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 Managements 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 womens 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 Womens 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 Womens 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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