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A Voice For VictimsCindy Dyer advocates for change as the director of the Office on Violence Against Women.
By Lisa Asher, Photographs by Katherine Lambert
The first time Cindy Dyer, JD '93, went to Washington, D.C., she was like every other gawking tourist who visits
the seat of power. Now, the nation's capital is her home. Last
December, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dyer to be the director of the
Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), a component of the U.S.
Department of Justice.
The OVW was created in 1994 to help implement the Violence Against Women’s Act, which was designed to improve
criminal justice responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, and
stalking. The act, which Congress reauthorized in 2000 and 2005, also
seeks to increase the availability of services for victims of these
kinds of crimes.
Since taking over the director position on January 1, Dyer has visited
high schools to talk about teen dating violence, traveled to Europe to
help other countries establish similar programs, and participated in
workshops and media conferences in Dallas, where she served as a
prosecuting attorney for more than a decade. During a brief respite
from a schedule she calls "plumb crazy," Dyer talked with the Baylor Line about her new job and the impact she hopes to make.
Baylor Line: What does your job as director of the Office on Violence Against Women entail?
Cindy Dyer: The responsibilities of the director are actually set out in the Violence Against Women's Act.
The main purpose is to serve as a liaison between the Department of
Justice and federal, state, and international governments regarding the
crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and
stalking. I'm also responsible for handling the department's legal and
policy issues regarding the implementation of the Violence Against
Women's Act. I oversee an annual budget of almost $400 million, and I
have a staff of approximately fifty people. They are all really
dedicated to this issue, and I'm fortunate to be able to work with
them. It's a lot of work—really important work.
Line: What kinds of things does your office do?
Dyer: Since 1995, the OVW has
awarded more than $3 billion in grants and cooperative agreements that
really enable communities to enforce protective orders; provide legal
assistance; and provide shelter, training, and services to victims. We
have several awareness months and weeks that give us an opportunity to
bring focus to this issue. For example, April is Sexual Assault
Awareness Month, and October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
During those months, we really try to get the word out and publicize
that help is available and that victims do have an opportunity to reach
out and access it. We participate in a lot of events, like a recent
speak-out at a local high school for Teen Dating Violence, Awareness,
and Prevention Month. We speak at conferences. We are looking into
doing public service announcements. We partner with other agencies
because part of the effort is not only to provide the direct services
but also to let victims know that direct services are available and
that help is available.
Line: To what do you attribute what seems to be a growing trend of violence against women?
Dyer: That's a really
complicated issue, and frankly it's hard to tell sometimes. Is violence
against women on the rise because our society is becoming more violent
and there are violent shows on TV and the movies? Or maybe there is
more help available and more discussion about it, so more victims of
violence are just speaking out and reaching out to services and
resources—and that's why we see and hear so much about it nowadays. I
do believe very strongly that at least a large part of it is because
the more we talk about it and the more we address it, the more victims
will speak up and get assistance.
Line: Do you also work on ways to prevent this type of violence against women before it ever starts?
Dyer: Yes, the best way to stop
it before it starts is to intervene early. That intervention could be
done by a police officer, a friend, or a member of the clergy or with
the victim seeking assistance on a hotline. Early intervention is what
really saves lives.
Line: Is the OVW involved in any kind of international outreach?
Dyer: We work with the U.S.
State Department and their Office on International Women's Issues. The
woman in charge of that office used to be in this office, so we try to
coordinate and collaborate with them.
And next week, a member of my staff and I are going to Poland to work
with their Ministry of Justice, which is similar to our Department of
Justice. One of the things the United States has done is recognize that
victims of violence against women need specialized services and
resources that victims of other crimes might not need. They need
shelter. They need counseling. They need access to legal assistance.
They have such a broad range of needs that you can't just have a
one-size-fits-all for all crime victims. So I think the United States
can serve as a model for the specialized services that victims of
violence against women actually need.
Line: Were you surprised to be considered for director of the OVW?
Dyer: I was working as the
chief prosecutor of the Family Violence Division in Dallas County when
I got a call from the White House presidential personnel office. I was
never so surprised to get a phone call. In fact, I think after they
said "White House," I didn't hear another thing they said. They cast a
broad net when they're looking to fill a position like this one. And I
was so honored to be considered, I couldn’t stand it!
I talked it over with my husband, who is an attorney in Dallas, and we
decided it was an opportunity that I just couldn't pass up. I moved
myself and two kids and about half of my husband's things to
Washington, D.C., last August when President George W. Bush formally
nominated me. I began working in another component in the Department of
Justice called the Office of Justice Programs while my nomination was
pending. And I answered questions and filled out a lot of forms. I had
the actual confirmation hearing in December.
Line: Being confirmed by the U.S. Senate sounds intimidating. What was the experience like for you?
Dyer: My experience was very
nice. I went up with a couple of other really well-qualified folks who
were being nominated for positions. There were only a couple of
senators at the actual hearing, and they asked me a few questions,
which I had thought about and had an answer for. And then I was
confirmed within a few days after that. So I had a very, very good
experience. I was certainly very nervous, but it was not contentious at
all.
