{"id":56241,"date":"2014-10-08T10:15:03","date_gmt":"2014-10-08T15:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=56241"},"modified":"2014-10-08T10:15:03","modified_gmt":"2014-10-08T15:15:03","slug":"heitkamp-visits-vc-abused-persons-outreach-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=56241","title":{"rendered":"Heitkamp visits VC Abused Persons Outreach Center"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sen.<\/a>

Sen. Hedi Heitkamp (D) North Dakota<\/p><\/div>\n

Valley City (CSi)\u00a0U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today put a spotlight on Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October by bringing together officials and advocates in Fargo to talk about how far we have come in combating domestic violence and how there is still a great deal of work to do. <\/p>\n

<\/span>Heitkamp spoke with local law enforcement officials, victims services professionals, and advocates about how when she implemented the original Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) across the state as North Dakota\u2019s Attorney General 20 years ago, she worked to change the perception of domestic violence as a public health issue, so it would be treated and viewed as what it is \u2013 a criminal act. As a result, Heitkamp saw firsthand the dramatic changes in the number of incidents that followed after domestic violence was criminalized. Heitkamp then fought to reauthorize VAWA last year in the U.S. Senate. In large part due to VAWA, according to the Justice Department, the annual incidences of domestic violence have fallen more than 60 percent<\/a> since 1993.<\/p>\n

Following her discussion in Fargo, Heitkamp visited the Abused Persons Outreach Center in Valley City,<\/strong> to hear stories of the impact VAWA has had in improving victims advocacy and services, including providing better community recognition and support for domestic violence as a crime, and not simply a domestic dispute.<\/p>\n

\u201cBringing domestic violence out of the shadows takes a village,\u201d said Heitkamp. \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way in North Dakota since I implemented the original Violence Against Women Act as Attorney General 20 years ago, but we\u2019ve got a long road ahead. Today I was fortunate enough to talk with folks who care for the victims of these horrific crimes, who respond to the calls for help, and who dispense justice. Together we\u2019ve shone a light on this issue \u2013 our communities are more aware of the difference between a domestic dispute and an abusive situation. But we can\u2019t stop here. We must keep working to identify the gaps and holes for improvement in the law, so that we can go after abusers and make sure victims know they\u2019re not alone in this \u2013 that we as a community are going to get the access to the services and care they need to truly free themselves from the all-too-often cyclical nature of abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since joining the Senate, Heitkamp has built on her work as Attorney General to combat domestic violence and stop those who seek to harm adults and children. The first bill she co-sponsored was the reauthorization of VAWA<\/a> which she then played a key role in pushing through Congress. Heitkamp authored a key provision in VAWA<\/a> to address the continuing crisis of violence against women in tribal communities. The provision strengthens the existing programs and provides tribal governments the force they need to prosecute non-Indian perpetrators who commit these crimes on tribal land.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Heitkamp has built on her work to combat domestic violence by expanding her efforts to also reducing human trafficking. Human trafficking is a growing problem in North Dakota, especially in the western part of the state. Since the fall of 2013, Heitkamp has been a leader in Congress working to combat human trafficking<\/a> by holding Senate hearings, introducing legislation to crack down on human trafficking and support victims, setting up training sessions for North Dakotans on identifying human trafficking, and coordinating with lead advocacy organizations to raise awareness about this problem.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last month, Heitkamp launched her Strong & Safe Communities Initiative<\/a> to address emerging challenges throughout North Dakota in the wake of the state\u2019s energy boom. Specifically, Heitkamp is leading a Strong & Safe Communities Task Force comprised of experts, advocates, and officials throughout the state who have a strong understanding of some of these new challenges in the state, including the recent rise domestic violence. The Task Force will also look into increases in drug-related crime, human trafficking, infrastructure stress, the increased transportation of crude oil by rail, as well as other issues. This group will provide recommendations to Heitkamp over the next five years on the best ways to address issues including domestic abuse and violence, so that Heitkamp can work toward policies that keep our communities strong and families safe in their homes.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valley City (CSi)\u00a0U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today put a spotlight on Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October by bringing together officials and advocates in Fargo to talk about how far we have come in combating domestic violence and how there is still a great deal of work to do. Heitkamp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-valley-city"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56242,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56241\/revisions\/56242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}