Office on Violence Against Women Director Rosie Hidalgo Delivers Opening Remarks at the End Violence Against Women International Annual Conference

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good morning! I want to express my gratitude to End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI) for planning this important annual conference and for this opportunity to offer opening remarks. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and work with such a dedicated team to implement the mission of OVW to advance our nation’s commitment to prevent and respond to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, sex trafficking and other related forms of gender-based violence. I also want to extend my deep gratitude to each of you here today for your hard work, dedication and service and for coming together to see how we can continue to learn from one another to advance these important goals.

On this first day of April, it is also an important opportunity to commemorate the start of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, or SAAM. The 2024 theme for SAAM is “Building Connected Communities,” which fits so well with this conference and is why we are all here together.

It is only through building connected communities that we can strengthen a coordinated community response to prevent and end gender-based violence. This convening, which includes victim service providers, law enforcement officers, those who work in the criminal and civil justice systems, legal and healthcare professionals, researchers, educators, training and technical assistance providers and many others, exemplifies that. And I am told that there are participants from all 50 states, five U.S. territories and seven countries from around the world. It truly takes all of us, with all our different backgrounds, to provide multiple pathways to safety, justice and healing for survivors and to build safe, secure communities free of violence.

Seeing so many professionals from such varied backgrounds is indicative of how much progress has been made over the last several decades. Fortunately, there have been significant paradigm shifts in society’s perceptions of these crimes and our responses to them. Individuals and organizations – like EVAWI – and all of you here today have worked tirelessly to bring these issues out of the shadows, support survivors and hold offenders accountable. However, as you undoubtedly know, we still have much further to go. Many survivors still encounter significant challenges navigating complex systems and accessing critical resources and support that are trauma-informed and survivor-centered.

The theme of this year’s conference, Cycle of Justice, is meant to underscore that justice is a step-by-step process for victims and survivors. How each person responds along the way – from law enforcement officers and investigators to healthcare personnel to victim advocates and courtroom officials – is critical to how, or if, justice is served for that victim or survivor. This is exactly the kind of coordinated community response we champion at OVW. The coordinated community response is the hallmark of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) – landmark legislation passed nearly 30 years ago and most recently reauthorized in 2022. Every time VAWA has been up for reauthorization, it has provided an opportunity to identify what is working well that can be enhanced further and where there are gaps and barriers that need to be addressed to make sure all survivors have a pathway to safety, services, and justice.

In fact, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of VAWA this September. Born from years of grassroots advocacy and the voices and leadership of survivors, VAWA’s 1994 enactment was a testament to the power of collective action in shaping public policy and setting a vision for our nation to advance a society that does not tolerate abuse. 

Since its inception in the first VAWA, OVW has given more than $10.5 billion in grants. Our grantees include local, state, territorial and Tribal governments, courts, community-based organizations, educational institutions, state, territorial and Tribal coalitions and more across all U.S. states, territories and many Tribal nations. OVW provides funding to bolster local communities’ capacity to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking through grant programs that encourage partnerships between the criminal and civil justice system, advocates, community-based organizations and other system and community partners.  

We have four formula programs, such as our Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors and Sexual Assault Services Formula grants, as well as targeted discretionary grant programs dedicated to reducing gender-based violence on college campuses, those that support children and youth, those focused on rural communities and those that work to enhance the allyship of men and boys in prevention efforts. Our funding also supports historically marginalized and underserved communities, which are disproportionately impacted by violence, as well as targeted funding for Indian Country and Alaska Native villages. These programs focus on a strengths-based approach in helping increase access to services and reduce barriers to safety and support.

I’m proud to say that over the last three years, VAWA funding has increased by more than 30%. In just the past fiscal year, OVW has distributed over $630 million — the highest amount we’ve ever awarded. In 2024, we are also implementing new grant programs – part of a continued expansion due mostly to the 2022 reauthorization of VAWA.

This includes a new initiative known as the Abby Honold program that provides training for law enforcement to implement trauma-informed and survivor-centered responses. It’s named after a college student who was sexually assaulted and whose case was initially mishandled by law enforcement. She felt continually let down by the various systems she encountered after she reported her assault. She worked for many years on behalf of other survivors like herself to change how those kinds of cases are handled by law enforcement. This program, as well as our other new program for trauma-informed investigations, implements the Justice Department’s 2022 guidance on Improving Law Enforcement Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence by Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias. The adoption of this guidance will promote a sense of trust within communities while helping enhance victim and survivor safety and holding offenders accountable.  

We are also funding programs that provide additional pathways to justice, safety and healing. I am happy to announce that we recently awarded three grants to support technical assistance for restorative practices. This is the precursor to the launch of a new restorative practices pilot program that was included in the VAWA 2022 reauthorization. It will also include robust funding for evaluation so that we can continue to learn how to meet the diverse needs of survivors.

New protections in the latest reauthorization of VAWA also respond to emerging technology. While the advances in technology bring new opportunities to enhance services and support, they also bring their own challenges, with technology-assisted abuse increasingly becoming a more expansive tool for offenders. VAWA 2022 recognized and defined “technological abuse” for the first time. The devices that are an essential part of how we live our lives today – and that open so much of the world to us – are also used to cause great harm.  

Unfortunately, the statistics speak for themselves: about one in three women under the age of 35 are stalked or harassed online. The rate of victimization is even greater for individuals who identify as LGBTQI+.

OVW issued a solicitation for a new grant program that was created in VAWA 2022, the Local Law Enforcement Grants for Enforcement of Cybercrimes Program, which will provide training and support to state, Tribal and local law enforcement, prosecutors and judicial personnel that assist victims of cybercrimes, including cyberstalking and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. And we will soon fund for the first time a National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals to provide information, training and technical assistance for improving the capacity of individuals, organizations, governmental entities and communities to prevent, enforce and prosecute cybercrimes against individuals, such as the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, including deep fakes.

We’ve come a long way, but there is so much more to do. Despite the significant progress that’s been made over the last three decades, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking remain significant public health and safety threats. Still, far too many survivors and their loved ones struggle in the aftermath of violence. This is why we are all here. We are dedicated to helping communities create equal access to justice, safety and healing. When we do it right, a coordinated community response ensures that victims and survivors experience the very best from the systems they encounter at every step of their journey.

While the federal government has an important role to play, we know that it takes everyone in different sectors, including local, state, territorial and Tribal governments, Tribal communities, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, philanthropy, the workplace and individual commitments to be a part of reducing violence and creating relationships, homes and communities where everyone can thrive free from violence.  

Thank you all for your dedication and for being here to partake in this important work. I wish everyone a safe, productive and inspiring three days.