ACTION ALERT: VAWA PROTECTIONS UNDER ATTACK!!!

Your members of Congress are home for the recess! Go to town hall meetings, write op-eds, call them, or use social media to get them to do the right thing!

PASS VAWA 2019 H.R. 1585 without adding any harmful restrictions. 

Then, join our call with Members of Congress and experts in the field on THURSDAY, MARCH 21 at 4:00 EST for the latest updates (see action item #5).

Please forward widely!

Two weeks ago, House Judiciary Crime subcommittee Chairwoman Karen Bass (D-CA-37) and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1) introduced H.R.1585, the bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019. H.R.1585 is a modest reauthorization bill that includes narrowly focused enhancements that address gaps identified by victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence and the people who work on the ground with them every day.

When H.R.1585 went through the House Judiciary Committee, several Representatives tried to roll back vital VAWA protections by:

●       Allowing non-Natives to prey on Native women on Tribal lands with impunity;

●       Allowing publicly-funded domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers to discriminate against survivors who they don’t like and turn away vulnerable victims in need of protection and help; and

●       Taking money away from communities and giving it to organizations like the NRA to teach people how to use guns.

Instead of committing to improve VAWA to address the identified needs of victims and survivors through moderate enhancements, other lawmakers introduced a year-long ‘straight reauthorization of VAWA (with no improvements) that ignores the identified needs of survivors. Lawmakers need to take a principled stand and fight for improved access to safety and justice for victims and survivors rather. Every moment Congress delays in passing much-needed updates puts more people at risk. In the era of #MeToo, we have the opportunity to make meaningful positive change to protect and support all survivors - anything less is unacceptable.

Congress must act NOW to pass H.R.1585!

There are five key things you can do to propel H.R.1585 forward today:

1.      Attend a town hall meeting or call your Representative right now and ask him/her to support H.R.1585. If they haven’t signed on as a co-sponsor of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019 (H.R. 1585), ask them to do so immediately. It is particularly important to get support from Republican Representatives. If your Representative has signed on as a co-sponsor to H.R. 1585, please call them and thank them. Use this link to find your Representative and his/her contact information, and then check out this list to see if they have signed on to support VAWA yet. Click HERE for a sample script.

2.      Attend a town hall meeting or call your Senators and ask them to support a bill in the Senate similar to H.R.1585. The Senate is currently writing their own VAWA bill. We need to make sure the Senate bill is substantially similar to H.R.1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019. Use this link to find your Senators and their contact information. Click HERE for a sample script.

3.      Write an op-ed or letter to the editor for your local paper about the importance of reauthorizing VAWA with vital enhancements. Members of Congress and their staff closely monitor local media, and if your Representative knows that there is community support for H.R. 1585, they’re more likely to support it. Check out this great resource from The New York Times about how to write and submit an op-ed on an issue that matters to you. Click HERE for talking points.

4.      Contact your Members of Congress on social media. Make your support visible to everyone! Use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks to contact your Members of Congress. You can find their Facebook accounts and Twitter handles here. Click HERE for sample posts and for images to share.

5.      Join a call to learn more about H.R.1585 and the path forward in the House. After contacting your Members of Congress, join Representatives Bass and Fitzpatrick, who introduced the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, and experts in the field for a phone call for more information about what is in the bill and a discussion of what lies ahead. The call is on Thursday, March 21 at 4:00 EST. Click HERE to register.

If you have questions or want to report the outcome of your contacts with Members of Congress, please email rgraber@ncadv.org and dkarp@jwi.org.

ACTION ALERT: Call Your Members of Congress and Ask Them to Support H.R.1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019!!!

