Julie Owens

In 1988 Julie and her father, Rev. Bob Owens, survived domestic violence (DV) attempted murder by her estranged husband. Their story is told in FaithTrust Institute's documentary "Broken Vows: Religious Perspectives on Domestic Violence", the TV series “When Love Hurts”, and several books. Julie has advocated for victims in many capacities, including by lobbying for new laws, developing an ER crisis team and a church-run shelter, directing trauma research, helping develop the RAVE (religion And Violence E-learning) website, and overseeing state victim programs. Julie’s chapter,What I Wish Pastors had Known When I was Looking for Help, is in Beyond Abuse in the Christian Home: Raising Voices for Change, Other chapters are in The Wonder Years: 40 Women Over 40 on Aging, Faith, Beauty and Strength, Strengthening Families and Ending Abuse: Churches and their Leaders Look to the Future and Responding to Abuse in Christian Homes: A Challenge to Churches and their Leaders . She consults and trains nationally and internationally for secular and faith-based entities including Faithtrust Institute, the DOJ Office for Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center, the DHHS National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center, and Bank of America. Her website is www.domesticviolenceexpert.org