Seattle visit part of 20 city tour to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act

Seattle, WA – Today, the Seattle Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault hosted a roundtable discussion on ending violence against women with Bea Hanson the Principal Deputy Director of the United States Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW).   The roundtable today is part OVW’s 20 city tour to better understand best practices across the nation – especially in areas such as prosecution, law enforcement, victim services, cultural competency, language access, prevention and public awareness.  Other participants included Mayor Ed Murray, local law enforcement, victim service providers, judges, prosecutors and other members of Domestic Violence Prevention Council.  Today’s event was held at Seattle City Hall.

“The City of Seattle is strongly committed to providing support for victims and survivors of domestic violence,” said Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. “We do this by funding community programs that provide emergency and transitional housing programs, legal services, employment support, safety planning and more. These roundtables are a valuable opportunity for us to work with our partners around the country so that we can collectively identify ways that we can do more to end domestic violence.”

“Research shows that efforts to address violence against women are particularly effective when they are combined and integrated into a coordinated community response,” said Principal Deputy Director Bea Hanson of the Office on Violence Against Women.  “We know that when police departments, courts, and victim service providers work together to create multi-disciplinary response teams, the quality of victim services and justice system responses are improved, which can influence and change the way communities understand and talk about violence against women.”

“With nearly one in five women in Washington State experiencing domestic violence during their lifetime, we know that domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of violence towards women is far too prevalent,” said Lan Pham, Manager, Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault.  “The City of Seattle is proud to partner with nonprofit organizations, King County, Washington State and the Federal government to create coordinated systems to help victims and survivors enjoy safe and violence-free lives, and heal from the trauma of abuse or sexual assault.”

Annually Human Services Department through the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault invests in more than $4.9 million in services and programs to address domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, intervention, coordinated response and offenders’ accountability programs.  Part of this funding comes from $1.1 million in Federal funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women to support various projects related to coordinated criminal justice response and housing for survivors of domestic violence.

 

The Seattle Human Services Department is one of the largest contributors to Seattle’s safety net as it provides $99 million in funding through 522 contracts to nearly 200 agencies that support Seattle’s most vulnerable residents each year.  The department works closely with its community partners, including other public and nonprofit funders and service providers, to understand current and emerging human service needs, and to create and invest in a comprehensive and integrated regional human services system.

 

Learn more about the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault .

 

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