Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Gov Docs

The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) is the finding tool for electronic and print publications from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. government. The CGP includes descriptive information for historical and current publications as well as direct links to the full document, when available. Users can search by authoring agency, title, subject, and general keywords, or click on "Advanced Search" for more options.

The Violence Against Women Act mandates that the Attorney General submit a report to Congress every two years on the effectiveness of activities carried out with grant funds, including the number of persons served and the number of persons seeking services who could not be served.

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) currently administers 25 grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 and subsequent legislation.

The presence of domestic violence in the home is an important factor to be considered when assessing the safety of a child or determining the suitability of a placement for the child. Since domestic violence and child maltreatment frequently co-occur, it is important for child welfare practitioners to have an understanding of how domestic violence is defined.

"Immigrants are particularly vulnerable because many may not speak English, are often separated from family and friends, and may not understand the laws of the United States. For these reasons, immigrants are often afraid to report acts of domestic violence to the police or to seek other forms of assistance. Such fear causes many immigrants to remain in abusive relationships.This fact sheet will explain domestic violence and inform you of your legal rights in the United States." - Introduction

Children are very resilient—but they are not unbreakable. No matter what their age, children are deeply hurt when they are physically, sexually, or emotionally abused or when they see or hear violence in their homes and communities. When children see and hear too much that is frightening, their world feels unsafe and insecure. Families living in domestic violence or homeless shelters are more likely to be exposed to violence and other traumatic stressors. Each child and situation is different, but exposure to these traumatic stressors including violence—can overwhelm children at any age and lead to problems in their daily lives. Some children may have an emotional or physical reaction. Others may find it harder to recover from a frightening experience. Exposure to violence—especially when it is ongoing and intense—can harm children’s natural, healthy development unless they receive support to help them cope and heal.