Time is Running Out

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Every day more than 9,000 children will witness their mothers being abused. How long will they have to wait for Congress to pass laws to protect them?

Time is running out for millions of women and children who are victims of family violence. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) – landmark legislation that provides funding for hotlines, shelters and services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking nationwide- will expire unless Congress finalizes the bill and sends it to the President’s desk before the holidays begin. Some legislators seem to think its okay to simply give VAWA an extension and to vote on it sometime next year.  This is simply not acceptable!

If VAWA is not passed and signed into law this year, funding for existing domestic and sexual violence programs will be in serious jeopardy, and new programs - like programs to provide services to children who witness domestic violence - will not be funded at all.

Visit http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/200 to hear an actual 911 call and to send a message to your legislators urging them to finalize VAWA before Thanksgiving.

Please forward this message to everyone you know. Our strength is in our numbers. Violence against women and children affects us all. Together we can http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org
Irene Weiser

For more information about the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, please contact:
Center for Women’s Global Leadership, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 160 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8555 USA; ph: (1-732) 932-8782; fax: (1-732) 932-1180; e-mail: cwgl@igc.org

Please visit Mark Dubin’s site at http://www.cavnet.org and consider applying for membership.  He is doing great things for Domestic Violence victims.

Violence Policy Center issues Annual Report “When Men Murder Women”

Please visit the new site for the NY Model for Batterer Programs at http://www.nymbp.org

How You Can Help

Heather Grossman's ex-husband hired a man to kill her in 1997. He was not successful in his attempt to take her life, but the gunshot wound left Heather paralyzed from the neck down. Heather was just 31 years old with three young children. During the years since the incident, Heather's family has been doing everything they can to keep her alive and well, but expenses are high, and they need as much help as they can get.

Since Heather's new website launched on September 21 with the Paypal Donation Options, Heather's family has received donations from quite a few generous people. Please take a moment to see who has donated to Heather's family so far.