The New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence is a New York state government agency within the Executive Department [1] created in 1992 tasked to help New York state residents deal with domestic violence in their lives and those of their friends, family, neighbors, and acquaintances in the state. [2] Its current executive director is Gwen Wright. [3]
The office played an important role in the passage of the state's strangulation law in 2010 which classifies the intent to kill with that method of harm as a felony: If an offender releases their grip within a certain period of time, there is usually no evidence what transpired. Then-executive director Amy Barash expressed in 2013, when asked about progress up to then: "The number of homicides has gone down over the past twenty-five years.... A lot of the legal progress is due to the federal Violence Against Women Act. [4]
Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations and needs equally, regardless of gender.
Femicide or feminicide is a hate crime which is broadly defined as "the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female," but definitions of it vary depending on cultural context. In 1976, the feminist author Diana E. H. Russell first defined the term as "the killing of females by males because they are female." In some Central American countries the term femicide is used in reference to the violent killings of women and girls which are frequently perpetrated by gang members in order to stoke fear and compliance among civilians.
The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress when prosecutors chose to not prosecute cases. The Act also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Department of Justice.
The United States Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was created following the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. The Act was renewed in 2005, 2013 and again in 2022. The Violence Against Women Act legislation requires the Office on Violence Against Women to work to respond to and reduce violence against women in many different areas, including on college campuses and in people's homes. VAWA requires Office on Violence Against Women to administer justice and strengthen services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed by men or boys against women or girls. Such violence is often considered a form of hate crime, committed against women or girls specifically because they are female, and can take many forms.
The National Network to End Domestic Violence(NNEDV) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded in 1990, based in the District of Columbia. It is a network of state and territorial domestic violence coalitions, representing over 2,000 member organizations nationwide. The National Network to End Domestic Violence works to address the many aspects of domestic violence.
Domestic violence is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. Domestic violence is often used as a synonym for intimate partner violence, which is committed by one of the people in an intimate relationship against the other person, and can take place in relationships or between former spouses or partners. In its broadest sense, domestic violence also involves violence against children, parents, or the elderly. It can assume multiple forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, economic, religious, reproductive, or sexual abuse. It can range from subtle, coercive forms to marital rape and other violent physical abuse, such as choking, beating, female genital mutilation, and acid throwing that may result in disfigurement or death, and includes the use of technology to harass, control, monitor, stalk or hack. Domestic murder includes stoning, bride burning, honor killing, and dowry death, which sometimes involves non-cohabitating family members. In 2015, the United Kingdom's Home Office widened the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control.
Specialized domestic violence courts are designed to improve victim safety and enhance defendant accountability. They emerged as a problem-solving court in the 1980s and 1990s in response to frustration among victim advocates, judges and attorneys who saw the same litigants cycling through the justice system again and again.
Legal Momentum, founded in 1970, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the nation's first and longest-serving legal advocacy group for women in the United States. Betty Friedan and Muriel Fox were its co-founders and Muriel Fox is an ongoing leader of the organization. Carol Baldwin Moody became President and CEO in April 2018. The organization, founded as the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, became Legal Momentum in 2004. Legal Momentum is a multi-issue organization dedicated to advancing women’s rights and gender equality, particularly in the areas of equal education opportunities; fairness in the courts; ending all forms of gender-based violence; workplace equality and economic empowerment. The organization employs three main strategies: impact litigation, policy advocacy, and educational initiatives. It is headquartered in New York City.
In Australia, domestic violence (DV) is defined by the Family Law Act 1975. Each state and territory also has its own legislation, some of which broadens the scope of that definition, and terminology varies. It has been identified as a major health and welfare issue. Family violence occurs across all ages and demographic groups, but mostly affects women and children, and at particular risk are three groups: Indigenous, young and pregnant women.
Tuvalu is a small island nation in the South Pacific, located North of Fiji and North West of Samoa. The population at the 2012 census was 10,837. Tuvalu has a written constitution which includes a statement of rights influenced by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. While most human rights in Tuvalu are respected, areas of concern include women’s rights and freedom of belief, as well as diminishing access to human rights in the face of global warming. The latter has played a major role in the implementation of human rights actions in Tuvalu given its geographical vulnerability and scarce resources.
Childhood Domestic Violence Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to help children of domestic violence. The organization was formerly named the Makers of Memories Foundation.
Domestic violence in United States is a form of violence that occurs within a domestic relationship. Although domestic violence often occurs between partners in the context of an intimate relationship, it may also describe other household violence, such as violence against a child, by a child against a parent or violence between siblings in the same household. It is recognized as an important social problem by governmental and non-governmental agencies, and various Violence Against Women Acts have been passed by the US Congress in an attempt to stem this tide.
Domestic violence against men is violence or other physical abuse towards men in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation. As with domestic violence against women, violence against men may constitute a crime, but laws vary between jurisdictions. Men who report domestic violence can face social stigma regarding their perceived lack of machismo or other denigrations of their masculinity. Additionally, intimate partner violence (IPV) against men is generally less recognized by society than intimate partner violence against women, which can act as a further block to men reporting their situation.
The legal status of women in the United States is, in comparison to other countries, equal to that of men, and generally, women are viewed as having equal social standing to men as well. However, among other similar laws, the United States has never ratified the U.N's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Violence against women in Cambodia is a serious issue. Cambodia has had a history of violence against women especially due to its past conflicts. During the Pol Pot regime, women were exposed to several different violent acts against them such as forced marriages and rape by the Khmer Rouge officials in Cambodia and refugee camps in Thailand. Presently, there is still a number of different forms of exploitation and discrimination against women in Cambodia such as rape, domestic violence, and human trafficking as the country is recovering from the history of conflict.
Violence against women in New Zealand is described as the kinds of violence faced by women disproportionately to men due to factors of ongoing gender inequality in society. The New Zealand government and the New Zealand justice system view efforts to prevent and deal with violence against women as a priority of New Zealand legislation and the criminal justice system. There are current domestic laws relating to the prevention and punishment of violence against women, however, despite these efforts, women in New Zealand still face high levels of violence. New Zealand was ranked as worst for Domestic Violence compared to other OECD countries with 1 in 3 women estimated to have been a victim of violence in their lifetime and as of 2020, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, NZ police were reported to be responding to a domestic violence call every 4 minutes.
Esta Soler is an American activist who founded the social justice organization Futures Without Violence, and serves as president of FUTURES.
Betty Taylor is an Australian community advocate and domestic violence prevention campaigner.