ATCEV Celebrates Senate Confirmation of Rosie Hidalgo, OVW Director
ATCEV celebrates the Senate confirmation of Rosiemarie Hidalgo to serve as the director of the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The Senate confirmed Ms. Hidalgo on July 11 in a bipartisan vote, making her the first Senate-confirmed director to lead OVW since 2012, and the first Latina to hold the office. Ms. Hidalgo is immensely qualified to lead the office, bringing with her more than 25 years of work experience addressing gender-based violence. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Hidalgo served as a special assistant to President Biden and senior advisor on gender-based violence at the White House Gender Policy Council and is the former senior director of public policy for Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities, a national resource center with a focus on providing training, research, and policy advocacy to prevent and end domestic violence and sexual assault. ATCEV and the 19 tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions look forward to working with Ms. Hidalgo in her new role as OVW director and look forward to her support and commitment to advance tribal sovereignty and safety of American Indian and Alaska Native survivors. The Alliance of Tribal Coalitions to End Violence (ATCEV) is a Native-led and organization nonprofit organization working to advance Tribal sovereignty and the safety of American Indian and Alaska Native women by providing support to Tribal Coalition and Tribal communities in their efforts to address equal justice for survivors of violence.
Senators Casey and Murkowski Introduce Senate Bill to Reauthorize the Family Violence Prevention Services Act
On July 27, 2023, Senators Robert Casey (D-PA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA). The bill, S.2693, will reauthorize and expand the Act which provides funding for programs focused on supporting survivors and preventing family and domestic violence. Funding from the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act provides domestic violence resources to more than 1.3 million victim survivors and their children each year. Of particular importance to Indian Country and Alaska, the bill includes:• Increased formula funding distribution to Tribes from 10% to 12.5%;• Dedicated funding authorization for Tribal domestic violence coalitions to provide culturally appropriate technical assistance to Tribes and Tribal victim services providers;• Dedicated funding authorization for a national Indian domestic violence hotline; and• Dedicated funding authorization for an Alaska Tribal Resource Center and a Native Hawaiian Resource Center on Domestic Violence to reduce disparities facing Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian victims. “American Indian and Alaska Native women and men experience some of the highest rates of intimate partner violence,” said Dawn Stover, Director of the Alliance of Tribal Coalitions to End Violence (ATCEV). “FVPSA ensures that Indian Tribal governments have the funding needed to provide safe and supportive shelter and culturally relevant direct services for those facing violence and abuse in Indian Country.” According to the National Institute for Justice, more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native men and women (83 percent) have experienced a form of violence in their lifetime including physical violence and/or psychological aggression from an intimate. “Intimate partner violence is often an intersecting factor present in a case of a missing or murdered loved one,” said Stover. “Domestic violence prevention and response is homicide prevention.” First enacted in 1984, FVPSA has been reauthorized seven times. FVPSA was last reauthorized in 2010, expiring in 2015. FVPSA is the only federal grant program solely dedicated to domestic violence shelter and supportive services and is the primary source of funding for these services for Indian Tribes. The ATCEV is a Native-led and organized nonprofit working to advance Tribal sovereignty and the safety of American Indian and Alaska Native women by providing support to Tribal Coalition and Tribal communities in their efforts to address equal justice for survivors of violence. The ATCEV and its member tribal domestic violence coalitions are committed to amplifying the voices of the grassroots organizations and victim service programs working diligently to address domestic violence in Indian communities. This work will continue until all Indian women are afforded safe shelter and supportive services to escape violence and abuse.