User:Fvpf/Sandbox

About The Family Violence Prevention Fund
The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) believes everyone has the right to live free of violence and fear and full of respect. The FVPF works to prevent violence within the home, and in the community, to help those whose lives are devastated by violence. For more than two decades, the FVPF has worked to end violence against women and children around the world. Instrumental in developing the landmark Violence Against Women Act passed by Congress in 1994, the FVPF has continued to break new ground by reaching new audiences including men and youth, promoting leadership within communities to ensure that violence prevention efforts become self-sustaining, and transforming the way health care providers, police, judges, employers and others address violence.

About the Respect Campaign
[http://www.giverespect.org The RESPECT! CampaignSM ] is an action campaign to end abuse by starting with something that everyone can do: Give RespectSM to others. By talking to young people and helping them understand the importance of respect in relationships, the FVPF strives to build a society where families are strong, healthy and free from the threat or fear of violence against women and children. Funds raised from the RESPECT! CampaignSM will support the FVPS's education, awareness and training programs that aim to prevent and one day end violence against women and children by building strong, healthy families and communities and promoting respect.

Facts About Abuse

 * Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.


 * Nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.


 * Thirty percent of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband or boyfriend in the past year.


 * On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day.


 * Approximately one in five female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.


 * In a national survey of more than 6,000 American families, 50 percent of the men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children.


 * Slightly more than half of female victims of intimate violence live in households with children under age twelve.


 * In a 2007 survey of men nationwide sponsored by Verizon Wireless 65% said the media was not doing enough to raise awareness about this issue.

Sources:

Educating the American Public:

 * Partnered with the Advertising Council in 1993 to launch "There's No Excuse for Domestic Violence" the first national public service campaign (TV, print, and radio) to educate women about the unacceptability of domestic violence and sexual assault; Raised awareness and connected victims of domestic violence to local organizations for life saving resources.
 * Created education campaigns for targeted audiences, including, "It's Your Business" for the African American community and the "Teen Action Campaign" for teenagers.
 * Introduced "Coaching Boys into Men" in 2001 to educate men about the critical role they can and must play in raising boys to treat women with respect. (TV, print, radio, online)
 * Partnering with the Ad Council to launch "ThatsNotCool.com" an interactive campaign targeted at teens to raise awareness about healthy vs. unhealthy relationships. Today, FVPF remains the only Ad Council partner for public education on domestic violence.

Protecting Children Who Grow Up in Violent Homes

 * Training Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Service workers to partner on cases where there is domestic violence so that children are comprehensively evaluated and provided with the resources they need.
 * Working with educators and youth counselors to understand and address the special learning disabilities and social skill impediments that often afflict children who witness violence in the home.
 * Teaching Pediatricians to screen children for violence in the home and identify stress disorders, emotional problems, and other physical consequences that result from experiencing violence in the home.

Engaging Men and Boys:

 * As the nation's first domestic violence organization to educate and enlist men – as coaches, parents, and teachers, FVPF encourages men to teach boys early and often to treat women with respect.
 * Working with the National High School Athletic Coaches Association to teach coaches how to create a climate of respect for women and girls among their players through "teachable moments" – on and off the field. (see Coaching Boys into Men Playbook)
 * Partnering with several professional athletes, coaches, and sports teams to promote the Coaching Boys into Men messages and calls to action among fans.

Promoting Healthy Relationships Among Teens

 * Serving as the National Program Office for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Building Healthy Teen Relationships initiative, FVPF oversees a four year $14 million initiative 10 city program to develop model teen abuse prevention programs for community based organizations.
 * Partnering with the Ad Council, FVPF will introduce ThatsNotCool.com, an interactive public education campaign to teach teens about healthy relationships and end dating violence/sexual assault.
 * Working with the National Council of Teachers of English, the Lessons from Literature program is an intensive training and professional development program for high school literature teachers to guide them on how to embed violence prevention strategies via conversations relating to the storylines and characters who are confronting issues of physical violence, emotional abuse, sexual assault, etc. and to help promote a culture of respect within the schools.

Training Doctors, Nurses, Judges, Police Officers, and others on the "frontlines":

 * Local, regional and national training programs for physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals so that they can recognize and respond to women and children who are being abused.
 * Intensive training programs for family court judges to ensure that they apply th laws correctly and to guide them in making certain that their courtrooms provide real help to victims of family violence.
 * Comprehensive education programs for police officers, sherrifs, and others in law enforcement so that they can respond better to domestic violence calls and better protect women and children who are at risk for injury.

Instituting Change on Capital Hill, Getting Money to Shelters and Family Crisis programs

 * Helped write and pass the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, the very first piece of legislation in the U.S. Congress to authorize federal funding in support of local domestic violence and child abuse services in communities across America.
 * Authored and advocated for the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1993 which enabled an unprecedented $355 million in federal support to local social service agencies
 * Successfully led efforts to reauthorize VAWA in 2007 with $572 million appropriated for local shelters, hotlines, crisis centers, and other community based victim services.

Ending Violence Against Women Around the Globe
Recently introduced the International Violence Against Women Act, a $1 billion initiative to invest in women's economic security, health and education so that they can lift themselves out of violence and invest in their families.
 * Challenging cultural norms that permit violence against women by educating and building leadership among indigenous and impoverished women, including midwives, in countries such as Mexico, Africa, and China.
 * Training health care providers to identify and support victims of abuse by setting up hospital-based programs and crisis centers in countries such as India and China.
 * Training athletic coaches in partnership with the Nike Foundation in India, the Ford Foundation in Africa, and UNICEF in 207 other countries so that they teach boys to respect women.
 * Development of an International Center that will serve as a global hub for training, education and advocacy and that will facilitate greater public understanding and action through interactive  exhibits, a state of the art training center, and educational programs for young people.

Building Leadership in immigrant and minority communities:

 * Training minority, immigrant and refugee women to understand their rights, gain access to resources for assistance, and become better advocates for women and children in their communities who are in need of help due to abuse at home.
 * Educating immigration attorneys so that they may better represent their clients on issues of asylum due to abuse, legal status/custody issues, and government services available to women and children in need.
 * Developing culturally appropriate education and awareness programs for communities of color, e.g., "Coaching Boys into Men" for the Native American community, "Its Your Business" for the African American community; "There's No Excuse" for the Asian American community, etc.

Awareness in the Workplace:

 * Specialized training programs for executives and managers to understand the impact of domestic violence on employees.
 * Awareness and education resources for employers to share with employees to help prevent violence and build stronger families.
 * Technical support for employers to develop corporate policies and procedures designed to assist employees who are in need of help.