WASHINGTON – As part of the Justice Department’s year-long commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan met today with teen leaders, their parents and program directors from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships (Start Strong). The discussion around teen dating violence was held in conjunction with nationwide events as part of the 6thIt’s Time to Talk Day, organized annually by Liz Claiborne Inc. to draw national attention to the importance of talking about domestic violence, teen dating violence and intimate partner abuse.
“We must engage the broadest spectrum of community partners in order to stem youth violence, and a cornerstone of that partnership is young people themselves,” said Attorney General Holder. “The Department of Justice is committed to working with young people to develop innovative solutions to help prevent teen dating abuse.” “For too long we’ve been unwilling to face the reality that teen dating violence occurs,” said Secretary Duncan. “It’s been a taboo subject folks would simply not talk about. But we can’t afford to do that any more: too many young people are getting hurt. We must all do our part to break the silence and work toward eliminating teen dating violence.” Start Strong , the largest initiative ever funded to target 11-to-14-year-olds to promote healthy relationships as the way to prevent teen dating violence and abuse, is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in collaboration with the Family Violence Prevention Fund. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Blue Shield of California Foundation are investing $18 million in 11 communities across the country to identify and evaluate the most promising pathways to stop dating violence and abuse before it starts (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is funding 10 sites around the country and Blue Shield of California Foundation is funding one site in California.). The Family Violence Prevention Fund is the National Program Office for Start Strong. Youth representing four of the Start Strong east coast sites, including Boston Public Health Commission, Boston; Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Bronx, New York; RYASAP, Bridgeport, Connecticut; and Sojourner House; Providence, Rhode Island participated in today’s discussion. Start Strong communities are working to create innovative prevention models that can be replicated across the country. Each community has developed a comprehensive plan that focuses on four core strategies involving e ducation, policy change, community outreach and cutting-edge social marketing campaigns to empower teens to develop healthier relationships throughout their lives. For more information, go to: http://www.startstrongteens.org Liz Claiborne Inc. has organized It’s Time to Talk Day each year since 2004 to draw national attention to the importance of talking about domestic violence, teen dating violence and intimate partner abuse. Today’s event in Washington, D.C. is one of many being held across the country in schools, communities and state and local governments. For more information, go to: http://www.loveisnotabuse.com.
Today’s event is another segment of the Justice Department’s effort to raise public awareness on issues around violence against women, to reinforce and build coalitions among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and victim services communities, and to reinforce the goal of ending domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking for men, women and children across the country. In addition to the organizations, activists and victim service providers in the field holding events today, the Department has encouraged the more than 100 celebrity allies who have lent their names in support of the Department’s “Join the List” initiative to raise awareness with their fans, through web and fan sites, and social networking profiles. A list of celebrity allies is below: Aaron Eckhart - Actor Alexis Bledel -Actress Amanda Beard -Olympic Gold-Medal Swimmer Amy Poehler - Actress, Comedienne Ashley Judd - Actress Barbara Walters - Journalist, Author, Television Host Brian White - Actor Chamique Holdsclaw - Atlanta Dream, WNBA Chrisette Michele - Singer-songwriter Christina Ricci - Actress Common - Hip Hop Artist Cuba Gooding, Jr. - Actor Curtis Granderson - Detroit Tigers, MLB Cynthia Cooper - Houston Comets, WNBA (Retired), Former NCAA and WNBA Coach, WNBA Hall of Fame Inductee Daisy Fuentes - Television Personality Dara Torres - 5-time Olympic Athlete Debbie Allen - Actress, Choreographer, Director, Producer Diane Keaton - Actress, Director, Producer Dominique Dawes - Olympic Gold Medalist, Motivational Speaker, Activist Ellen DeGeneres - Talk Show Host, Comedienne, Actress Elisabeth Hasselbeck - Author, Television Host, Designer Emily Blunt - Actress Emmy Rossum - Actress, Singer-songwriter Eva Mendes - Actress Faith Hill - Singer, Actress Fiona Apple - Singer-songwriter Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon - Actress Ginuwine - Singer Idris Elba - Actor Irene Bedard - Actress Jaime Pressly - Actress Jason Bateman - Actor Jenna Fischer - Actress, Writer Jennifer Love Hewitt - Actress Joe Torre - Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Founder of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation John Lithgow - Actor Joy Behar - Comedienne, Author, Television Host, Actress Judy Blume - Author Kevin Spacey - Actor Kristina Guerrero - Television Host Kyra Sedgwick - Actress, Producer Linda Fairstein - Author Leeza Gibbons – Television/Radio Host, Producer Leslie Morgan Steiner - Author Lisa Leslie - Los Angeles Sparks, WNBA, Olympic Gold Medal Basketball Player LisaRaye McCoy - Actress Marcus Johnson -Musician Mariska Hargitay - Actress, Founder and President of the Joyful Heart Foundation Martina McBride - Singer-Songwriter Matt Dillon - Actor MC Lyte - Rap Pioneer, Songwriter, Actress, Activist Melissa Joan Hart - Actress Meryl Streep - Actress Michael Bolton - Singer Michelle Pfeiffer - Actress Michelle Williams - Actress Mira Sorvino - Actress Nastia Liukin - Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast NFL Players Association, in addition to the following players: Adalius Thomas - New England Patriots Brandon Moore - New York Jets Darrell Green - Washington Redskins (Retired) Drew Brees -New Orleans Saints Erik Coleman - Atlanta Falcons Gary Brackett - Indianapolis Colts George Wilson - Buffalo Bills Hank Fraley - Cleveland Browns Jay Feely - New York Jets Jerricho Cotchery - New York Jets Kareem McKenzie - New York Giants LaDainian Tomlinson - San Diego Chargers Muhsin Muhammad - Carolina Panthers Nate Kaeding - San Diego Chargers Quintin Mikell - Philadelphia Eagles Shaun O’Hara - New York Giants Steve Hutchinson - Minnesota Vikings Nia Long - Actress, Director Nicole Kidman - Actress, UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador Omar Epps - Actor Padma Lakshmi - Television Host Patti LaBelle - Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Author, Humanitarian Paula Zahn - Journalist, Producer Peter Hermann - Actor Phylicia Rashad - Actress Rebecca Romijn - Actress Ricky Martin - Singer Robin Givens - Actress, Writer Rosie Perez - Actress, Dancer, Choreographer S. Epatha Merkerson - Actress Sally Field – Actress Salma Hayek - Actress, Director, Producer Sam Jones III - Actor Scarlett Johansson - Actress, Singer-songwriter Sherri Shepherd - Comedienne, Actress, Television Host Steve Buscemi - Actor, Director Stockard Channing - Actress Susan Sarandon - Actress Teresa Weatherspoon - Los Angeles Sparks, WNBA (Retired), Coach of Louisiana Tech Women’s Basketball Tim Roth - Actor Tom Arnold - Actor Tony Hawk - Skateboarder U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Victor Rivas Rivers - Actor, Author, Activist Vivica A. Fox - Actress, Director, Producer Washington Mystics - WNBA Washington Nationals - MLB Whoopi Goldberg - Actress, Comedienne, Producer, Television Host Wynton Marsalis - Musician Zoe Saldana - Actress
Source: US Department of Justice