 Line: What types of cases did you try as a prosecuting attorney in Dallas County?
Dyer: Over an entire career
there, you name it and I tried it. I started out as a misdemeanor
prosecutor in a regular criminal court, and then I moved up to felony
prosecutor in a general jurisdiction criminal court. I had become
really interested in crimes against women. So in September 1994, when I
had the opportunity to start a Family Violence Division, I went for it,
even though a lot of people thought I was crazy. I gradually brought on
prosecutors and investigators, and we branched out to bring in
caseworkers. By the time I left in July 2007, we had more than fifty
people.
I specialized in trying domestic violence and sexual assault cases
where the defendants were the intimate partners of the victim. During
the last five years I was there, I tried almost exclusively murders and
capital murders of women who were killed by their husbands or former
partners.
Line: It's surprising that a city the size of Dallas didn't have an office dedicated to crimes against women before 1994.
Dyer: Prior to 1994, Dallas was
one of the few places that did have one prosecutor that was assigned to
look at family violence cases. But that prosecutor did not actually try
the cases. He would talk to the victims of family violence cases and
try to work out different settlement options that would allow the
defendant to get treatment, if that's what the victim wanted. But they
did not actually start taking the cases and prosecuting them themselves
until I started that September.
Line: Have other cities across the
country created similar offices, or is there still a lack of attention
to these kinds of crimes?
Dyer: Since the passage of the
very first Violence Against Women's Act in the mid-1990s, many
prosecutors in large jurisdictions have created specialized divisions
just for prosecuting domestic violence and sexual assault. But we still
have a long way to go. Some prosecutors' offices are really advanced
and do an amazing, great job, and others have not changed much in the
past twenty years.
Line: Dealing with such a serious and
often heartbreaking subject every day can't be easy. How have you
survived that kind of emotional roller coaster for so long?
Dyer: I understand exactly what
you're saying, and you are right. The cases can be very frustrating,
but a couple of things have kept me going. First, the people that I
worked with in Dallas were amazing and so supportive. The other thing
is that occasionally I would have a case where I was really able to
make a huge difference in the lives of a battered woman and her
children. Those success stories really kept me going and made me say,
"I think I'll come back tomorrow."
Line: Are there some cases you prosecuted that you still think about?
Dyer: There are definitely some
cases. I don't know if you would say I still think about them or that
they still haunt me. I tried a really terrible, terrible murder case
that occurred in Dallas. The name of the victim was Mary Williams
Richardson, and she was killed in front of her children. I still think
about that case and those children. But I also think about those cases
that I tried that were not as high profile as that one, where the
children of the victim didn't have a great family to fall into the
hands of when their mother was killed.
Line: What do you remember from your days in Waco?
Dyer: I'm actually from Waco.
My mother still lives in a little wooden house over by where the Lake
Air Mall used to be. I went to Waco ISD public schools. I think I was
the last graduating class of Richfield High School, which also isn't
there anymore!
Line: And you earned a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M?
Dyer: Yes, A&M was cheap!
But I did come back to Baylor for law school. I think that Baylor Law
School has one of the best programs anywhere to teach you how to be a
trial lawyer. I think it really does a good job of teaching you how to
go into a courtroom and try a case. We used to joke when I was at the
DA's office in Dallas that we could tell Baylor attorneys by how they
acted in the courtroom. You didn't ever have to see which diploma was
on their wall. They knew when to stand. They knew the rules of
evidence. And they weren't terrified to give an opening statement.
Baylor prepares you for the courtroom like very few law schools do.
I had Professor Louis Muldrow for Practice Court. And even now—sitting
here at my desk high up in Washington, D.C.—one of the proudest moments
of my life was when I got an A in Practice Court.
Line: How has your family adjusted to life in the nation's capital?
Dyer: My seven-year-old son,
Aubrey, and my five-year-old daughter, Evie, are doing great. They are
in a fabulous little school here in Alexandria, Virginia. Every
Thursday night, when my husband steps off the plane from Dallas, I have
to straighten his halo. He spends all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
in D.C., and then he flies on the last plane out on Sunday night. It's
hard, but it's absolutely worth it.
Line: By this time next year, there will be a new president of the United States. What happens to your position then?
Dyer: I'm kind of new to this
whole political thing, but I believe that all of these positions, like
the one that I'm in, serve at the pleasure of the president. So
generally speaking, when a new president comes in, he or she is going
to have the opportunity to bring in whoever he or she wants to to serve
in those positions.
Line: When your job as director of the OVW ends, will you stay in D.C. or return to Dallas?
Dyer: That is a very good
question and one that I really don't have an answer for at this time. I
am so focused right now on making the most of the time I have here that
I will figure out what I'm going to do later, closer to the time. I
feel like I have a limited amount of time that I'm going to be here,
and I'm going to make the most of it.
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