NNEDV Praises House Passage of VAWA, Looks Forward to President Obama Signing Bill into Law

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives took up the Senate-passed bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and passed this vital legislation by a bipartisan vote of vote of 286-138, including 87 Republicans voting in favor.  NNEDV applauds the Members of Congress who led the fight and voted for VAWA’s passage.

“Victims of violence and their advocates are breathing a collective sigh of relief today, knowing that this critical bill is on its way to President Obama for signature. We commend those who stood in support of victims and put the needs of those suffering from abuse ahead of partisan politics,” said Kim Gandy, President and CEO of NNEDV. “These Representatives, and the Senators who voted in favor of the bipartisan VAWA, have renewed our nation’s commitment to protecting victims of domestic and sexual violence.”

The legislation that passed today is a strong reauthorization that includes landmark protections for women on Tribal lands, improves protections for immigrant victims, ensures services for LGBT survivors, and adds important housing protections for victims. The bill also preserves and maintains core funding for life-saving victim services.

NNEDV was founded to help pass the original Violence Against Women Act in 1994 and NNEDV is honored to have been part of this next step forward.

“Advocates and survivors have been working on this bill for years and will be elated to watch the President sign it into law,” concluded Gandy.

• Read President Obama’s statement on the House passage of VAWA
• Read Vice President Biden’s statement on the House passage of VAWA

SB 86 has passed the Rules Committee and is headed to the Georgia Senate for a full vote.  Please contact your Senators about this important bill TODAY.  Refer to SB 86 talking points for important information which can be used to guide your conversation.

To find your Senator, please follow the link http://gcadv.org/what-we-do/public-policy/find-your-state-legislators/.

Questions may be directed to Allison Smith at asmith@gcadv.org or Shenna Johnson at sjohnson@gcadv.org.

Click HERE to register for the 2013 Stop Violence Against Women Day!

Click HERE for event agenda, driving directions, parking, and other important info about the event.

Please also invite your legislators!  Click HERE to find the names and contact information for your State Senator and State Representative. 

Join us as we come together with hundreds of fellow Georgians from across the state to raise our collective voice against domestic and sexual violence!

Stop Violence Against Women Day is an annual event held at the Georgia State Capitol at which advocates, survivors, and allies come together to raise awareness about domestic and sexual violence against women and to advocate for laws and policies that enhance safety and promote justice for survivors.

This event gives attendees an opportunity to get connected with each other and with the larger movement against violence against women. It also gives them an opportunity to foster relationships with their legislators in order to inform them of how domestic and sexual violence is impacting the lives of their constituents and their communities.

Stop Violence Against Women Day begins at the Georgia State University Student Center-House and Senate Salon, where attendees will enjoy breakfast and an educational briefing on key policy issues affecting survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Following the briefing, we will move to the Capitol where attendees will be able to meet one-on-one with their legislators. The event will wrap up with a rally in the Capitol Rotunda.

It’s unacceptable that VAWA resources have been jeopardized for almost 2 years!

The election is over and it’s time!

Congress has some unfinished business.

They MUST PASS the Violence Against Women Act NOW!

We must get Congress to finish the work of passing a VAWA that safely and effectively protects ALL victims.

National Day of Action:

Mark your calendars for a National Day of Action to pass VAWA – Wednesday, November 14.  Advocates and allies all across the nation will be contacting their elected officials to tell them “Pass VAWA now!”

Please take a few minutes on that day to call your Senators and Representatives.

• Use this number 888.269.5702 to connect to the Capitol switchboard.  Then ask to be connect to you U.S. Representative (www.house.gov) or Senator (www.senate.gov).
• Tell them:  “I am your constituent.  Now that the elections are over, I urge you to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)!  It has been 679 days since VAWA expired, 183 days since Congress’s last action on VAWA.  Please, show women and victims that you care – pass VAWA now!

Email: Don’t have time to call? You can also the short message above to your Members of Congress.

Twitter:  Do you tweet?  Here are a few sample tweets that you can use!

@[INSERT YOUR REP’S TWITTER HANDLE] #PassVAWA2012 because victims need safe and affordable housing #dv #VAWA

@[INSERT YOUR REP’S TWITTER HANDLE] #PassVAWA2012 because victims are still being killed by their partners. #dv #VAWA

@[INSERT YOUR REP’S TWITTER HANDLE] #PassVAWA2012 because our shelter serves victims in your community who depend on it!

@[INSERT YOUR REP’S TWITTER HANDLE]  #PassVAWA2012 because 6 out of 10 Native American women will be physically assaulted in their lifetime.

Social Media

Be a part of a ground-breaking campaign to leverage the full power of social media in fighting for the Reauthorization of VAWA! Join the #PassVAWA2012 Facebook Photo Campaign to tell Congress that it’s time to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act!  It’s easy – just snap photos of you, your friends, and your colleagues – holding up signs saying why we need to Pass VAWA NOW!  Submit your photos via email to advocacy@nnedv.org and lccref@gmail.com or tweetpic to #PassVAWA2012.

The Background

You have worked so hard over the past two years to urge Congress to reauthorize VAWA.  Election cycle politics derailed VAWA’s passage and now we have a final opportunity to get this done!  Congress needs to hear from you that this is still a priority and that they need to act in “lame duck” session.  With the combination of additional pressure from you throughout November and the work of NNEDV and others at the national level, we believe that it is very likely that Congress will act on VAWA upon their return.

http://www.nnedv.org/news/national/1277-18th-anniversary-vawa.html

September 13, 2012

NNEDV today commemorates the 18th Anniversary of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This landmark law, passed in 1994, has forever transformed and improved our nation’s response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.

