Did you know that the Violence Against Women Act was allowed to expire in 2019?  Did you also know that the definition of domestic violence was changed in 2019?  2019 was not a great year for many women, as they saw all their hard work, and the hard work of many before them, backtrack.  

2019 brought the end of the Violence Against Women's Act. This act helped protect women and allowed for funding to provide education on violence against women and provide funding for those who have experienced domestic violence. Since implementing the Violence Against Women's Act in the 1990s, violent acts dropped 64%, and women killed by intimate partners dropped 26% (Office of the Vice President, 2014). The act was allowed to expire by the senate as it sat on Senator Mitch McConnell's desk.  

 2019 also brought change to the domestic violence definition. Previously, domestic violence included physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person.   The definition now only includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim. For years, organizations have worked towards education and advocating that abuse is more than physical, and this change is just a set back from all of the progress made initially.

Below is a fact sheet from National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) on VAWA.  This fact sheet gives a great insight into the benefits of renewing the act and reversing the change made that has set us back 50 years.  While focusing on renewing the VAWA, we should also change domestic violence's definition back to its 2018 definition to ensure women's safety and victims of domestic violence. 

                                         Fact Sheet by NNEDV PDF

"The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) supports comprehensive, effective, and cost-saving responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. VAWA gives states and communities tools to help victims based on local and statewide needs and priorities. VAWA expired in 2018 and must be reauthorized to provide safety and justice for all survivors.

We support the bipartisan VAWA reauthorization bill, H.R. 1585, and its Senate companion S. 2843, which includes key improvements and no rollbacks of current protections and provisions. Our priorities for VAWA reauthorization include:

NO ROLLBACKS OF CURRENT PROTECTIONS
� Safeguard current VAWA provisions to ensure all victims and survivors have access to safety and justice.

INCREASE INVESTMENT IN DOMESTIC & SEXUAL VIOLENCE PREVENTION
� Increase the Rape Prevention & Education Program (RPE) authorization to $150 million and specifically include sexual harassment to its authorized use.
� Increase funding for VAWA Consolidated Youth grants, which engage men and boys as allies and promote healthy relationships to reduce gender-based violence.

END IMPUNITY FOR NON-NATIVE PERPETRATORS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST NATIVE WOMEN & CHILDREN
� Address jurisdictional gaps to hold accountable perpetrators who commit sexual assault, stalking, child abuse, assault against law enforcement officers, and trafficking on tribal lands.

IMPROVE HOUSING PROTECTIONS & PROVIDE SAFE HOUSING OPTIONS
� Provide options for survivors in federally-assisted housing to relocate to new safe housing; maintain housing after a perpetrator leaves, or terminate a lease early.
� Improve the homeless systems’ responses to victims nationwide.

PROMOTE ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR SURVIVORS
� Expand eligibility for unemployment insurance; create protections from employment discrimination based on victimization, and focus on public education related to economic abuse and economic security for victims.

INCREASE AVENUES FOR JUSTICE
� Allow communities to implement alternative justice responses focused on victim autonomy, agency, and safety to provide resolution and restitution for victims.
� Allow VAWA-funded legal services to provide more comprehensive services to survivors.

ENSURE ACCESS TO LIFESAVING VAWA SERVICES
� Ensure compliance with VAWA non-discrimination requirements and guarantee equal access to VAWA protections for all victims regardless of gender."

                                                References:

NNEDV. (November 2020). Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA). National Network to End Domestic Violence. https://nnedv.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/VAWA-Reauthorization-2020.pdf

Office of the Vice President. (2014). 1 is 2 Many: Twenty Years Fighting Violence Against Women and Girls. vawa_20_report_final.pdf (archives.gov)