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URGENT ACTION ALERT
Call Your Members of Congress!
Background:
Shawndell Dawson, Director of the Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services (OFVPS), has been terminated. We need to take action now to express our grave concern about the impacts this will have on the nation’s response to domestic violence survivors and the funding specifically needed in Illinois to support them!
This firing is much more than a personnel matter. Instead, it threatens decades of a successful public health response to domestic violence and critical systems advocacy work to place survivors' voices at the forefront of decision-making.
The work of the OFVPS office is highly specialized. OFVPS administers the Family Violence and Prevention Act (FVPSA), which is at the heart of our country's response to domestic violence and supports lifesaving services, including shelters, hotlines, counseling, and domestic violence programs throughout the states and territories. Moreover, Director Dawson and the OFVPS office have had a critical role in addressing the intersections of domestic violence and sexual assault with other health concerns.
We know from a leaked Department of Justice memo on March 28th that the federal administration intends to consolidate all federal grant-making duties under one umbrella, which would violate the law. The firing of Director Dawson appears to be a first step toward realizing that goal.
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