The Department of Justice plans to push for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in an attempt to support stalking victims, Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli said Tuesday at a stalking awareness month program.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), sponsored by then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.), was originally passed in 1994 and reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. Although the original act was aimed at ending violence against women, the reauthorizations have included additional protections for battered immigrants, sexual assault survivors, victims of dating violence and under-served populations.

Since President Barack Obama declared January National Stalking Awareness Month, DOJ officials have amplified efforts to end stalking.

“The U.S. Attorneys’ offices are aggressively pursuing interstate stalking cases, often receiving referrals from our local law enforcement partners,” Perrelli said. “We are training our attorneys to understand the dynamics of stalking, including cyberstalking.  And the Office on Violence Against Women funds the Stalking Resource Center, which provides technical assistance, training, and resource materials to organizations throughout the United States, including OVW grantees, to build capacity to effectively respond to stalking.”

National Stalking Awareness Month event (Fahima Haque)

Attorney General Eric Holder and the director of the Office on Violence Against Women, Susan B. Carbon, also spoke at the event. Also in attendance were Rebecca Dreke, senior program associate at the Stalking Resource Center at the National Center for Victims of Crime, and Cindy Southworth, director at the Safety Net Project at the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

Also present were stalking victim Hannah Perryman and her mother, Debbie Perryman, who spoke of the Illinois teenager’s experience being harassed by one of her peers in a series of episodes that eventually required police intervention.

The majority of children in America, 60 percent,  are exposed to crime, violence and abuse, and it is a top priority to reduce it, according to Holder.

“This is unconscionable.  And it is unacceptable,” he said.

Last year, DOJ launched the Defending Childhood Initiative in conjunction with the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, the FBI, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Office of Justice Programs and the Office on Violence Against Women focused on preventing childhood violence and helping children overcome it.

“To date, eight communities have been selected as demonstration sites for testing strategies and compiling research,” Holder said.

“This is about making our communities and neighborhoods feel like places where people can build a family, a business, and a life, free from fear,” Perrelli said.

Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday that President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget will help address issues of sexual assault.

Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of the Office of Violence Against Women Susan B. Carbon (photo by Ryan J. Reilly).

The event, held in conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, is the first held in the Great Hall to address the issue of sexual assault, said Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli.

Holder said that for the first time, the Office for Victims of Crime set aside $100 million specifically to address violence against women. It also set aside $30 million for the Sexual Assault Services Program — doubling its budget from the previous year — and an additional $9 million for the Legal Assistance for Victims Program, bringing its budget to $50 million.

“We all know what we’re up against,” said Holder. “Confronting this reality is very difficult, it’s often painful, but it’s also very important.”

“I will ensure that this department and our partners have the resources to combat sexual assault and bring offenders to justice. This issue is deeply important to me,” said Holder. “During a career spent as a prosecutor, a judge, and as a United States Attorney, I have seen the effects of sexual violence in the courtroom and far beyond. I understand how these crimes devastate lives, families and whole communities.”

Attendees at the event included Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson, Assistant Attorney General Tony West and Minnesota U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones. Holder recognized Breuer, Robinson and West for their visits to campuses around the country to discuss violence against women and Jones for his leadership on the issue as chairman of the Attorney General Advisory Committee.

Speakers at the event included Susan B. Carbon, a former judge who assumed her duties as director of the Office of Violence Against Women on April 2, and Catherine Pierce, the deputy director of the Office of Violence Against Women.

Patrick Leahy (gov)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Wednesday urged the Senate to confirm several nominees approved by his committee, including five Justice Department officials and two prospective U.S. Attorneys.

The nominees are:

• Dawn Johnsen, who was approved by his committee on March 19, for head of the Office of Legal Counsel.
• Mary L. Smith, who was reported out of the committee June 11, for head of the Tax Division.
• Christopher Schroeder, who was reported by the Judiciary panel  July 28, for head of the Office of Legal Policy.
• Susan B. Carbon, who was reported out of committee Dec. 3, for head of the Violence Against Women Office.
• John Laub, who was reported out of committee Dec. 3, for head of the National Institute of Justice.
• Sanford Coats, who was reported out of committee Dec. 3, for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.
• Mary Elizabeth Phillips, who was reported out of committee Dec. 3, for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

In a press release, Leahy said, “This year we have witnessed unprecedented delays in the consideration of qualified and noncontroversial nominations,” adding,  “We have had to waste weeks seeking time agreements in order to consider nominations that were then confirmed unanimously.  I hope that instead of withholding consent and threatening filibusters of President Obama’s judicial nominees, Senate Republicans will treat the nominees of President Obama fairly.”

He continued, “During President Bush’s last year in office, we reduced judicial vacancies to as low as 34, even though it was a presidential election year.  Judicial vacancies have now spiked.  There are currently 97 vacancies on our federal circuit and district courts, and 23 more have already been announced.  This is approaching record levels.  I know we can do better.  Justice should not be delayed or denied to any American because of overburdened courts and the lack of federal judges.”

Susan B. Carbon (National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges)

President Obama on Thursday nominated Susan B. Carbon (University of Wisconsin-Madison, DePaul University College of Law) as the director of Office on Violence Against Women at the Justice Department. Carbon has been a supervisory judge of the New Hampshire Judicial Branch Family Division since 1996 and was first appointed to the bench in 1991.

Carbon has an extensive resume combating violence against women, serving as a member of the Governor’s Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, former chair of New Hampshire’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee, former president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, a faculty member of the National Judicial Institute on Domestic Violence. She is also a former chair of the  Firearms and Domestic Violence: A National Summit for Community Safety initiative.