House Judiciary Crime subcommitte Chairwoman Karen Bass (D-CA-37) and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1) have just introduced H.R.1585, the bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019! This important legislation reauthorizes VAWA grant programs and makes modest yet vital enhancements to existing law. Among other things, H.R.1585:

● Invests in prevention;

● Ends impunity for non-Native perpetrators of sexual assault, child abuse co-occurring with domestic violence, stalking, sex trafficking, and assaults on tribal law enforcement officers on tribal lands;

● Improves enforcement of court orders that require adjudicated domestic abusers to relinquish their firearms;

● Improves access to housing for victims and survivors;

● Protects victims of dating violence from firearm homicide;

● Helps survivors gain and maintain economic independence;

● Updates the federal definition of domestic violence for the purposes of VAWA grants only to acknowledge the full range of abuse victims suffer (does not impact the criminal definition of domestic violence); 

● Maintains existing protections for all survivors; and

● Improves the healthcare system’s response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

Call your REPRESENTATIVE now and tell them to SPONSOR H.R.1585. 

Then call your SENATORS and tell them the Senate needs to introduce a bill WITH THE PROVISIONS in H.R.1585 - half-measures such as a straight reauthorization are not acceptable, nor are rollbacks of existing protections for survivors!

VAWA is Unauthorized -- Now What?

What does VAWA’s unauthorized status mean?

Authorization is different from appropriations:

●     Authorization created the laws and legislators can change or add to the laws each time it is reauthorized. Regardless of VAWA being unauthorized, the law of the land stays intact. Authorization occurs every 5 years.

●     Appropriations allows the government to spend money and outlines what money can be spent on. Appropriations occurs every year.

While VAWA’s status is currently unauthorized, this does not impact its funding for the 2019 fiscal year since money has already been appropriated for the fiscal year. Congress can continue to appropriate funds for a law even if it’s unauthorized.

The reauthorization process allows us to improve and expand services. We can accept some delay in reauthorizing VAWA to ensure the resulting bill improves investments in prevention and includes enhancements to better meet the identified needs of victims and survivors.

What are the implications for ...

●     the law?

As with other laws, only the VAWA grant program authorizations expire -- the underlying law and all the provisions that are not tied to specific funding levels do not expire. All legal protections for victims and survivors continue, including protections in federally-subsidized housing, special tribal jurisdiction, and protections for immigrant victims. Grant conditions that protect survivor confidentiality and safety remain intact.

●     the definition of domestic violence?

A recent article suggesting that the Trump Administration changed the definition of domestic violence is creating some panic in the field. The law did not change; no Administration has that power. The only thing that changed was the definition listed on a website, which does not change the legal definition nor definitions for grant funding.

●     funding for programs and agencies?

VAWA programs and services are funded for 2019 in several already-passed appropriations bills (including Labor, Health, and Human Services) and have been funded in the continuing resolutions funding Department of Justice programs.

What are some advocacy strategies we can use at the local level to ensure a modestly enhanced version of VAWA passes?

The NTF relies on you and other advocates to support out work in Washington, DC by answering our call to rally when the time is right. We will be in contact as the process plays out with periodic updates and calls to activate. Be sure to engage with NTF action alerts when they arrive and take action by calling or writing to your Representative and Senators. Visit the NTF’s webpage on VAWA, where you can find helpful resources.

In the meantime, advocacy at the district level is the most effective way to connect with your Members of Congress. Plan on district advocacy when your Members of Congress are home during the 3rd week of March and the 3rd and 4th weeks of April. Meet with them in your home district and tell them it’s important to pass VAWA, that uncertainty about VAWA’s future harms survivors and advocates, and even though fiscal year 2019 funding is in place, keeping VAWA unauthorized is not a good message to send to survivors.

If you’re looking for district advocacy resources, visit raliance.org/tools

If all of your Members of Congress already support VAWA, thank and recognize them -- publicly acknowledge by thanking them at your next organization’s event, giving them an award, thanking them in an op-ed, etc. You can also collect stories about how VAWA has helped and highlight gaps that could be improved.

NTF Applauds Congress for Their Support of Victims and Survivors

The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (“NTF”) applauds Congress for their support for victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The recently introduced bipartisan, bicameral funding bill appropriates a record $497.5 million for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for the 2019 fiscal year and releases over $3 billion from the Crime Victims Fund, including almost $170 million for Native victims. Funding for vital programs to protect victims and survivors is secure until September 30th, the end of the federal fiscal year, by which time funding for the entire government must be renewed.

