House Passes Violence Against Woman Act with Slightly Bipartisan Vote
Two years after it failed to get renewed, the House of Representatives voted to restore and slightly expand the Violence Against Woman Act (VAWA) that expired in 2019 under former President Trump and could not get Congressional approval to continue.
By a vote of 244-172, which included the votes of 33 Republicans, VAWA was renewed and revised to include a few controversial provisions that are expected to cause problems in the Senate. Foremost among those are provisions that prohibit convicted domestic abusers from owning firearms and expand LGBTQ rights.
First signed into law by President Clinton in 1995 and reauthorized and updated under all his successors until Trump, the legislation is credited with reducing domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault. President Biden championed the law in 1994 and pledged to make it stronger while on the presidential campaign trail. On March 17, the day the law passed, he issued a statement applauding the House and urging the Senate to “follow their lead to renew and strengthen this landmark law.”
The bill defines domestic violence as a “pattern of behavior involving…physical, sexual, verbal, psychological, economic, or technological abuse…or any coercive behavior…to gain or maintain power and control over a victim.” Its broad definition covers dangerous practices such as genital mutilation, cyber exploitation, elder abuse, forced marriage, sex trafficking and bullying.
A sexual violence perpetrator must be a spouse, cohabitator, dating partner or former dating partner, someone who shares a child, or is an adult family member or a person of trust, such as a caregiver. The expansion of the definition to include “dating partners or former dating partners” eliminates the so-called “boyfriend loophole” that allowed access to guns by physically abusive boyfriends or stalkers with previous convictions.
Biden’s victory statement said that VAWA was one of the legislative achievements of which he is most proud. He applauded its expanded provisions to improve protections for Native American women and survivors from underserved communities. The President also praised the law’s progress, but said, “There is still much work to do,” and strongly advocated for a bipartisan coalition to assure Senate passage.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that one in three women have experienced sexual violence. But the pandemic is making it worse. The president pointed out that sexual violence has increased during COVID-19, and experts cited in the New York Times attribute its rise to stress; worries caused by employment; financial insecurity; and confinement in small places, often with children.
H. R. 1620 “To reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994,” is a 254-page bill that generally follows the updated original. If passed, it will take effect on October 1. The legislation is notable for its sensitivity to the ripple effects that sexual violence causes, not only to victims, but to the nation’s economy, homelessness, unemployment, and public health. As a result, it contains funds to train many people who come in contact with survivors in the “best practices” of understanding and assisting them. This includes most professionals in the criminal justice system, housing, health care, members of the volunteer community, and even those who monitor sexual material in cyberspace.
The bill strongly promotes “victim-centered” and “community-based” initiatives and pays special attention to “underserved populations” that are given funding consideration in each grant cycle. Campus education programs are included as well.
The economic impact of domestic violence is included by understanding and addressing the long-arm of sexual abuse. For example, It increases the need for affordable housing for women who no longer feel safe at home. And, because the physical and emotional impact of abuse is so extreme, it often negatively impacts women’s ability to keep their jobs and stay mentally and physically healthy. The children of sexual abuse survivors are often put at greater risk as well. All these factors make it a public health issue affecting over 20 million individuals, and assistance for all is part of the proposed new law.
The single issue that threatens Senate passage the most prohibits domestic abusers from owning firearms. The National Rifle Association vigorously opposed it in 2019, despite massive evidence cited in the bill that “domestic violence victims are more likely to be murdered with a firearm than all other means combined.” Guns in the home increase the rise in danger to women by 500 percent, and 44 percent are unable to continue working after gun-related incidents at home. Stepped-up background checks are also included in the bill.
Domestic violence causes 50 percent of abused women to lose or be forced to quit their jobs, leaving 60 percent of single women and 81 percent of single mothers to live with economic insecurity. They also lack access to housing, transportation and child care. The new bill includes a plan to help survivors obtain and maintain employment and includes a pilot program called “Pathways to Opportunity.”
The other issue threatening the bill’s Senate passage is the inclusion of provisions to assist transgender and gender non-conforming people, who face extraordinary levels of physical and sexual violence. The bill cites studies that estimate one in every four become victims of gender-driven assault. Suicide and homicide rates, too, far exceed those of the rest of the population.
During the floor debate, Republicans took issue with what Democrats were including in what they called expanding a law meant to protect women. They said Democrats were turning VAWA into a vehicle to advance the “far-left political agenda.” Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) is quoted in the New York Times saying, “The most egregious provisions of this bill push leftist gender ideology at the expense of important protections for women’s privacy and safety.” She singled out provisions, such as those that require shelters for abused women to take in men and house them with women. She said such provisions put vulnerable women at risk, although no supporting evidence was provided.
Large portions of the bill contain other programs and funding for some women whose suffering often goes unnoticed. Native American women, 83% of whom have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, and women prisoners, including pregnant inmates, will receive much-needed assistance.
The bill also mandates state compliance and pre-empts any laws that would “impair the exercise of any right“ that is given to the federal government under the bill. It also creates a new position in the Department of Justice that will be headed by a Deputy Director for Culturally Specific Communities.
