Dane County Executive Falk and Dane County District Attorney Statement on the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act

June 16, 2005
Lesley Sillaman, Office of the County Executive (608) 267-8823 or cell (608) 669-5606
County Executive

Madison – Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard today released the following statement in response to the introduction of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in Congress. “We urge Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and fund its programs at the highest levels possible. This 10 year legislation is critical in providing local governments with the tools we need to prevent domestic violence,” said Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. "In Dane County, there are about 60 new domestic violence cases every week, some of them serious injury or stalking cases, or cases in which the defendant is continuing to abuse a victim even after she has obtained a court order that he leave her alone. We absolutely count on the funding we receive through VAWA and the state-managed STOP grant program to hold abusers accountable and to protect victims in the timely manner they deserve," said District Attorney Brian Blanchard. # # #