I was just seven years old when the first Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed in 1994. So growing up, I only knew a government that took domestic violence and sexual assault seriously. I only knew states that recognized stalking as a crime. I only knew communities where victims of interpersonal violence could find shelter and other vital services.

The older generation was not so lucky. For them, VAWA was a monumental change. Luckily, it’s working. Reporting of domestic violence is up by 51 percent and related homicides are down by 34 percent for women and 57 percent for men.

Yet there’s one group that hasn’t seen a lot of change–young people. In a recent study of seventh graders, more than one in three reported experiencing emotional abuse from a dating partner in the last six months. The CDC consistently finds that one in ten high school students is hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend each year. During college, one in five young women will be the victim of sexual assault. And this violence has a lasting impact–lowering grades, causing lasting health problems, even increasing the risk of suicide. These rates of violence are shocking and unacceptable.

As the ambassador for Avon’s mark brand’s m.powerment campaign dedicated to breaking the cycle of dating abuse and partner violence, I get to meet amazing young women like the members of the National Youth Advisory Board for loveisrespect, the National Partnership to End Dating Abuse. They’re taking a leadership role in preventing abuse, speaking out online, in school and anywhere they’ll be heard.

When it comes to ending dating abuse and sexual assault, youth are doing their part. I am doing my part. Now it’s Congress’ turn. The Violence Against Women Act is up for reauthorization and we must pass a strong version now.

In 2000, for the first time, VAWA specifically included protections for victims of “dating violence.” In 2005, the Act created four new programs to address the persistent rates of abuse among young people. Now, we can improve upon these steps by sending the bipartisan Senate bill S.1925, sponsored by Senators Leahy and Crapo and 59 other senators, to the President. The Senate version streamlines the grant process, cutting overhead, getting more money out into the field and helping more women, more effectively. It better achieves the central goal of the Act, that EVERY victim, including young people from all walks of life, should have access to services and justice. And it allocates more money to prevention, so we can stop abuse before it starts.

Here’s what you can do: today, Wednesday, November 14, join a national movement and speak out to urge the members of the House of Representatives to work with the Senate to pass VAWA before this Congress ends and they go home for the holidays. Urge your Representative not to let VAWA die and miss this chance to help victims find shelter, help and justice. Learn more about how to join the movement.

I grew up with VAWA and it helped shape my belief that domestic and sexual violence are wrong and preventable. Now we have the opportunity to create another monumental change. We can start young, intervene early and make a lasting difference in the lives of young victims. We can do for victims of dating abuse what we’ve done for those who experience domestic violence and sexual assault. We can reduce their numbers and their suffering.

We must make these improvements to reach all victims of domestic and sexual violence. I urge you all to speak out to renew the real VAWA now.

–Ashley Greene, mark brand ambassador

 

The Funniest Part Of Filming The Final Movie “We secretly coordinated a dance-off during a scene! We were all in on it, but [director] Bill Condon didn’t know. [All the vampires] were supposed to charge at each other and destroy each other, but instead we just started dancing! Everyone did it—the Cullen clan and probably 20 vampire extras! It was such an amazing way to end it all.”

On Her Famous Exes
“I certainly have [been in love]. I can still love an ex as a person, regardless if the breakup was bad. I would never wish anything negative on them. It takes more energy to hate them than to wish them well.”

Her Thoughts On Rob & Kristen
“Hopefully it won’t taint [the movie]and people will still be able to enjoy it. I think a lot of people see us as our characters. I really want them to still be able to do that.”

Where She Worked As A Teen
“When I was 15, I worked at a dry cleaner because I wanted Abercrombie & Fitch jeans. My mom told me I could have $20 jeans, not $70 jeans, unless I was willing to work for them. So I did! I got a job so I could buy the clothes that I wanted. I also worked in a corporate office as a phone operator—I’ve worked literally everywhere in Jacksonville, FL and L.A. One of the places I worked in L.A. was the Roosevelt Hotel!”

How She Describes Her Style
“I have a very classic take on fashion. I like my accessories to pop, but in general, my style is pretty classic.”

Her Thoughts On Dating
“I’ve definitely been in relationships where I’ve given too much, and I’ve been in relationships where I haven’t given enough. I think it’s a work in progress. I have to find that person where it clicks.”

Ashley Greene has admitted she had no idea what she was in for when she auditioned for the role of Alice Cullen in Twilight.

The 25-year-old has shot to fame since landing the role in the movie adaption of Stephanie Meyer’s hugely successful vampire saga, which she’d never even heard of before her audition.

Ashley told Company magazine: “We had no idea just how big Twilight was going to become. The audition was top secret so all I had was: vampire, 18, girl.

“I was like, what am I supposed to do with this? Are there any directions? Then my managers were like, oh yes there’s a book.”

So the day before testing for the role, Ashley cram-read the first two Twilight books, which gave her a real taste for the part.

She continued: “By then, I really wanted to be Alice and I worked day and night getting into character. But it wasn’t until we got to Portland to rehearse that I realised this thing was going to be huge.

“We hadn’t even started filming when my mum called and said, ‘Do you know you have a fan site?’”

Four years on and with the upcoming release of the final installment of the franchise, Breaking Dawn: Part Two, Ashley insists she’s great friends with the rest of the cast.

She said: “I mean you hear the horror stories of people not getting along on set. And all of us have such severely different personalities but we all meshed and got along so well.

“I think the experience is so crazy that it bonded us. Now we really look forward to award shows because they brings us all back together.”

Ashley’s co-stars include on-screen and off-screen couple Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, as well as Taylor Lautner and Kellan Lutz.

Nonetheless, most of Ashley’s closest mates are people she grew up with.

She continued: “I honestly don’t have a lot of friends that are actors. Most of my friends I’ve known since sixth grade and are out of the industry. It gives me a sense of reality rather than surrounding myself with a bunch of actors.”

Ashley likes to keep her “private life private” and prefers to avoid star-studded celebrity events where the paparazzi tend to be.

But even when out for dinner, Ashley finds she can’t keep out of the news because of the interest in her love life.

She added: “You know, my brother won’t walk out of a restaurant with me anymore because he doesn’t want to be linked to me as my new ‘mystery man’.

“Same with my close guy friends. In the beginning, my mum would be like, are you dating this person? And I’m like, ‘Mum, no! If I’m dating someone, I will personally come and tell you.’

“It’s kind of insane that you can literally be walking beside somebody and not even know them, but you can still be dating them. It always makes me laugh.”

Read the full interview with Ashley in December’s Company magazine, out 7th November