VAWA’s authorization was originally slated to lapse at midnight on September 30, 2018. Congress took the unusual step of extending its authorization three times in the series of short-term bills they passed to fund the government since the end of the previous fiscal year. While VAWA will not be extended again, this does not impact its funding - money has already been appropriated for this fiscal year. As happened when VAWA was expired between 2010 and 2013, we expect Congress to continue to fund VAWA while we work with them to develop and pass a bipartisan VAWA reauthorization that centers victims and includes targeted fixes and modest enhancements to improve survivors’ access to safety, security, and justice.

As with other laws, only the VAWA grant program authorizations expire - the underlying law and all the provisions that are not tied to specific funding levels do not expire. All legal protections for victims and survivors continue, including protections in federally-subsidized housing, special tribal jurisdiction, and protections for immigrant victims. Grant conditions that protect survivor confidentiality and safety remain intact. 

The NTF has been working with Congress for over a year to craft and pass a strong VAWA reauthorization bill with critical enhancements, and we will continue to do this important work on behalf of victims and survivors. We rely on you and other advocates to support our work in Washington, DC by answering our call to rally when the time is right. We will be in contact as the process plays out with periodic updates and calls to activate.

ACTION ALERT: It is time to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act And we need to do it right!

As the 115th Congress comes to a close, Congress faces a number of outstanding issues -- one of which is the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA is vital to the safety of victims, survivors, and their communities; it cannot simply be checked off of Congress’s to-do list by changing the dates for existing funding, ignoring countless survivors and direct service providers asking Congress to do more. Survivors and their communities need Congress to take meaningful action.

The awareness of the scope of  sexual violence, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking occurring in our nation has never been greater. Congress must pass a bipartisan VAWA reauthorization that invests in increased evidence-based prevention, enhances survivors’ access to safety and justice, and maintains critical protections for vulnerable communities.

If you have not already done so, contact your Members of Congress, submit an op-ed or letter-to-the editor to your local newspaper, ask leaders in your community to do the same, and use the attached social media toolkit to raise awareness!

Tell them:

• VAWA is vital to protecting community safety, preventing violence, serving victims, and holding abusers accountable.

• A VAWA that rolls back important protections for vulnerable communities or that fails to make important improvements identified by victims and survivors is unacceptable. Simply changing the dates on the existing funding will not address the needs of survivors.

• VAWA has always been, and must always be, bipartisa

Contact your Senators and Representative by phone or online.

SAMPLE SCRIPT OR ONLINE COMMENT:

Senate: My name is [your name], and I am a constituent from [city and, if applicable, program]. The Violence Against Women Act is one of the cornerstones in America’s fight against domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. [Optional: VAWA is important to me, because . . . ] Every VAWA reauthorization has been bipartisan and responsive to the identified needs of victims and survivors. This reauthorization can be no different. I urge [your Senator’s name] to support a VAWA reauthorization that maintains critical protections for vulnerable communities, invests in evidence-based prevention, and makes meaningful changes to protect victims and survivors. Anything less, including a reauthorization that simply changes the dates on existing funding or that rolls back critical protections for vulnerable communities, is unacceptable.

House of Representatives: My name is [your name], and I am a constituent from [city and, if applicable, program]. The Violence Against Women Act is one of the cornerstones in America’s fight against domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.  [Optional: VAWA is important to me, because . . . ]  I urge [your Representative’s name] to support H.R.6545, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2018, which maintains critical protections for vulnerable communities, invests in evidence-based prevention, and makes meaningful changes to protect victims and survivors. A reauthorization that simply change the dates on existing funding or a reauthorization that rolls back critical protections for vulnerable communities, is unacceptable.

