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Louisiana is no stranger to natural disaster. Each year, the Gulf Coast faces threats of damaging hurricanes, flooding, and tornadoes. Families living in shelter are among the most vulnerable in a natural disaster. Louisiana’s domestic violence shelters are dedicated to keeping survivors safe. When a disaster hits, they do what is necessary to continue providing lifesaving services to survivors of domestic violence.
LCADV’s Domestic Violence Disaster Fund is a dedicated fund that helps Louisiana’s domestic violence shelters keep survivors safe in the face of a natural disaster.
When disaster strikes, the Disaster Fund helps shelters:
evacuate survivors
replace lost food and supplies
make emergency building repairs
cover other necessary disaster-related expenses
You can help domestic violence survivors weather the storm in safety. Please donate today.
2. Type in your existing license plate number then press submit. You will go to a new page.
3. At the top of this page you will see the different types of plates. Choose “Organization/Service” and scroll down through the list to “LA Coalition Against Violence.”
4. In the lower left side of this page press the link “Ordering Details.” You will go to a new page.
5. In the lower left side of this page press the link “Order Form.”
6. Print the form, fill it out, include your check or money order, a copy of your current registration and proof of insurance. Mail it in.
7. If for some reason you cannot complete the process online, you will see a contact number for the OMV on their website. Call them and they will walk you through the process.
Tax season is rapidly approaching. Two out of every three tax filers will likely receive a refund. You can put that money to good use by making a tax refund donation to LCADV!
As you file your Louisiana state taxes this year, you can donate all or some of your tax refund to the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence by selecting LCADV right on your tax return.
Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence is dedicated to bringing about change in our institutions, laws, politics, attitudes, and beliefs which will allow individuals to live free of violence. Our work depends on the generosity of people like you.
Your tax refund can power the movement to end domestic violence. So this year, use your tax refund for good.
Notice is hereby given of the availability of federal funds through the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW), housed in the U.S. Department of Justice, OJP.
The Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement (LCLE) administers and allocates these funds through the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The total amount available to the domestic violence programs is $256,773.
If interested in this competitive opportunity:
Complete Notice of Funding Opportunity, application materials and instructions for
submitting proposals may be obtained from the LCLE website (www.lcle.la.gov).
For questions and additional information contact:
Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
P.O. Box 77308
Baton Rouge, LA 70879
info@lcadv.org
The deadline for submitting is: December 23, 2015
Proposals will be considered for approval at the March meeting.
Representatives of agencies under consideration will be required to attend this meeting in order to receive funding.
LCADV is pleased to announce a half day training for professionals working with children in crisis. Understanding and Interpreting Children’s Art will address:
– Purpose and process of children’s art in crisis services
– Developmental milestones in children’s art
– Components of children’s art and their relationship to child well being
– Guidelines for children’s art interpretation
– Applying children’s art to case plan development
Training Details: Wednesday, December 2, 2015
9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Registration begins at 8:45
American Cancer Society 2605 River Rd.
New Orleans, LA 70121
Registration Fee: $40
Group discounts are available for groups of 5 or more. Please contact us to inquire.
Who Should Attend: Social Workers, Child Welfare Professionals, Domestic Violence Advocates, Anyone working with children in a crisis setting
Continuing Education:
This program has been approved for 3 general hours of social work CEUs.
Northeast Louisiana Sees Major Reduction in Domestic Homicides
Baton Rouge, LA– October 29, 2015 – On Thursday, the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (LCADV) announced that Northeast Louisiana has achieved what appears to be a significant and longstanding reduction in domestic homicides.
LCADV tracks domestic homicide data for the state of Louisiana and conducts regular analysis of trends in the state. They release information yearly in October, which is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Their review of recent data shows that Northeast Louisiana has seen a drop of roughly 70% in domestic homicides since 2011, and that drop has remained consistent for four years now.
