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News
releases from the Mary Byron Foundation Foundation
to honor U.S. Senator for ground-breaking domestic violence legislation Biden to speak at event celebrating 10th anniversary of Violence Against Women ActLouisville, Ky. — This December, the Mary Byron Foundation will mark the 10th anniversary of two milestones in the ongoing fight against domestic violence. The Foundation supports programs throughout the United States that are working to end this terrible epidemic. In 1994, U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. took on the crusade of authoring and urging the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which combined tough law enforcement strategies with safeguards for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. That same year, the nation’s first system of automated victim notification was launched in response to the murder of Mary Byron. VINE® (Victim Information and Notification Everyday), is now available in 1,500 communities in 37 states, including 20 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. On December 1, 2004, the Mary Byron Foundation will host a gala fundraiser in Louisville to honor Biden for his work and to celebrate the changes brought about for domestic violence victims, both by VAWA and VINE. Biden will serve as the keynote speaker at the event. Over the past decade, VAWA has provided more than $1 billion to help state and local governments and community-based agencies to improve the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault cases; to train prosecutors, hospital personnel, police officers, and judges on the special aspects of cases involving violence against women; and to create specialized domestic violence and sexual assault units. Initiatives created under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 have made a difference in thousands of victims’ lives. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the overall rate of violence against women from spouses, boyfriends, and former intimate partners has declined 41 percent since 1996. “It is absolutely essential to give our fight against domestic violence the priority and visibility it deserves,” Biden said of his efforts to pass the Violence Against Women Act. “We need to assure our nation’s women and children we are working to reduce violence in the home and that we will prosecute abusers to the full extent of the law.” Biden’s work on behalf of victims has endured. He successfully moved through Congress the Violence Against Women Act of 2000, which extends the original bill through 2005 and provides an additional $3.3 billion in federal funding. In 2003, he helped to ensure that the U.S. Department of Justice made the Violence Against Women Office a free-standing entity within the department, with a director appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. “Senator Biden has worked tirelessly to call public attention to what was once considered a private, family matter,” said Jerry Bowles, a family court judge in Louisville, Kentucky and a Mary Byron Foundation National Advisory Board member. “VAWA has not only helped to create meaningful law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat violent crimes against women, but it has also provided much-need services that have protected victims against future crimes.” Like VAWA, VINE has enhanced the safety of domestic violence victims throughout the nation. The system provides victims and other concerned citizens with timely and reliable information about criminal cases and the custody status of offenders 24 hours a day — over the telephone, through the Internet, or by e-mail. To date, more than 22 million calls have been made to and from VINE, resulting in more than one million notification events — and saving countless lives. VINE was created in Louisville one year after Mary Byron was murdered on her 21st birthday by a former boyfriend who had been arrested and jailed for stalking, assaulting, and raping her. She was not notified when this man was released. “Nothing could ever replace Mary, but I’m comforted by the knowledge that her death has saved the lives of so many other victims,” said Pat Byron, Mary Byron’s mother and president of the Foundation. “As I’ve talked with crime victims, I’ve been overwhelmed by their sense of relief and security as a result of using VINE.” “This is the Time,” the Mary Byron Foundation’s event honoring Biden on December 1, aims to raise national awareness of the continuing need for legislation and funding to combat domestic violence. Proceeds of the event will be used to support programs throughout the United States that are working toward this goal.
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