OP-ED OR LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Check with your local newspaper, but an op-ed is usually approximately 750 words, and a letter to the editor is typically 250 words or fewer. Submit materials yourself and encourage community leaders to do so, too! Don’t forget to mention your Senators and Representative by name, just to be sure they don’t miss your letter! Some key points to bring up:

• VAWA has always been and must always be bipartisan;

• Congress must pass a reauthorization with meaningful improvements. Neither a reauthorization that just changes the dates nor a reauthorization that rolls back critical protections for immigrants and nondiscrimination provisions is acceptable;

• Your story or a story from your community;

• VAWA is effective and efficient:

  • Since VAWA was passed in 1994, domestic violence against women has decreased by almost two-thirds;[1]

  • In its first five years alone, VAWA saved almost $15 billion in averted social costs, not adjusted for inflation;[2]

• VAWA reauthorization should (choose one or more and expand on it):

  • Invest in evidence-based prevention

  • Include provisions to hold non-Natives who prey on Native women accountable

  • Provide new resources to law enforcement to develop more trauma-informed approaches

  • Provide law enforcement with more resources to enforce court orders and prevent intimate partner and law enforcement homicides

  • Improve protections for survivors in federally subsidized housing;

  • Support victims and survivors who need help rebuilding financially after experiencing violence

  • Address the needs of underserved communities

  • Improve the healthcare responses to the four crimes

SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES

● Congress must listen to the #DomesticViolence field and protect Native Americans with enhanced tribal provisions in VAWA! #VAWA4ALL #tribalVAWA

● Our tribal sisters have come forward and said they need important improvements in VAWA. Include tribal provisions in #VAWA18 or it won't be a #VAWA4ALL #TribalVAWA #VAWA4Natives

●  We cannot ignore the voices of Native American survivors of #DomesticViolence & #SexualAssault. Include tribal provisions in #VAWA18 to make sure that ALL survivors of violence have access to safety and justice. #VAWA4ALL #TribalVAWA #VAWA4Natives

● Abusers often target marginalized populations, believing they'll get away with committing #DomesticViolence & #SexualAssault. We must not let this continue to happen to Native American survivors! Include tribal provisions in #VAWA18 & hold abusers responsible for their crimes. #VAWA4ALL #tribalVAWA

●  56% of Native women experience sexual violence within their lifetime. 97% of them are victimized at the hands of a non-Native perpetrator. We cannot ignore the problems of #DomesticViolence & #SexualAssault on tribal lands. Congress must include tribal provisions in #VAWA18 and protect Native Americans! #VAWA4ALL #tribalVAWA

[1] Truman, J. L., & Morgan, R. E. (2014). Nonfatal domestic violence, 2003 - 2012. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf.

[2] Clark, K. A., Biddle, A. K., & Martin, S. L. (2002). A cost-benefit analysis of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. Violence Against Women, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/10778010222183143.

Read NTF Statement RE: Title IX Draft Regulation

Today, the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence released the following statement re: the publication by the U.S. Department of Education of a draft regulation regarding Title IX:

The regulation proposed by the U.S. Department of Education betrays the trust of all students, P-12 and in higher education. It is the responsibility of the Department to ensure that all students can learn safely in an environment that is free of harassment and discrimination. Instead of upholding this crucial obligation, the Department of Education has proposed a regulation that that puts all students at risk. 

The proposed regulation would weaken Title IX’s protections by narrowing the definition of sexual harassment to allow schools to ignore many instances of campus violence. It would also protect schools by limiting when they must respond, and making it more difficult for students to come forward when they experience sexual harassment or assault. The bottom line is that these changes will make schools less safe for students, and thereby fail to uphold the Department of Education’s responsibilities under Title IX. 

The proposed regulation would also permit religiously-affiliated schools to decline to submit a request or notice for a Title IX exemption to the Department of Education on their institutional policies, and thus, hide from students and parents whether it intends to enforce Title IX’s non-discrimination mandate. 

We urge the Department of Education to withdraw this problematic regulation, and to commit to a transparent process that engages survivors, makes campuses safer, and roots out and eliminates gender bias, sexual harassment, and sexual assault.

The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Condemns Trump Administration’s Efforts to Harm the Transgender Community

The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (NTF), comprised of national, state, tribal, territorial, and local organizations representing thousands of advocates and others working to end domestic violence and sexual assault, writes to express our outrage at this heartless, extremist attack by the Trump administration in their expressed intent to narrowly define gender as a “biological, immutable condition” within Title IX, according to a leaked memo obtained by the New York Times. Transgender people experience unconscionably high rates of sexual assault and domestic violence and attacks on their rights and this level of dehumanization only makes them more vulnerable to assault. Further, if this definition is introduced into regulations, it will not only harm millions of transgender people, but also many more, including making it easier to fire or harass anyone who is perceived to not conform to rigid gender stereotypes.

