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Violence Against Women

Violence Against Women is a major public health problem for American women. More than 2.5 million women are victims of violence each year. To address this major public health problem, the OWH is involved in the activities listed below. The OWH contact person for Violence Against Women is Deidra Henry, Special Assistant for Violence Against Women Issues.


Domestic Violence in the Workplace: The Action Guide
This Action Guide is written as an addendum to the Workplace Violence Training Guidelines that were issued in May 1997. The Department of Health and Human Services is committed to promoting the health and well-being of all of our employees. Domestic Violence is a leading cause of injury to women in this country. This document is meant to inform employees about what measures can be taken if they suspect a domestic violence situation exists, inform site managers about what physical security precautions should be taken, and inform managers about what policies and procedures others have found helpful in preventing domestic violence. Many of the suggestions and policies are adapted from the Office of Personnel Management’s Workplace Violence Guideline.

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National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women
OWH is the chair for the DHHS Steering Committee on Violence Against Women, and is responsible for the coordination of the DHHS response to issues related to family and intimate violence. The committee meets every other month. Other members of the committee represent leadership within DHHS with expertise in a multitude of issues, including domestic violence, sexual assault and rape, child abuse and neglect, elder abuse, substance abuse, mental health, minority health and women’s health. From 1995-2000 OWH served as the Secretariat for the National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women, which was co-chaired by the Attorney General and the DHHS Secretary, and comprised of national leaders and organizations committed to the eradication of family and intimate violence. On October 1, 1996, the Council announced the creation of a "Community Checklist," to help ensure that every community in the country has resources in place for domestic violence prevention and intervention. The Council also created the Workplace Resource Center to raise awareness about violence through newsletters, information fairs, and workplace assistance.

On October 11, 2000, the Advisory Council released the Agenda for the Nation on Violence Against Women, a call to action to end violence against women. The Agenda emphasizes a mobilization and coordination of the health care system, business, law enforcement, and social support networks to prevent violence against women.

For the full text of the Agenda for the Nation to End Violence Against Women click here.

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OWH Nursing Task Force on Violence Against Women
The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) Nursing Task Force on Violence Against Women was formed in 1997 and its work culminated in the development of national policy recommendations, during the National Summit on Violence Against Women.

The Nursing Task Force represents 30 national nursing organizations and is developing and implementing a unified national nursing response to domestic violence. This Task Force is divided into four working groups – Education, Prevention and Intervention, Universal Screening, and Workplace Violence. Follow-up actions were be reported during "The Ninth International Nursing Conference: Ending Violence Against Women," in December 1998.

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Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Steering Committee
The Violence Against Women (VAWA) steering committee is chaired by Office on Women's Health (OWH). The Committee has the responsibility of coordinating the Health and Human Services (HHS) response to issues related to violence against women and their children and also coordinates HHS violence related activities with those of other Federal agencies.

Selected departmental initiatives include:

  • Maintaining the national domestic violence hotline.
  • Funding grants for coordinated community responses to domestic violence.
  • Studying the economic and personal costs of violence against women.
  • Establishing links with professional societies in the health and social service fields to increase attention to women's health and violence issues, and coordinating programming with the Department of Justice.
  • Developing a joint HHS-DOJ grant announcement on family violence.

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National Social Work Task Force on Violence Against Women
OWH coordinated a National Social Work Task Force on Violence Against Women formed in 1998. On April 7, 2000, OWH in collaboration with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) sponsored a National Social Workers Summit on Violence Against Women. This effort was in response to the growing need to implement a national coordinated effort to address Violence Against Women issues, similar to the goal of the National Nurses Summit. The Task Force consisted national social work organizations, and was charged with drafting a set of policy recommendations in four critical areas: Awareness and Education, Prevention and Intervention, Screening Initiatives/Assessment Issues, and Public Policy and Social Work Agency Policy. The recommendations and actions were reported during NASW annual meeting in November 2000.

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NWHIC's Violence Against Women Website
The Office on Women’s Health in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the addition of a special section on Violence Against Women as part of the expanding National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC). The Violence section is being launched to offer information and resources to women concerning domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse. Click here to go the site.

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