Director Rosie Hidalgo Delivers Remarks at the VALOR US Virtual Listening Session: Prevention Pillar of the National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good afternoon! I want to extend my thanks to VALOR US for bringing us all together for this important listening session and for the opportunity to hear from you all today. I also want to extend my deep gratitude to each of you for your hard work, dedication and service; and for joining us to share your ideas about how we can continue to advance efforts to create a world free from domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and other related forms of gender-based violence.

I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and to collaborate with so many dedicated individuals and organizations committed to furthering our nation’s vision for ending gender-based violence.

OVW is tasked with overseeing the implementation of key parts of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), landmark bipartisan legislation first enacted by Congress in 1994. The hallmark of VAWA is a coordinated community response, which seeks to bring together agencies and community partners across many disciplines to address the needs of survivors. Because survivors’ lives do not exist in silos, it is critical that no individual or entity operates in a silo and that we all work together to prevent and effectively address gender-based violence.

Prevention is crucial in addressing gender-based violence because it tackles the root causes before they manifest into harmful actions. By focusing on prevention at all levels, we create a comprehensive strategy that not only protects potential victims but fosters an environment of respect and equality. At the individual level, we need to educate and raise awareness, equipping people, especially our young people, to recognize and challenge harmful behaviors. We need to support community initiatives that foster a culture of non-violence and provide robust support for survivors. Additionally, it is critical that we support policy and systemic changes that prioritize the needs of survivors and promote long-term shifts in norms and paradigms, including challenging norms that perpetuate victim-blaming.

Continuing to strengthen a coordinated community approach is necessary not only at the local and state level, but also at the federal level. It is with that goal in mind that the White House launched the first-ever U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in May of 2023, with the collaboration of more than 15 federal agencies, and following significant engagement with stakeholders. We are grateful that VALOR US hosted a listening session at the time with hundreds of participants, which was focused on the theme of prevention and provided a lot of valuable input.

The National Plan on GBV advances a whole-of-government approach to preventing and ending gender-based violence — which we refer to as a “federal coordinated community response” — and it acts as a blueprint that continues to build on the lessons learned and achievements made through the efforts of survivors, advocates and others in the field.

To that end, I would like to share with you a few of the ways that OVW is working alongside other federal agencies to prevent gender-based violence.

OVW’s Children and Youth & Engaging Men Grant Programs support local initiatives to prevent gender-based violence through school- and community-based education. Engaging in prevention work is a program requirement for these grants. We know that teaching youth about healthy relationships is a critical form of primary prevention, and our grantees are working to do just that. For example, a grantee of the Engaging Men grant program developed a comic book and rap song highlighting healthy teen relationships and uplifting how peers can support survivors. The Children and Youth & Engaging Men Grant Programs also prioritize projects that support children and youth from historically marginalized and underserved communities. OVW funds organizations, including Futures Without Violence, Caminar Latino and the National Compadres Network, to ensure that grantees have support as they approach their work through an equity lens.   

Additionally, OVW’s Campus Grant Program funds colleges and universities as they work to address gender-based violence on campuses, including by developing and strengthening prevention education and awareness programs. To support the work that these campuses are doing, OVW, in collaboration with Futures Without Violence, just released an Engaging Campus Men Toolkit, which identifies the concepts, skills and tools needed to build a leadership pipeline for campus men to advocate against violence and for gender equity.

As we prepare to commemorate the 30th anniversary of VAWA this September, it is an opportunity for all of us to collectively reflect on the substantial progress that has been made — but also how much further we have to go. There have been significant paradigm shifts in society’s perceptions of gender-based violence and our responses to it, but many survivors still encounter significant challenges navigating complex systems and accessing critical resources and support.

As we move forward, we must continue to amplify the voices and leadership of survivors — work you all do every day — to advance a whole-of-society approach that continues to lift these issues out of the shadows and work toward a vision of preventing and ending gender-based violence. I so appreciate your dedication to making this vision a reality, and your willingness to share your voices and unique perspectives with us today. I very much look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.