We affirm our commitment to transgender inclusive policies as core to our mission to end sexual and domestic violence and reiterate that narratives that peddle anti-trans policies as necessary for protecting women and children are simply false.  Further, given the high rates of violence that transgender youth experience in this country, this administration efforts to void Title IX protections is especially concerning. This administration is making it more clear than ever that it is willing to disregard science, medicine, and the law in order to push its own dogma. NTF is fighting with and for the transgender community, and we will do everything we can to uphold and value the rights and safety of every transgender person, including advocating to ensure this memo does not go into effect. We are strong and resilient, and we will not give up.

Click here to read the National Consensus Statement of Anti-Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Organizations in Support of Full and Equal Access for the Transgender Community signed by over 300 domestic and sexual violence organizations across the country.

For more information, contact Terra Russell Slavin, Deputy Director of Policy and Community Building, Los Angeles LGBT Center (Tslavin@lalgbtcenter.org) or Emily Waters (ewaters@avp.org), Policy Consultant, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs

Statement Condemning Contemptible Behavior of National Leadership Toward Kavanaugh Accusers

We are appalled and outraged that the Senate Judiciary Committee leadership has released a statement about comments of a sexual nature allegedly made by Julie Swetnick. Such a statement is unacceptable in all events, but particularly because it attempts to smear someone who has not had the opportunity to be interviewed by the FBI.  The release of this statement violates the intent of the Rape Shield Rule drafted by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991 and voted into law by Congress in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. This federal rule is meant to safeguard the victim against the invasion of privacy, potential embarrassment and sexual stereotyping that is associated with public disclosure of intimate sexual details and the infusion of sexual innuendo into the factfinding process. The Senate Judiciary Committee has posted this statement on its website, in violation of the spirit of its own Rule.

In a sworn statement, Ms. Swetnick states she was sexually assaulted. Yet to date, she has not been interviewed by the FBI. Nevertheless, Senate leadership has engaged in a no-holds-barred personal attack on her.  It is not unusual for a survivor to describe an experience of sexual violence in ways that do not reveal the full reality of the experience or to try and normalize the experience. However, even aside from these very common reactions, it is unthinkable that the Senate Judiciary Committee would have released this statement publicly and attacked her in this way.

We are equally appalled and outraged by the President’s mocking of Dr. Blasey Ford on Tuesday. This behavior marks a new, and previously unimaginable, low point.  Through the tireless work of survivors, advocates and activists over the past decades, we have made progress in our national response to sexual assault.  Yet it seems the current majority leadership is bound and determined to set us back decades in our effort to help survivors feel comfortable coming forward.

We remind the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and all leaders that the country is watching. Women are watching as members and staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee try to shame a victim because of her alleged sexual history. Our children are watching as people who are supposed to be role models cheapen their offices and smear victims in an attempt to distract from a legitimate inquiry into the fitness of a Supreme Court candidate. Survivors are watching as people trivialize their experiences, mock them and make what was already an excruciatingly difficult decision to come forward that much more difficult.

This behavior is completely unacceptable. Ms. Swetnick, Dr. Ford, and all relevant witnesses must be interviewed, and these personal attacks and victim-blaming tactics must cease.   

For more information, contact Terri Poore at terri@endsexualviolence.org or Kiersten Stewart at kstewart@futureswithoutviolence.org.

VAWA Did Not Expire on September 30th

The Violence Against Women Act did not expire on September 30. Many stakeholders have expressed significant concerns about the expiration of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the impact the expiration would have on victims and survivors, particularly those in America’s most vulnerable communities, domestic violence and sexual assault programs, and many others. While Congress must act immediately to reauthorize VAWA with targeted fixes and modest enhancements, only grants need reauthorization - the underlying law, including special tribal jurisdiction, protections for immigrant survivors, housing protections, civil rights protections, and similar provisions do not require reauthorization. This being said, VAWA has not expired - in an unnecessary ploy to allow Congress to avoid taking meaningful action until after the midterm elections, Congress extended its authorization until December 7.

