Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA)
Women’s Action for New Directions supports the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), federal legislation that educates and empowers women and supports community efforts to combat violence against women in America.
The Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA), enacted in 1994 and drafted by then-Senator Joe Biden, is a life-saving and money-saving approach to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This landmark legislation provides tools for the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services as well as local, state, and federal law enforcement and judicial agencies to hold offenders accountable and keep communities safe while supporting victims. This legislation also includes funding for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, battered women’s shelters, civil legal assistance programs, and transitional housing. There are specific provisions, added in the 2005 reauthorization, for victims of domestic violence who are immigrants or victims of human trafficking.
Political jockeying has prevented VAWA from being reauthorized for the third time in 2012. Due to conservative objections to extending VAWA’s protections to same-sex couples and to provisions allowing battered illegal immigrants to claim temporary visas, essential programs for all victims are now in desperate need.
In early 2013, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Michael Crapo (R-ID) introduced S. 47, a strong, bipartisan bill that would reauthorize the VAWA and continue the education and training of those at risk and those who interact with victims.
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