LCADV Executive Director Beth Meeks calls this a significant breakthrough. “We are seeing data here that is not temporary or accidental. This represents the first time in almost 20 years of tracking that we can identify progress in Louisiana on reducing domestic homicides. It is an understatement to call it impressive. ”
LCADV has tracked domestic homicide data since 1997. The Northeast Louisiana (NELA) region is defined as the 12 parishes served by The Wellspring, the domestic violence service provider in Northeast Louisiana. These parishes include: Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, East and West Carroll, Franklin, La Salle, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland and Tensas.
In the years 1997-2011 NELA averaged slightly more than six domestic violence homicides per year. After 2011, the average fell to two deaths per year, a roughly 70% drop. The currently estimated national rate of femicide, as determined by the Violence Policy Center in its yearly report is 1.09 per 100,000. The most recent rate for Louisiana is 1.99 per 100,000. The current NELA rate is .63 per 100,000, about 40% lower than the national average and more than 60% lower than the Louisiana rate.
LCADV notes that this region has never before had four consecutive years that posted three or fewer domestic violence homicides, and this reduction was not observed in other regions in the state.
The drop in homicides coincides with procedural and programming changes that were implemented in 2011. Meeks credits a solid coordinated community response, led by The Wellspring, for successfully creating systemic changes that made this progress possible. “Starting in 2011, the entire criminal justice system here put in place processes and interventions that have been known to reduce domestic violence homicides. Obviously those choices are paying off.” As an example, she says, they used specialized prosecutors and an accelerated docket for domestic violence cases. They increased the number of victimless prosecutions, put batterers on probation, used batterer intervention programs, eliminated pre-set bonds for domestic violence offenders, meaning they usually see a Judge before being released, and implemented supervised visitation programming.
Meeks believes these sorts of changes can be replicated throughout Louisiana but cautions that they are not effective unless implemented within specific parameters. “You can’t just call it batterers’ intervention or supervised visitation, it has to follow certain specific practices and methods to be effective. But Northeast Louisiana has proven that it can be done, and most importantly it can be done in Louisiana. There is no excuse for continued domestic homicides at this rate. We know how to solve this.” Meeks says many jurisdictions throughout Louisiana have been sharing information in an attempt to learn how best to reduce domestic violence and she is confident that they will look to this section of the state for guidance. “There are absolutely lots of communities; law enforcement, advocates, judges, and prosecutors, who have been working in partnership to try to understand and reduce domestic homicides. I am confident many of them will look to their colleagues in this section of the state for advice on how to advance their own work. ” said Meeks.
The announcement comes as the Family Justice Center of Ouachita Parish, an organization piloted by The Wellspring which brought the coordinated community response together, celebrates its 10 year anniversary.
For additional information on domestic violence, and to learn ways to get involved, visit www.lcadv.org.
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The Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (LCADV) is a state wide network of battered women’s programs, other organizations and individuals who share the goal of ending violence against women and children in Louisiana. LCADV empowers its members through advocacy, education, resource development and technical assistance.
LCADV is pleased to announce the second statewide Assemblage of Batterer Intervention Program Providers.
This meeting gives providers a chance to network with other providers around the state, hear about new legislation affecting batterer programs and learn about future training and partnership opportunities.
This meeting is free of charge and open to all professionals providing batterer intervention programming in Louisiana.
Meeting logistics are as follows:
Monday, October 5, 2015
1:00pm-4:00pm
Jones Creek Regional Branch Library 6222 Jones Creek Road Baton Rouge, LA 70817 Meeting Room #3
Baton Rouge, LA – The Washington D.C. based Violence Policy Center has issued its yearly report on female murder victims and the news is not good for Louisiana. The report reviews female victims killed by male offenders in single victim/single offender incidents and ranks all states from highest rates to lowest. The 2015 report titled, When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of Homicide Data was released yesterday, and once again Louisiana ranks 4th in the nation.
The report does not count multiple death incidents or incidents where the perpetrator and victim are the same gender.