Moreover, funding for VAWA is maintained at Fiscal Year 2018 levels as part of the continuing resolution funding the Department of Justice. It is currently funded through December 7. We fully expect Congress to finalize the Fiscal Year 2019 by December 7, and, as has historically been the case, to continue to fund VAWA in future appropriations, whether or not it has expired. Congress frequently funds unauthorized programs - approximately 25% of federal programs are currently unauthorized, including the State Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

We call on Congress to pass a bipartisan reauthorization bill that bolsters America’s response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking, closing gaps in previous iterations of VAWA and responding to emerging issues identified by direct service providers, survivors, and other experts - and reauthorize grant programs for another five years with an increased investment in prevention. VAWA has always been, and must always be, a bipartisan commitment to improve access to safety and justice, to prevent future violence, and to uphold the dignity and autonomy of all victims and survivors.

Public Charge regulation harms immigrant families and puts victims of sexual assault and domestic violence at risk

The Department of Homeland Security posted on its website Saturday what is likely to be a proposed rule putting immigrant families, including children, at risk if they use public programs to escape abuse and meet basic needs like food, housing, and health care. This cruel rule would put many families in the untenable position of having to choose between using critical programs available to them or risk reuniting with their loved ones. The proposal would undermine efforts by victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to secure essential services that enable them to escape from or overcome abuse.

The proposed rule radically changes the “public charge” provision by expanding the range of programs and supports that can be counted against an immigrant victim applying for a visa or green card, and setting up strict disqualification criteria that will harshly impact victims. Advocates are seeing the chilling effects of this policy as more and more immigrants and citizens alike, including victims and their families, are already foregoing critical services.

Many victims seeking certain forms of immigration status are exempt from public charge, including victims who are refugees and asylees or victims seeking status through the T (trafficking) or U (crime victim) visa process, status as abused or neglected children (SIJS), or status under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). However, victims and their family members who do not seek immigration status in those categories will be harmed as a consequence of an expanded public charge rule.

“This rule is yet another example of the Administration undermining critical immigration protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault,” said Grace Huang, Policy Director at the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence. “If the goal of this inhumane proposal is to target immigrant families, sow fear in immigrant communities, and increase human suffering, then job done. We strongly oppose any change to the public charge rule which makes it more difficult for survivors of

Media Contacts:

domestic violence or sexual assault to access critical protections they need to escape or recover from abuse.”

“This policy is about inflicting trauma and cruelty on children and families,” said Kiersten Stewart, Director of Public Policy for Futures Without Violence. “We should be doing the exact opposite – helping families escape abuse and heal from trauma so they can survive and thrive”

Not only does the public charge rule undermine federal and state policies to support victims by discouraging them from accessing critical services, the proposed rule exacerbates the harmful impacts of the abuse by keeping them trapped in abusive relationships, or undermining their ability to reunite with supportive family members if they leave the abuse. Particularly when minimum wage work places families well below the poverty level, safety-net benefits help survivors afford the basics, such as food, housing, and healthcare, and to rebuild their lives after violence. Access to services and economic supports help victims make the difficult decision whether and how they can afford to leave a dangerous situation, and in planning how to keep themselves and their children healthy, well, and housed. In addition, access to health and counseling resources are critical for the long-term recovery from the trauma that victims have experienced. Without sufficient resources, victims are either compelled back into an abusive relationship, or face destitution and homelessness. The impacts on victims and their children have long term implications for the health and safety of our communities at large.

The National Task Force to End Sexual & Domestic Violence (NTF) is joining hundreds of organizations around the country to comment on the impact of the rule and encouraging concerned members of the public to comment by mail or through the federal website at www.regulations.gov.

Media Contacts:

Charlie McAteer, 917-696-1321, charlie@frontflipchange.com
Grace Huang, 206-420-7369, ghuang@api-gbv.org
Kiersten Stewart, 202-595-7383, kstewart@futureswithoutviolence.org
Archi Pyati, 571-356-9493, archip@tahirih.org

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