Peter, I cannot thank you enough for your kind words and for asking me and my colleagues to be part of this extraordinary event. It is so exciting and such a delight to be here.

And truly, I cannot express enough gratitude to you, Mariska, Maile, and the Board Members of the Joyful Heart Foundation for committing yourselves to ending violence against women and girls.

I am humbled by your courage, determination, and dedication; and most of all I am grateful for what you do to support survivors, helping them heal in the aftermath of life-changing trauma.

I am also grateful to all who gathered tonight to show your support for the work of the Joyful Heart Foundation and their extremely important mission.

And, I am delighted to bring greetings from Attorney General Eric Holder, who has made protecting children from violence in their homes and communities and ending violence against women two of his greatest priorities.

He has challenged those of us at the Department of Justice to find innovative solutions to problems that have plagued us for a very long time and he has asked us to enter into public-private partnerships to do so.

As Peter mentioned, I have been with the Violence Against Women Office for nearly 15 years - since we first opened our doors in January, 19951995 - shortly after the Violence Against Women Act, signed into law in 1994.

Our office is charged with addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking around the country. We support over 650 new projects every year with a budget of $400 million.

My purpose tonight is to shed further light on the stories of survivors like the ones you heard earlier - and to share with you the Obama Administration's vision for ending violence against women and girls.

Fifteen years ago, the Violence Against Women Act - or VAWA - was made law. Over the past 15 years, we have witnessed the development of local partnerships between advocates, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, the judiciary, medical professionals, community leaders and others who CONTINUE to work together to end violence against women.

While we have witnessed significant progress, the vision of this Administration is to raise the bar and create a lasting shift in the way our country perceives and responds to violence against women and girls and to violence against children.

It is our goal - and our sincere hope - that through our efforts over the course of the next five years, we will elevate the conversation - or as Peter would say - turn up the volume - so that the majority of Americans will understand that violence against women and girls is unacceptable and that our homes, schools, and communities - including Indian Reservations and Alaska Native Villages.

As you know, domestic violence, rape, and child abuse know no boundaries. These crimes pervade every corner of the globe and cross every ethnic, racial, and socio-economic divide.

Very likely all of us know at least one person who is a survivor or someone whose life was transformed by the courage of survivors.

I do this work because it gives me joy to work with the everyday men and women who have devoted their lives to this work.

After I had worked in the Office for about a year I met a police officer from a small New England town who has since become a close friend and trusted ally. He told me a story I will never forget about why he volunteered to work in the "special victims unit" as a dedicated domestic violence officer in his police department.

When he was a "rookie" one of the first calls he responded to was to an upper middle class neighborhood. He arrived to find a 17 year old girl fighting for her life.

She had stayed after school to take part in extra-curricula activities and was walking home late afternoon from school.

It was getting dark and she couldn't see into the distance but she heard someone quickly approaching behind her.

It was her former boyfriend who was angry with her for telling one of her best friends - and his new girlfriend - that he had abused her, that she was afraid of him and that she didn't want her friend to be hurt.

He dragged her into an open field, slit her throat, and sat on her for over an hour, watching her bleed to death. When he was certain she was dead, he left her there and walked home.

But she was not dead. She found the courage to "play dead" and stay alive and then she dragged herself a long way to the nearest house. My friend was dispatched as the first responder to the scene.

In the end she lived and the young man who tried to kill her received three months probation and was back in school within days.

She spent months recovering in a hospital and she and her family were forced to leave family and friends when they moved to another community where she could live free from the trauma of seeing him everyday and re-living that horror.

This was nearly 15 years ago and I don't know where she is today and I cannot imagine the unspeakable trauma she must have experienced.

I would like to hope that she has found a path to healing and recovery and my dream is that she might someday find her way to a Joyful Heart retreat where she can continue to reclaim her self through experiencing joy, hope, and the possibility life held for her her the day she was born.

Joyful Heart represents the hope and change that we desire.

Joyful heart has a vision and calls upon all of us to be agents for social change

Thirty years ago domestic violence was considered a "family matter"

Thirty years ago, spousal rape was not a crime.

Thirty years ago many States did not have domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, or hotlines.

Thirty years ago we were just beginning to recognize child abuse as a crime.

But thirty years ago, a diverse group of advocates organized to change the way our nation thought about and responded to violence against women, men, and children who had suffered from sexual and domestic violence.

And after 15 years later, then Senator Biden authored the Violence Against Women Act and President Clinton signed it into law on September 13, 1994.

Since then, countless lives have been saved, the voices of survivors have been heard, and families have been protected.

But there is still much work to be done.

We have federal resources and we have the commitment from our President, Vice President, and Attorney General.

But that is not enough. We need you.

I believe the stars are aligned and that together we can create lasting change that we want for our mothers, our sisters, our wives, our daughters - and all of our children.

How do we do that? We talk about the problem. We start a national conversation that is a difficult and complex conversation. We turn up the volume.

In recognition of the 15th anniversary of the VAWA, the Department of Justice announced this month the beginning of a year-long effort to raise public awareness, to build stronger movement to end violence against women and girls.

The Department recently embarked on an ambitious effort to reach public figures, actors, actresses, and professional sports players and asking them to take a stand against violence against women and girls. And I want to thank Mariska for being one of the first to say yes and to committing to do whatever she can do.

So, tonight, we take courage and inspiration from the Joyful Heart Foundation, its founder, executive director, staff and board. I cannot thank you enough for what I have already learned from you.

Based on the experiences of the thousands of survivors who embarked on their journey of healing, you realized the importance of recovery and healing after a trauma.

And we are proud to be one of their partners because you dwell on the possible.

We thank you for your vision and for creating newpossibilities here tonight. I know this is the beginning of a brighter and more hopeful future for our country where women and girls - and all children are considered sacred.

I ask that you to stand united with us.

There is so much you can do.

Please use your voice to raise awareness - have those hard conversations with your family, friends and colleagues.

Please use your voice by influencing storylines and correcting misperceptions.

Collaborate, innovate and build new partnerships.

Let's join together, to turn up the volume and take a stand to end violence against women, one community at a time.

Thank you.

Now - one more thing - please raise your glasses and join me in offering a toast to someone who has done so much to help us elevate the issue and begin a new and revitalized national conversation.

Mariska, you are joy itself and have given me, my colleagues, and so many survivors me and my colleagues pure and simple HOPE.

With you at our side we know we are not alone.

You are not doing this work because you have to and for that and many other reasons, you are a remarkable advocate.

You have used your craft to reach so many who have suffered silently and you have given your open heart to heed a calling.

We honor you!