FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? VAWO
THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2001?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS GUAM $644,000
TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
WASHINGTON, DC - Attorney General Ashcroft
announced today that the Justice Department is awarding $644,000 to Guam to
prevent and respond to violence against women, as part of this year?s STOP? (Services, Training, Officers and
Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program.? This program is funded under the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA).
??No
American should feel outside the protection of the law, or beyond the reach of
the law.? The STOP program supports
communities that champion victims? rights and develops coordinated responses to
violence against women,? said Attorney General Ashcroft.? ?The funds will give law enforcement and
victim services the resources they need to do a better job of investigating,
prosecuting and preventing crimes against women.? We must continue to provide our communities with the resources to
hold offenders accountable and to meet the needs of victims.?
??????????? STOP funds are used to promote partnerships among law
enforcement, prosecution, the courts and victim advocates to ensure victim
safety and accountability for offenders.
The Justice Department has awarded Guam over
$3.18 million in STOP funds since 1995, for total funding exceeding $3.25? million under the VAWA grant programs since
the enactment of the VAWA legislation in 1994.
In the President?s FY 2002 budget request, the Justice Department seeks
$390 million in overall VAWA funding, a $102.52 million increase over FY 2001.????????
Through this funding, states and communities
are urged to restructure and strengthen the criminal justice system response to
domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, utilizing the expertise of all
participants working in the system, including victim advocates.?
The Territory of Guam has used its STOP funds
to focus on partnership building aimed at sustaining projects that promote an
expansive network of organizations that address issues of violence against
women.
Current project priorities include:
?
Identifying and
assessing community needs in the area of domestic violence;
?
Developing and
implementing inter-and intra-departmental or agency policy and protocol on
violence against women;
?
Providing
intensive training to law enforcement officers on responding to sexual assault,
domestic violence and stalking cases;
?
Developing and
establishing a community resource, referral and visitation center to
disseminate educational information and materials throughout the territory;
?
Implementing
aggressive pro-arrest policies; and
?
Developing,
establishing and evaluating prevention and treatment programs for the community
at large and for target groups.
?The
STOP Program is authorized under the Violence Against Women Acts of 1994 and
2000.? The STOP grants are awarded by
the Office of Justice Programs? (OJP) Violence Against Women Office (VAWO) to
designated state agencies, which must award 25 percent of the funds they
receive to law enforcement, 25 percent to prosecution, 30 percent to victim
services,
??????????? For information about the Guam STOP grant contact Cecila
A. Q. Morrison, in the Office of the Governor, at 671/475-9162.? Information about the STOP program and other
initiatives involving violence against women issues is available on VAWO?s Website
at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo or OJP?s Website at www.ojp.usdoj.gov,
or by calling the National Criminal Justice Reference Service toll-free at
800/851-3420.
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VAW01138
After hours contact: Angela Harless on 202/616-3266 or pager
#888/763-8943