NNEDV and NCADV are out of touch
Domestic violence and stalking victims need leadership that will listen.
Victims of domestic violence are finding it more and more difficult to get the support that they desperately need. Funding continues to be allocated to outdated programs and policies that are out of touch with the needs of victims today. Shelters continue to turn away battered victims and their children, and stalking victims have no resource at all. The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) and National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) are not taking the steps necessary to reform resources and public policy to ensure that no victim is left behind.
It is time for the leadership that directs the funding and public policy to be held accountable for their actions. Today, victims and survivors of domestic violence and stalking are demanding the leadership within the national and state domestic violence organizations listen to their pleas and support DV REFORM or get out of the way.
“We are seeking leadership that will listen and put the needs of victims first instead of their own agendas and egos,” says Alexis A. Moore, founder of Survivors In Action (SIA). The non-profits that are providing the direct services and support to victims need the support of the leadership at the national level, and they are not getting that today. More often than not it is common for the NCADV and NNEDV to block public policy or resource reform that is vital to victims of today and this has to end.
Survivors In Action has been leading the movement known as DV REFORM since 2009, when Moore first spoke with the newly appointed White House Advisor for Violence Against Women and requested her assistance and support to improve domestic violence and stalking victim resources in the 21stcentury. After being told that Ms. Moore would need to provide evidence that would support the need for reform, Survivors In Action began to connect and collaborate with victims, survivors, and family members of abuse and stalking victims from around the nation.
There is a groundswell of support for domestic violence resource reform, but those fighting for DV REFORM are finding a disconnect between national leadership and the local non-profits who are dealing with the victims firsthand. It is the NNEDV and NCADV that the media, private donors, and government officials turn to for advice and input when directing funding and public policy regarding domestic violence and stalking victim resources and laws. These two organizations hold the purse strings and the ability to make all of the decisions while the local shelters and domestic violence organizations are left to do all of the work without any input.
There has to be a meeting of the minds -- the NNEDV and NCADV can’t continue to direct public policy without any accountability measures in place. Survivors in Action believes that they need to cut out the bureaucracy (do we really need two national organizations?) and start directing funding to shelters and to organizations that support victims directly. SIA acknowledges that this may mean that there will need to be more volunteer support and fewer paid staffers, and it certainly means that there should be fewer paid lobbyists. But the money should be going straight to victim support services, where it is most needed.
Domestic violence and stalking are far too often situations of life or death for victims. Leadership that listens is vital in order to prevent domestic violence and ensure victims have the resources they need to become survivors. New leadership and a new organizational structure that better serves the victims of domestic violence are needed now.
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