Date: October 11, 2000
For Release: Immediately
Contact: Office on Women's Health
(202) 690-7650
Washington, October 11, 2000....The Office on Women’s Health in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today announced the addition of special section on Violence Against Women as part of the expanding National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC). The Violence section is being launched to offer information and resources to women concerning domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse.
"There is a growing demand for information on where to turn for help," said Wanda Jones, Dr. P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health and Director of the HHS Office on Women’s Health, which sponsors the NWHIC site. "The new section will offer women and their loved ones an easy way to navigate the often complicated and limited options for escape from the terrible threat of violence in their everyday lives. This special feature is part of our continuing commitment to provide reliable and practical health information relevant to all Americans."
The Violence Against Women section links to a variety of public and private publications on violence for consumers, legal advisors, health and law enforcement professionals. It also links to advocacy organizations that offer resources to victims of violence. Perhaps most innovative and useful is a state-by-state breakdown of resources and where to turn for help.
Violence against women does not discriminate: It affects women of all races, ages, backgrounds and economic status. These acts of violence take several forms, including domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual assault and abuse, rape, incest, and elder abuse. It is a leading cause of injury for American women between the ages of 15 and 44.
One in four women report that they have been victims of domestic violence or stalking by a spouse, partner, or date. Of the more than 300,000 rapes that occur each year, approximately half of these rapes are perpetrated by either a friend or an acquaintance. In cases of elder abuse and incest, a family member is typically the perpetrator of the abuse.
Acts of violence against women have devastating and costly consequences for individuals, families, communities, and society. The victim's children, family, and friends also suffer from witnessing the violence or hearing the screams or seeing the physical signs of abuse.
"The new section also links to the newly created Agenda for the Nation on Violence Against Women, developed by the National Advisory Council to End Violence Against Women," added Jones. "The Council also offers a Community Toolkit that can be downloaded by neighborhoods seeking to coordinate prevention activities." The Advisory Council is a group of leading experts in health, law enforcement, social services, business and education. In late 1998, the Council was challenged by its co-chairs, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala and Attorney General Janet Reno, to develop a national comprehensive plan to end violence against women.
NWHIC serves as a single gateway to thousands of federal and private sector publications and organizations on women's health through its Web site (http://www.womenshealth.gov) and toll-free information number (1-800-994-9662). NWHIC is the only combined comprehensive health Web site and hotline service offered by the federal health agencies. It is designed to provide information on how women are uniquely affected by health concerns that threaten the general population, as well as on health issues that are exclusive to women. Other special features recently developed include a site for women with disabilities, a general Spanish-language section, a section devoted to the health concerns of women of color, and a section on men's health designed to help women better understand the health issues of the men in their lives.
The HHS Office on Women's Health provides national leadership in advancing women's health. It acts as a catalyst for new national and regional initiatives to improve women's health, including support for 15 Centers of Excellence in Women's Health and three Community Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health that serve as models for integrated and comprehensive women's health care services and research.
The description of the Agenda for the Nation to End Violence Against Women can be found through the new NWHIC section on Violence (www.womenshealth.gov/violence/)