We are horrified by the prevalence of violence in our culture. Increasing violence touches every community and practically every family. We live in a culture of violence in which families, and especially children, are the victims as expressed so poignantly in this reflection from the Children's Defense Fund:

Violence romps through our children's playgrounds, invades their bedroom slumber parties, terrorizes their [day care] centers and schools, ...attacks their front porches and neighborhoods, abuses them or a parent at home, tantalizes them across the television screen....  It nags and pricks at their minds and spirits,... snuffing out the promise and joy of childhood and of the future.

In the face of widespread violence, many people are frightened, confused, frustrated, angry, and perhaps worst, feeling powerless. We, however, claim both a power and responsibility to respond. We join together in this Advocacy Network to express a moral voice, a voice of outrage, that calls all families and our whole culture to reject violence and violent 'solutions' to problems. We will break the cycle of violence by creating a circle of families who can be strong and bold because we stand together. We say "NO!" to violence in our homes, and "YES!" to countering violence and promoting alternatives to violence in our communities and world.

We will realize this vision by

* Bringing together organizations and individuals who share the goal of violence prevention .

* Developing an annual Families Against Violence Advocacy Agenda. It will call families to promote alternatives to violence in their own homes and communities and include strategies for how families can be effective advocates in violence prevention.

* Celebrating and publicizing successful anti-violence efforts by families.

* Promoting and teaching nonviolence skills to families.

* Organizing regional Families Against Violence workshops and conferences, starting with the US and Canada. These gatherings will be an opportunity to strategize on a more local level, celebrate local successes, recruit families to the Network, and build a sense of solidarity.

The Network will focus on

1) legislative advocacy;

2) coordinated action to promote alternatives to violence vis-a-vis churches, synagogues, businesses, schools, and the media; and

3) resourcing of members. Our agenda will address a variety of issues related to violence, but particularly the presence of weapons and drugs in our society; the reality of and connection between interpersonal and institutional violence, especially racism and sexism; violent forms of punishment and discipline; societal practices that reflect retaliation rather than reconciliation; domestic violence; and violence in entertainment.