President Barack Obama has named Lynn Rosenthal as White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. We had the opportunity to hear Ms. Rosenthal when she was the keynote speaker on February 13, 2009, at the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) Ending Family Homelessness Conference. Ms. Rosenthal challenged the attendees by diving deep into the subject so that they could both understand and put and end to violence against women.
Based on what we heard in that speech we are very enthusiastic about this appointment.
From 2000-2006, Rosenthal served as the Executive Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) where she represented 54 state and territorial coalitions whose collective membership included more than 2000 local domestic violence programs. She played a major advocacy role in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 and 2005 and has assisted states and local communities with implementation of this groundbreaking federal legislation. She also worked closely with corporate partners to bring millions of dollars to local communities to respond to domestic violence. She partnered with The Allstate Foundation to develop a highly successful national initiative to promote economic empowerment for survivors of violence. Prior to her service at NNEDV, Rosenthal was director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence where she developed innovative service models for rural and legal services. On her return to Florida in 2006, Rosenthal developed the state’s first comprehensive plan to help survivors of violence find housing.
“President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden could not have named a more qualified, visionary leader to advise the White House on violence against women,” said Sue Else, President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. “Lynn Rosenthal is a pioneer in the movement against domestic abuse and sexual assault. Her expertise will help to shape federal policies that will serve countless survivors of domestic and sexual violence.”
In this new position, Ms. Rosenthal will serve as an advisor to the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues; be a liaison to the domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy community; coordinate with the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) on implementation of Violence Against Women Act programs; coordinate with the Department of Health and Human Services on implementation of Family Violence Prevention Act services (including the National Domestic Violence Hotline); coordinate with the State Department and USAID on global domestic violence initiatives; and drive the development new initiatives and policy aimed at combating domestic violence and sexual assault with advocacy groups and members of Congress.
We encourage you to listen to the full speech please use the link below.
She listed four principles in her speech.
- Domestic Violence is not a clinical problem
- Any women can be a victim
- Women living through violence are the experts on whey need to be safe
- We need to change the conditions that allowed this violence to be part of our culture.
In closing, Ms. Rosenthal quoted Alice Paul: “Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end.”
http://www.njaneh.org/2009/06/29/obama-names-advisor-on-domestic-violence/
** Any positive step in the right direction for victims is definitely needed! I for one am hoping for a change and resources to raise an serious awareness not just lip service to the problem and make a difference in the lives of victims - we will see. Share your stories with her....
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