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ENTER THE V-DAY INTERNATIONAL STOP RAPE CONTEST 2002
The V-Day International Stop Rape Contest is an initiative designed to produce innovative and effective strategies to stop rape worldwide. The contest, which is facilitated for V-Day by the human rights organization, Equality Now http://www.equalitynow.org/vday, is in its second year and is open to women and girls of all ages.

BACKGROUND
V-Day is a movement to end violence against women. It is a vision of human life in which all women and girls live free, equal, safe and with dignity. Last February 10, 2001, V-Day held the Gathering To End Violence Against Women where the first STOP-RAPE Contest occurred.  Three winners were announced and their STOP-RAPE action plans are being funded for implementation. V-Day is also funding an additional eight STOP-RAPE Contest action plans for implementation throughout the world. This year again, V-Day is seeking new ideas for strategies to STOP RAPE through its STOP-RAPE CONTEST 2002.  

ELIGIBILITY  

Women and girls of any age can enter the contest. Any submission from more than one woman or girl must clearly indicate the name of the group leader. By entering the contest, entrants agree to abide by the following contest rules. Employees or contractors of V-Day and immediate family members of V-Day employees or contractors are not eligible for this contest.  

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS  

Action plans must be 2 pages or less. Action plans must contain all the relevant contact information posted below. They can be submitted in Arabic, English, French or Spanish. Action plans must include a detailed budget not to exceed US $25,000 (in addition to the 2 pages or less). The ability to generate an effective plan that will cost less than this maximum amount will also be used as criteria in judging. Action plan strategies should be creative and innovative.  They can be long term or immediate, strategic or improvisational.  They may be unconventional, outrageous, funny, or daring. Most importantly, they should be effective. 

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS

Action plans must be received by a Regional Coordinator no later than November 30, 2001. Submissions for USA/Canada/English-speaking Caribbean e-mail to: noelle@fvpf.org.  

JUDGING  

Three winners will be selected and announced by January 11, 2002.  Only the winners will be notified. Judging will be done by the Regional Coordinators collectively, who are activists from around the world working to stop violence against women.

* Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey.  This NIJ Research Report presents findings on the prevalence and incidence of rape, physical assault, and stalking; the rate of injury among rape and physical assault victims; and injured victims' use of medical devices. Findings in this report, which are based on the National Violence Against Women Survey, show that violence is more widespread and injurious to women's and men's health than previously thought. "Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey" (NCJ 183781) is available on the NCJRS Web site at http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/183781.pdf and http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/nij/183781.txt. For ordering options, see "Ordering Directions" at the end of JUSTINFO.

* 21st Annual Commemoration of National Crime Victims' Rights Week

This year, from April 22 to 28, we have an opportunity to  continue our efforts to shed light on the plight of crime victims and encourage community support to meet victims' needs. This year's theme, "Victims' Rights: Reach for the Stars," urges us to set our sights high in providing comprehensive, quality services to victims of crime, holding offenders accountable for their actions, and engaging individuals and communities in crime prevention and public safety initiatives. During 2001 National Crime Victims' Rights Week, over 10,000 victim service and allied professional organizations will sponsor public education and community outreach efforts to focus attention on victims' rights, needs, and services. A resource guide, poster, and public service announcement are currently available and were developed by the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization (VALOR) with support from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime. The Resource Guide contains historical information about the victims' rights movement, recent crime victim statistics, sample speeches, sermons, and press releases, as well as camera-ready artwork for posters, bookmarks, and buttons.  The poster advertises the theme for this year's commemoration,"Victims' Rights: Reach for the Stars," and contains names and telephone numbers of national crime victims' rights organizations. The 30-second VHS public service announcement, titled "The Chase" can help increase awareness for victims rights' and services. The Resource Guide, poster, and public service announcement can be used to plan your community's and State's commemorative activities.

To order the Resource Guide (NCJ 185691), the poster (NCJ 185692), and/or the public service announcement (NCJ 186476) please see "Ordering Directions" at the end of JUSTINFO.

