Vice President Biden announced the appointment of Caroline “Carrie” Bettinger-López as the new White House Advisor on Violence Against Women. Ms. Bettinger-López is a leading advocate for gender-based equality and human rights, who has worked at local, national, and international levels to bring an end to violence against women. She is the second person to serve as the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women—a position created under the Obama Administration specifically to advise the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues. She is replacing Lynn Rosenthal, who left earlier this year to become the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
“Throughout her career, Carrie has made clear that the most basic of human rights is freedom from violence,” Vice President Biden said. “I am honored that she will be joining my staff to continue the work we began with the Violence Against Women Act, and I know she will be a strong voice for women everywhere who continue to suffer from sexual assault and domestic violence in the worst prison on earth – the four walls of their own home.”
As a litigator and an advocate, Ms. Bettinger-López has fought for the protection of victims of domestic violence and the provision of remedies for violations of survivors’ rights. Prior to her legal career, Ms. Bettinger-López engaged in social services advocacy and youth education centered on women and girls’ empowerment, as well as anti-violence programming.
Most recently, Ms. Bettinger-López is the founder and Director of the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law, where she served as an Associate Professor of Clinical Legal Education. Her scholarship included a focus on violence against women, gender and race discrimination, and immigrant rights.
In her new role as White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, Ms. Bettinger-López will serve as an Advisor to the President and Vice President on domestic violence and sexual assault issues; be a liaison to the domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy communities; collaborate with federal agencies on the implementation of VAWA programs and the coordination of federal efforts to address violence against women and girls both domestically and globally; and, drive the development of new initiatives and policies to combat domestic violence and sexual assault with key public and private stakeholders.
Ms. Bettinger-Lopez will continue to lead the Administration’s efforts to putting an end to violence against women. Among many important steps forward, the Administration has led efforts to combat campus sexual assault, worked to prevent domestic violence homicides, and fought to extend protections to women of color and LGBT Americans who have been victims of violence.
(Text Source: Whitehouse.gov)
