There Oughta Be a Law

Dear Leading Ladies,

With the horrifying war in Ukraine rightfully riveting our attention, a bipartisan action last week remained relatively under the radar. On March 15, President Biden signed into law the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act after approval by both houses of Congress. The act, first passed in 1995, was expanded in 2000, 2005, and 2013. Under the Trump administration, reauthorization stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate due to objections to a new provision that would have prevented perpetrators of domestic violence from purchasing or possessing a firearm.

The original Violence Against Women Act

The 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was the first comprehensive federal legislative package designed to end violence against women. According to the Congressional Research Service, the act allowed for “enhanced sentencing of repeat sex offenders; mandated restitution to victims of specified federal sex offenses; and authorized grants to state, local, and tribal law enforcement entities to investigate and prosecute violent crimes against women, among other things.”

Focusing on prevention with funding for legal and social services, VAWA was the first federal law against rape and battering of women with a requirement that every state protect women from abuse. The then-Senator Joe Biden submitted the proposal for consideration, but the work of many activist women made his initiative possible. This paradigm shift to recognizing that women needed protection not only from strangers, but also from people they may know or be related to, was huge. But the work was not done.

The 2000 & 2005 reauthorizations

“VAWA 2000 and VAWA 2005 reauthorized the grant programs created by the original VAWA and expanded the initial mandate to address not only domestic violence, but sexual assault and stalking as well, and specifically took into account the needs of underserved populations. VAWA 2000 improved protections for battered immigrants, sexual assault survivors, and victims of dating violence. It enabled domestic violence victims who flee across state lines to obtain custody orders without returning to jurisdictions where they may be in danger and improved enforcement of protection orders across state and tribal lines.” (legalmomentum.org)

“VAWA 2005 continued to improve upon these laws by providing an increased focus on access to services for communities of color, immigrant women, and tribal and Native communities. New programs under VAWA 2005 include the Court Training and Improvements, Child Witness, and Culturally Specific programs.” (legalmomentum.org)

The 2022 Violence Against Women Act

The 2022 reauthorization of the VAWA expanded support for women victims of violence in several critical areas, according to justice.org. These include employment assistance, legal representation, protection from eviction, and housing stability. Importantly, the 2020 reauthorization also recognizes the need to support those in communities of color, including indigenous people, those in the LGBTQ community, and underserved populations, particularly in rural areas.

Allison Randall, principal deputy director of the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women, which implements the VAWA, cites the importance of “restoring tribes’ jurisdiction to prosecute non-Indian perpetrators of sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking, child violence, assault of tribal justice personnel, and obstruction of justice on tribal lands.”

The new legislation, Randall explains, ensures that survivors in rural communities, for instance, will have “improved access to sexual assault medical forensic examinations. It also means training a range of first responders on proven trauma-informed, victim-centered investigative techniques, while continuing to evaluate and refine these trainings.”

Furthermore, the updated act includes Kayden’s Law, named after a seven-year-old Pennsylvania girl killed by her father in a murder-suicide during an unsupervised visit in 2018. The new law “focuses on how family courts handle custody cases involving abuse allegations, and calls for improving training for judges who hear custody disputes, outlining required qualifications to give expert testimony about abuse, and asking states to change their statutes to limit therapies focused on forced family reunification,” as reported by NBC News.

The VAWA is clearly an act that gets better with age. Unfortunately, the problems it tackles get bigger with age.

What are the current facts on violence against women?

  • Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.

  • 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.

  • 1 in 5 women in the United States have been raped in their lifetimes.

  • Almost half (46.7%) of female victims of rape in the United States have been raped by an acquaintance.

  • 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence (e.g. beating, burning, strangling) by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

  • 1 in 7 women have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetimes.

  • The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.

  • 19% of domestic violence involves a weapon.

  • 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.

  • Victims of intimate partner violence lose a total of 8.0 million days of paid work each year.

  • Between 21-60% of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs due to reasons stemming from the abuse.

  • Physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health effects have been linked to intimate partner violence

  • Victims of domestic violence are also at higher risk for developing addictions to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.

(Bullets from National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)

What can we do?

Violence against women is clearly a problem that requires the attention of our lawmakers as well as our medical and mental health professionals, educators, coaches, spiritual leaders, and families. Violence of all kinds are invariably symptoms of other issues in our society, some systemic, some individual. We applaud the bipartisan 2022 Violence Against Women Act but recognize that it can not solve the problem alone.

To learn how you can help support services for victims of violence, see what our friends at HAWC are doing in Salem and what the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Denver is up to. If you, or anyone you know, are experiencing domestic violence, need support, shelter, or legal services, reach out to HAWC at 1-800-547-1649.

And please come to our April 9th Book Swap and Sale to benefit HAWC, as well as The REAL Program of Lynn, the Movement Family of Lawrence, and Dignity Matters of Framingham. The event is from 10 am to 2 pm in the side yard of The Book Shop of Beverly Farms at 4 West Street.

Hope to see you there!

Therese
Judy
Mary
Beth
Leading Ladies Executive Team
Leadingladiesvote.org
ladies@leadingladiesvote.org

Equality, Staggering StatisticBritney Achin