21st Annual Commemoration of National Crime Victims' Rights Week This year, from April 22 to 28, we have an opportunity to continue our efforts to shed light on the plight of crime victims and encourage community support to meet victims' needs. This year's theme, "Victims' Rights: Reach for the Stars," urges us to set our sights high in providing comprehensive, quality services to victims of crime, holding offenders accountable for their actions, and engaging individuals and communities in crime prevention and public safety initiatives. During 2001 National Crime Victims' Rights Week, over 10,000 victim service and allied professional organizations will sponsor public education and community outreach efforts to focus attention on victims' rights, needs, and services. A resource guide, poster, and public service announcement are currently available and were developed by the Victims' Assistance Legal Organization (VALOR) with support from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime. The Resource Guide contains historical information about the victims' rights movement, recent crime victim statistics, sample speeches, sermons, and press releases, as well as camera-ready artwork for posters, bookmarks, and buttons. The poster advertises the theme for this year's commemoration, "Victims' Rights: Reach for the Stars," and contains names and telephone numbers of national crime victims' rights organizations. The 30-second VHS public service announcement, titled "The Chase" can help increase awareness for victims rights' and services. The Resource Guide, poster, and public service announcement can be used to plan your community's and State's commemorative activities. To order the Resource Guide (NCJ 185691), the poster (NCJ 185692), and/or the public service announcement (NCJ 186476) please see "Ordering Directions" at the end of JUSTINFO.

Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey.  This NIJ Research Report presents findings on the prevalence and incidence of rape, physical assault, and stalking; the ate of injury among rape and physical assault victims; and injured victims' use of medical devices. Findings in this report, which are based on the National Violence Against Women Survey, show that violence is more widespread and injurious to women's and men's health than previously thought. "Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey" (NCJ 183781) is available on the NCJRS Web site at http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/183781.pdf and http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/nij/183781.txt. For ordering options, see "Ordering Directions" at the end of JUSTINFO.

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm

Violence Against Women Office Technical Assistance Program Letters of Intent: Due March 31st. Please fax non-binding letters of intent to (202) 354-4131, Attn. Amit Sen. Deadline to submit applications: April 20th.  Applicants should register for Grant Management System (GMS) user identification by April 4, 2001 at the latest. Only applications submitted online to the GMS will be accepted. (Text or PDF versions of the application).  Because of the significant number of existing technical assistance grantees and limited funding, VAWO can provide continuation support to some FY 1998 and FY 1999 grantees that have successfully implemented the objectives of the Technical Assistance Program. VAWO also intends to fund a limited number of new applicants for FY 2001.  Available to public or private, nonprofit victim advocacy organizations, national criminal justice constituency organizations, judicial organizations, or other agencies with expertise in the technical assistance categories or subcategories described in the solicitation.  

Interested potential authors are encouraged to contact Dr. West with an idea for a manuscript. Inquiries may be made by e-mail at carwest@u.washington.edu, phone (253) 692-5652, fax (253) 692-5718, or at the web site www.drcarolynwest.com.

The femicide report entitled Female Homicide in New York City, 1990-1997 has finally been released and is available at: http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/ip/ip.html.  For More Information Contact: Victoria Frye, e-mail: vaf5@columbia.edu

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization - H.R. 1248 -passed the U. S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 26, by a vote of 415-3. Sixteen members did not vote. The intense grassroots pressure on the Republican leadership in the House helped to spur the overwhelming and bipartisan support for the bill.

Calls and letters to Senator Lott also would be helpful.  To contact Senator Lott, call (202) 224-3135. To reach your own Senator, call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 225-3121, or find their contact information at http://www.senate.gov.

In recognition of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month,Polaroid Corporation is hosting the first free national online training seminar on domestic violence photo documentation and invites all law enforcement, healthcare and other professionals to participate in the live Web cast. The workshop is designed to help law enforcement personnel better understand how to recognize domestic violence, document cases and help break the cycle through effective prosecution.

Each week, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, the Kaiser Family Foundation and WBAL-TV in Baltimore produce a dramatic and informative 90-second health news segment designed to tell viewers how to address an issue portrayed in the popular weekly television drama, E.R. This week, the segment will focus on teens and intimate partner violence. The news clip is called "Following E.R."

Your local NBC affiliate has the option to downlink the "Following E.R." news clip and incorporate it into its 11 PM news broadcast this coming Thursday, or use it in other ways.

The clip is available to all NBC affiliates without charge, but they must choose to downlink it from their "Specials Feed." A press release announcing this week's focus has already been sent to NBC affiliates, but they may or may not choose to pick it up.

Please take a moment to call or e-mail your local NBC affiliate and encourage them to air this week's segment of "Following E.R." It is available to all NBC affiliates on News Channel's 8:30 AM Eastern Time "Specials Feed" on Thursday, November 16. For more information, stations can contact Jennifer Hudman of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health at 410/299-3749.

A toll-free telephone service and web site are updated each week to provide viewers with additional information and resources on the topic. The web site can be found at http://er.jhsph.edu, and the toll free "Following E.R." hotline is 1/888-4ER-5356. Thank you!

Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence announces the Asian Family Violence Reports--a Study of the Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, South Asian and Vietnamese communities in Massachusetts.