ASHCROFT CONSTRAINS VIOLENCE
AGAINST WOMEN OFFICE
WASHINGTON
LOOKOUT
By Rebecca
Vesely - WEnews correspondent
(WOMENSENEWS)
-- Two senior Democratic senators
and a coalition of domestic
violence advocates are protesting
U.S. Attorney General John
Ashcroft's interpretation
of a 2002 reauthorization
law that they say was intended
to elevate the Office on Violence
Against Women to a more prominent
position.
A provision
in the 2002 Justice Department
reauthorization bill, passed
in October and signed by President
George W. Bush, made the Office
on Violence Against Women
a permanent, separate and
independent office within
the Justice Department. The
Democratic senators and advocates
say that this means that the
office director would be appointed
by the president, confirmed
by the Senate and would report
directly to Ashcroft. The
office currently resides within
the Office of Justice Programs
and reports to an assistant
attorney general.
But the Justice
Department maintains that
the provision's language leaves
the decision about where to
place the office up to Ashcroft,
who has decided not to make
its chief directly responsible
to him.
"The Department
of Justice is going out of
its way to downgrade the importance
of violence against women,"
says Kiersten Stewart, public
policy director of the Family
Violence Prevention Fund.
"This is an important
issue that affects between
one in three and one in four
women. The highest ranking
law enforcement office in
the country is saying that
this is not an important issue."
Ashcroft's
Move Diminishes Importance
of Office
The office,
known as VWO, is charged with
overseeing the Violence Against
Women Act, enacted in 1994
and reauthorized in 2000.
The office has awarded more
than $1 billion in grants
to assist community agencies
and state, tribal and local
governments. The funds are
used to train personnel, start
domestic violence and sexual
assault police units, assist
victims of violence and prosecute
perpetrators of violence.
Democratic Senator
Joseph Biden of Delaware warned
that not elevating the office
means that the issues of violence
against women will not command
the attention of Congress
or the administration.
"A director
who is nominated by the president
and confirmed by the senate
will have the stature, authority
and credibility necessary
to spearhead the efforts to
end violence against women,"
Biden said from the Senate
floor earlier this month.
"In practical terms,
a director with this sort
of clout will attract the
attention of key congressional
leaders, will be able to travel
the country and bring state
leaders to the table on local
initiatives and will be able
to command the nation's bully
pulpit on these issues."
But in a letter
sent to Biden earlier this
month, Acting Assistant Attorney
General Jamie Brown wrote
that the statute was open
to interpretation and that
Ashcroft has broad authority
to organize the department
"in the manner that he
judged most efficacious for
carrying out its important
duties."
"On balance,
the department believes that
the better reading of 'separate
and distinct office' is simply
that OVW must have a recognizable
status as an organizational
entity, not that it may not
be part of another department
component," Brown wrote.
Democratic Senator
Patrick Leahy of Vermont,
the ranking minority member
of the Judiciary Committee,
says that the language is
clear.
"The statute
is unequivocal," Leahy
said from the Senate floor.
"The director shall report
directly to the attorney general--do
not pass go, do not get out
of jail free."
The current
VWO director, Diane Stuart,
would be the obvious and popular
choice if the office were
elevated. Stuart was appointed
by President Bush in 2001
and was previously state coordinator
for the Utah Domestic Violence
Cabinet Council. She has a
long history as a domestic
violence advocate, working
for Utah's Division of Child
and Family Services and running
a domestic violence shelter
and rape crisis center.
Biden says keeping
the office as a subunit would
have ramifications for the
many women who are victims
of violence.
"When the
director is out of the leadership
circle and placed in a satellite
office, the Violence Against
Women Office's involvement
in activities decreases,"
he said. "For example,
it is no longer involved in
educating U.S. attorneys about
their role in local communities'
efforts to stop violence or
it is no longer involved in
deciding whether to appeal
or bring specific cases."
Permanent
Office Meant to Ensure Permanence
Efforts to elevate
the office to a more prominent
and visible role was spearheaded
last year by Democrats Biden,
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin
of Wisconsin and the late
Senator Paul Wellstone of
Minnesota. Before the provision
became law, Violence against
Women Office did not have
a permanent place in the Justice
Department and could potentially
be eliminated.
"In previous
administrations, we had individuals
in power with personal commitments
to the issue, such as Attorney
General Janet Reno and Health
and Human Services Secretary
Donna Shalala, so elevating
the office was not a priority,"
says Stewart of the Family
Violence Prevention Fund.
Stewart points
to recent budget cuts as further
evidence that the current
administration does not view
violence against women as
an important issue. President
Bush's proposed budget includes
$17 million in cuts to programs
that train law enforcement
in its response to domestic
violence.
But the Justice
Department did not answer
calls seeking comment, although
Brown in his letter to Biden
said: "The attorney general
shares your commitment to
ending violence against women."
Rebecca Vesely
is the West Coast bureau chief
for Women's Enews.
For more
information:
Office on Violence
Against Women: - http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/
Family Violence
Prevention Fund: - http://www.endabuse.org/
Senator Joe
R. Biden of Delaware: - http://biden.senate.gov/
