What You Can Do to Support the Violence Against Women Act

April Daniels Hussar,SELF magazine

Heard of the Violence Against Women Act? U.S. Senators are debating it as you read this, and it could make a huge difference in your life or the life of a woman you care about.

What exactly is the Violence Against Women Act? According to the office of Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., "Originally passed by Congress in 1994 as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, this landmark, bipartisan legislation was a response to the prevalence of domestic and sexual violence and the significant impact of such violence in the lives of women." Before the Act, orginally championed by then-Sen. Joe Biden, was passed, some states didn't even have stalker laws on the books, if you can imagine that.

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In both 2000 and 2005, the law was reauthorized with unanimous Senate approval, but this year, it's facing opposition -- all Republicans on the Judiciary Committee voted in February against sending the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act to the Senate floor for a vote, effectively voting against renewing the Act.

However, according to Sen. Leahy, the lead author of the Reauthorization Act, which he introduced in November with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the Act will hopefully be facing a full Senate vote very soon. As of last week, a total of 61 senators had signed on as sponsors of the legislation, comprised of every single Democrat and eight Republicans (including Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mark Steven Kirk of Illinois, Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who was the latest to join as a cosponsor).

Has the law actually done anything to help decrease violence against women? According to the Senate's Violence Against Women Committee's extensive report on the legislation, released this month and citing a U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics report from 2009, "As a result of this historic legislation, every State enacted laws to make stalking a crime and to strengthen criminal rape statutes, and the annual incidence of domestic violence has decreased by 53 percent."

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According to Leahy's office, "The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act would further strengthen and improve programs authorized under the landmark law to assist victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The reauthorization bill includes an increased focus on sexual assault, including the addition of new purpose areas to support the efforts of sexual assault coalitions working in the states and provisions to help reduce rape kit backlogs."

So why would anyone vote against it? According to some, the Reauthorization Act includes too many changes and additions, including some new provisions for Native American women, people in same-sex relationships and issues related to immigration. Some say Democrats are deliberately including language and items in the bill that make it impossible for Republicans to vote for it, even though they are in theory supportive of the vast majority of the bill.

"I favor the Violence Against Women Act and have supported it at various points over the years, but there are matters put on that bill that almost seem to invite opposition," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who opposed the latest version last month in the Judiciary Committee, recently told The New York Times. "You think that's possible? You think they might have put things in there we couldn't support that maybe then they could accuse you of not being supportive of fighting violence against women?"

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But the Act has plenty of supporters. According to Leahy's office, "The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act is supported by over 50 national religious organizations, more than 200 national organizations, and 500 state and local organizations, including victim service providers, law enforcement officers, prosecutors and survivors themselves."

The best thing you can do, if you want to support the Act, is to call your Senator, share your support and urge him or her to do the same.

"The impact of the Violence Against Women Act has been remarkable," said Leahy in a statement released last week. "It has provided lifesaving assistance to hundreds of thousands of women, men, and children. Powerful stories about all VAWA has accomplished in the last eighteen years should remind us that real women, men and families depend on these critical programs. They save lives."

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