The report reveals that nationwide more than 1,600 women were murdered by men in 2013 and the most common weapon used was a gun. 94 % of women killed by men were murdered by someone they knew. Of the victims who knew their offenders, 62 % were wives or other intimate acquaintances of their killers.
The study also found that black women are disproportionately impacted by fatal domestic violence. In 2013, black females were murdered by men at a rate of 2.36 per 100,000, two and a half times higher than the rate of white women murdered by men – 0.95 per 100,000.
The Violence Policy Center has published When Men Murder Women annually for 18 years. During that period, nationwide the rate of women murdered by men in single victim/single offender incidents has dropped 31 percent — from 1.57 per 100,000 in 1996 to 1.09 per 100,000 in 2013.
However, a review of the report reveals that Louisiana has failed to make the progress seen in the rest of the nation. The rate in Louisiana remains 1.99 per 100,000, 83% higher than the national average and 27% higher than the national average was 18 years ago when the reporting began.
The report details Louisiana numbers and shows that 16% of the victims were under 18 years of age and more than half were African American women. In the cases that represent domestic violence homicides, 58% were committed with firearms. The full report can be seen at www.vpc.org.
Despite the grim report, advocates remain optimistic that changes over the last few years will improve these statistics in the long run. “We have made a lot of great policy changes but it takes many years for those policy changes to get fully implemented on the ground in local communities.” said Beth Meeks, Executive Director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Meeks says there are a number of complicated factors that contribute to the problem in Louisiana, including a lack of services for victims. “We have a significant lack of resources that makes it difficult for victims to access safety services. We have large areas with little or no advocacy services and too few shelter beds. Programs are doing the best they can but without additional funding there just aren’t enough services for persons seeking immediate safety.”
The report is released to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month which is held throughout the nation in October. Domestic Violence Programs throughout the state are commemorating this month with a wide variety of activities including Take Back the Night marches, candlelight vigils and luncheons. For additional information on domestic violence, or for a list of Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities in your area visit www.lcadv.org.
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The Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (LCADV) is a state wide network of battered women’s programs, other organizations and individuals who share the goal of ending violence against women and children in Louisiana. LCADV empowers its members through advocacy, education, resource development and technical assistance.
Domestic Violence Coalition Advocates Caution in Wake of Latest Homicide
Baton Rouge, Louisiana – The statewide domestic violence coalition is expressing concern over comments made in the wake of a domestic homicide this week. Monica Johnson of Geismar, Lousiana, was murdered by her estranged husband on Sunday. In response, some community members have advocated that battered women should get guns to protect themselves from their abusers.
“We believe that victims of domestic violence should have the right to firearms for protection if they so choose. And we know some women say they feel safer with a firearm. We just want to make sure people understand that owning a firearm does not guarantee safety, and in cases of domestic violence it actually increases risk significantly.” said Beth Meeks, Executive Director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
According to research by Mayors Against Illegal Guns the presence of a firearm in a domestic violence situation increased the risk of homicide by 500% for women. And a study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that over 70% of battered women had been threatened with a gun, while only 7% had used a gun successfully in self-defense.
Telling battered women to kill their abusers can have unintended consequences. Rarely does a self-defense claim work for these women, and as many as 90% of the women in prison today for killing men had been battered by those men. Additionally, when women are sentenced, on average, they receive more than twice the sentence men receive when they kill their partners.
“Beyond the statistics we must realize that even when it is necessary, taking another life creates deep emotional trauma that has long lasting effects.” Meeks said. “Our goal here should be to reduce all homicides, not merely exchange victims.”
Meeks says many communities across the nation have made dramatic reductions in their domestic homicide rates through practices such as expedited dockets, risk assessment, high risk management teams, and intensive monitoring of offenders. “If we are as committed to stopping domestic violence as we say we are, then we simply must retool our interventions to mirror what we know works.”
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The Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (LCADV) is a state wide network of battered women’s programs, other organizations and individuals who share the goal of ending violence against women and children in Louisiana. LCADV empowers its members through advocacy, education, resource development and technical assistance.
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