Last Thursday, President Obama reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was first passed in 1994 to help victims of rape and domestic violence find safety, care, and justice. VAWA is credited with reducing rates of domestic violence by two-thirds over the past two decades. The reauthorization, which occurs approximately every five years, was opposed by House Republicans, who objected to extended protections for LGBT victims, immigrants, and Native Americans.
VAWA is a federal law, first signed in 1994 by President Clinton, that provides $1.6 billion for programs and services for survivors of domestic violence and rape, implements a federal 'rape shield' law, and establishes the Office on Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice. VAWA was first drafted by the office of then-Senator Joe Biden, with the help of advocacy groups, and passed Congress in 1994 with bipartisan support. In 2000, a sharply divided Supreme Court declared the provision of VAWA allowing women the right to sue their attackers in court unconstitutional, as it was an infringement of states' rights. Nevertheless, VAWA again passed Congress easily in 2000 and 2005.
However, the 2012 renewal of VAWA was opposed by conservative Republicans, who objected to the extended protections written into the newest version of the Act. In April 2012, the Senate passed the bill. Later that year, the House passed the unextended version, omitting the passages pertaining to LGBTQs, immigrants, and Native Americans. Reconciliation of the two bills was slow, and it was uncertain whether VAWA would be reauthorized at all. The 112th Congress ended without it being passed. Luckily, the extended version of VAWA was again introduced to the Senate in the 113th Congress, and it was passed on Feb. 11, 2013, with a vote of 78-22. The House had also re-introduced its bill, with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor explaining that "Our goal in strengthening the Violence Against Women Act is simple. We want to help all women who are faced with violent, abusive and dangerous situations."
(Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that he says "all women" despite the fact that he's trying to strike down provisions to help all women? Yeah).
Anyway, the House's proposal was met with indignation from women's groups, the White House, Democrats, and some Republicans, and on Feb. 26, the GOP leadership in the House agreed to have a vote on the Senate bill. On Feb. 28, the House passed the Senate's all-inclusive bill 286 to 138, after rejecting the limited-protections bill 257 to 166. It was awesome.
Something interesting to note is what this will mean in terms of the GOP's appeal to women. While the Republicans argued that they were opposed to the extensions, not to the core of the bill, their reluctance to pass the bill only heightened the sense that the Republican party is anti-women, a popular narrative that didn't help their chances last November. (Democrats have been winning the female vote since 1984). It's also interesting to note that all the female Republican senators voted for it--the only ones against it were male. Perhaps the GOP will take this opportunity to take a good hard look at their policies and re-evaluate their positions towards women. That'd be good for everyone.
Some notes on the extended provisions:
1) Native American women suffer domestic violence at rates more than double the national average. However, Native American courts do not have jurisdiction over non-Native Americans, and federal prosecutors do not take up about half the violence cases because of lack of resources to pursue crimes on isolated Native American lands. The Senate bill gives Native American courts the ability to prosecute non-Native Americans for a set of crimes limited to domestic violence and violations of protecting orders.
2) The bill adds stalking to the list of crimes that make immigrants eligible for protection and authorizes programs dealing with sexual assault on college campuses. It also reauthorizes the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which is arguably the most important anti-trafficking law ever passed.
3) It authorizes $659 million a year over five years to fund current programs that provide housing, legal, police, and hotline grants.
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