivors of domestic and sexual violence. But in recent years, we have become increasingly concerned by trends in teen dating violence; an issue–I must add–the Liz Claiborne Corporation has taken the lead on for some time now.
According to a survey conducted in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 10% of adolescents nationwide reported being the victim of physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner during the previous year.
In other words, one in 10 teens, ages 13-19, most of them young women and girls - experience some sort of abuse in their dating relationships.
Through collaborative efforts – like the partnership we have developed over the years with the Texas Family Violence Council, we know we can:
- enhance understanding of healthy relationships;
- help teens identify signs of abuse;
- and help them locate services if they or someone they know is experiencing a physically or emotionally abusive relationship.
The Teen Helpline’s ground-breaking use of technology and web-based peer advocacy inspires all of us, including the Office on Violence Against Women, as we try to understand how best to reach teens needing to escape from abusive relationships.
Now, before introducing our next speakers, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge our Vice President and the extraordinary difference he has made.
I have been proud to serve as Deputy Director of OVW since we first opened our doors in 1995 – and, like my friends and colleagues here in Texas, I have seen firsthand the progress we have made. I am also keenly aware of the work we have left to do.
But all of us know, our accomplishments would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of then Senator Joseph Biden. With an extraordinarily talented and fearless coalition of women at his side, he authored and advocated for the passage of the Violence Against Women Act nearly 15 years ago. Without him:
- A Violence Against Women Office would never have been created and we would never have had the resources to make $3.5 billion in grant awards over the past fourteen and a half years; including $1.9 million in awards to the Texas Council on Family Violence.
- Critical programs like the National Domestic Violence Hotline would not have been created;
- State, local and Tribal governments would never have received essential funds to improve victim services and the criminal justice system’s response to violence against women; and
- Essential advocacy and support services would not have been available for hundreds of thousands of survivors who have been given a new chance to live without the everyday threat of violence.
Vice President Biden has been the most vocal champion in support of the work we all do.
But far more importantly he remains a staunch and unyielding advocate for those victimized – at any age – by domestic and sexual violence. And a humble, compassionate source of support to survivors, amazing women like Courtney Sanchez who you will hear from.
We thank the Vice President for his brilliant leadership and unwavering commitment to women and girls everywhere. Without him our combined efforts would be a dream denied.
In our President, our Vice President, and our Attorney General, we have three men we know we can count on as our allies in the challenge to end violence against women here in the United States and throughout the world.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Vice President of the United State, Joseph Biden, accompanied by Courtney Sanchez and another key ally, some who has been active in the fight against violence against women, here in Austin, the Mayor, Will Wynn.
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