RSN May Fundraising
FB Share
Email This Page
add comment
Print

Excerpt: "As the country celebrates the 18th anniversary of the legislation, here are some of the victories achieved through VAWA."

Stop Violence Against Women Act poster. (photo illustration: tk totem)
Stop Violence Against Women Act poster. (photo illustration: tk totem)

go to original article


After 18 Years, Violence Against Women Act Has Saved Countless Lives

By Annie-Rose Strasser, ThinkProgress

14 September 12

 

or many victims of domestic abuse, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has been a resounding success, and a lifeline. Since then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) wrote the legislation in 1994, the country's infrastructure for dealing with rape and abuse has vastly improved, saving countless women's lives and livelihoods.

As the country celebrates the 18th anniversary of the legislation, here are some of the victories achieved through VAWA:

  • Victims can call for help. The National Domestic Violence Hotline was established as part of VAWA. It currently serves over 22,000 victims a month and has taken a total of 3 million calls.

  • Law enforcement officers are trained to help victims. 500,000 law enforcement officials, judges, and prosecutors a year are trained with VAWA funding to help domestic abuse victims.

  • Partner violence and homicides fell. From the year before VAWA's passage until 2008, the number of women being killed by partners dropped 43 percent, and partner violence against women fell 53 percent.

  • Stalking became illegal. Before VAWA, stalking was not a federal crime. The law established stalking as a felony offense.

  • Rape is rape, no exceptions. Since the passage of VAWA, each state in the United States has updated its laws so that rape by a partner is treated equally to rape by a stranger.

But the outlook for VAWA is not quite as positive as its retrospective. A reauthorization of the law is currently embroiled in a partisan fight between Republicans and Democrats. Different versions of the bill have passed the House and Senate, but the two chambers appear unable to come to consensus on a final bill - in large part because Republicans will not accept expansions to the program that would aide Native Americans, LGBT victims, and undocumented immigrants.

 

Comments   

We are concerned about a recent drift towards vitriol in the RSN Reader comments section. There is a fine line between moderation and censorship. No one likes a harsh or confrontational forum atmosphere. At the same time everyone wants to be able to express themselves freely. We'll start by encouraging good judgment. If that doesn't work we'll have to ramp up the moderation.

General guidelines: Avoid personal attacks on other forum members; Avoid remarks that are ethnically derogatory; Do not advocate violence, or any illegal activity.

Remember that making the world better begins with responsible action.

- The RSN Team

 
-4 # DaveM 2012-09-14 08:52
The VAWA has also contributed to a quasi-religious cult which believes all men to be abusers and all women to be righteous. A man abused by a woman has no resources whatsoever and will most likely be turned away by a domestic violence prevention organization. For that matter, phony restraining orders, a common tool of abuse by women, are routinely drawn up by domestic violence agencies and rubber-stamped by judges.

I applaud the idea behind the Violence Against Women Act. But it is in serious need of updating and revision to include ALL victims of domestic violence regardless of gender.

As to stalking being a Federal crime, I have been dealing with a (male) cyber-stalker since May. No law enforcement agency to which I have reported the activity, local, state, or Federal, has taken any action. I am far from alone in connection with this particular offender. Would love to hear from an attorney who might be interested in handling a class-action lawsuit.
 
 
0 # Regina 2012-09-15 06:16
The size and muscular advantages of males over females tilt the perception of male predominance in abuse cases. And that's plainly obvious. There are many versions of male abuse -- only physical abuse is addressed by law, including VAWA. Stalking -- without physical contact -- is different, and is addressed (or should be!) by other legal measures even though it may produce physical reactions in victims. DaveM might be able to evade his cyber-stalker by changing his ISP, an inconvenience but an available step. As a long-time (not current) victim of much verbal though non-violent abuse, I can't feel sorry for Dave.
 

THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community.

You Are Not Logged In

Forgot Username?

RSNRSN