VAWA supports effective coordinated community responses, leveraging state and local resources to address and prevent these serious and pervasive crimes. Such coordinated community responses have been at the heart of our nation’s progress toward reducing domestic and sexual violence. Since VAWA first passed, more victims feel comfortable coming forward, crime rates have decreased, laws against domestic violence have been strengthened, and communities across the country are safer and more secure.

VAWA has been reauthorized twice since 1994 and each reauthorization has built upon the successes of the past and improved coverage, protection and services for victims. Despite successes, VAWA has expired – jeopardizing current protections and failing to address important safety issues. In 2012, Congress must pass a strong, bipartisan VAWA reauthorization that safely and effectively protects all victims. Specifically, it must include protections to meet the urgent needs of Native American women, immigrants, LGBT victims, those on college campuses and Communities of Color. The law must reauthorize the key grant programs in order to improve and expand services to victims in need. It must build upon the landmark housing protections that ensure victims are not evicted from subsidized housing based on the abusive actions of their perpetrators. It must efficiently support local programs to ensure the stability of services to victims.

“Today as VAWA turns 18, we consider the young people born in 1994 who will benefit from VAWA but know that it falls short to meet their needs and many other victims’ needs,” said Paulette Sullivan Moore, NNEDV’s Vice President of Public Policy. “We must continue to improve the protections under VAWA in order to ensure that they, and all victims, will be safe from violence and abuse. Without a strong VAWA reauthorization, such protections are still not available.”

Eighteen years ago, the state coalitions formed NNEDV to lead the effort to pass the Violence Against Women Act. Today, NNEDV continues to work to make domestic violence a national priority, change the way communities respond to domestic violence, and strengthen efforts against domestic violence at every level of government. As the representative of the 56 state and territorial domestic violence coalitions and in partnership with a strong group of national organizations, NNEDV continues to serve as a leading voice for domestic violence victims and their allies, working to ensure that the promise and potential of the Violence Against Women Act is fulfilled.

• Read Vice President Biden’s statement on the 18th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act
• Download a PDF version of NNEDV’s statement on the 18th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act

Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Fact Sheet: Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women and Girls Globally

Progress Toward a World without Violence Against Women and Girls

Today, President Obama issued an Executive Order on Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women and Girls Globally to further enhance the Administration’s efforts to advance the rights and status of women and girls, to promote gender equality in U.S. foreign policy, and to bring about a world in which all individuals can pursue their aspirations without the threat of violence. 

Violence against women and girls cuts across ethnicity, race, class, religion, education level, and international borders.  Although statistics on the prevalence of violence vary, the scale is tremendous, the scope is vast, and the consequences for individuals, families, communities, and countries are devastating. 

An estimated one in three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime.  Intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence experienced by women globally.  Other forms of violence include human trafficking, sexual violence, including when used as a tactic of war, and harmful traditional practices, such as early and forced marriage, female genital mutilation/cutting, and “honor” killings.  

Today’s Executive Order, which creates an interagency working group co-chaired by the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), directs departments and agencies to implement the new United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally.  This Strategy was developed by the Department of State and USAID in coordination with other relevant U.S. Government departments and agencies.  The Executive Order will ensure that agencies prioritize this issue in their implementation of U.S. foreign policy, and that work in this area is evaluated.  Recognizing that this is a long-term commitment, the Order directs the interagency working group to update or revise the Strategy after three years.    

The Strategy outlines a comprehensive, multi-sector approach to prevent and respond to gender-based violence through:

• Increased coordination of gender-based violence prevention and response efforts among United States Government agencies and with other stakeholders;
• Enhanced integration of gender-based violence prevention and response efforts into existing United States Government work;
• Improved collection, analysis, and use of data and research to enhance gender-based violence prevention and response efforts; and
• Enhanced or expanded United States Government programming that addresses gender-based violence. 

In addition to the Department of State and USAID, the working group will include representatives from:

• the Department of the Treasury;
• the Department of Defense;
• the Department of Justice;
• the Department of Labor;
• the Department of Health and Human Services;
• the Department of Homeland Security;
• the Office of Management and Budget;
• the National Security Staff;
• the Office of the Vice President;
• the Peace Corps;
• the Millennium Challenge Corporation;
• the White House Council on Women and Girls; and
• other executive departments, agencies, and offices, as designated by the Co-Chairs. 

Building on an Existing Foundation

The new Strategy will marshal the United States’ capacity and expertise to establish a coordinated, government-wide approach to preventing and responding to this issue.  It builds upon an existing foundation and will complement and reinforce multiple ongoing Administration efforts, including:

• The Policy Guidance on Promoting Gender Equality to Achieve our National Security and Foreign Policy Objectives issued by the Secretary of State;
• The updated policy on Gender Equality and Female Empowerment issued by USAID;
• The U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, and Executive Order 13595 directing the Plan’s implementation;
• The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, including the Gender-based Violence Scale-Up Initiative and Evaluation; and
• The President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

The United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally can be found HERE and HERE.

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Because of your advocacy and pressure, there was some movement last week before Congress left town. Speaker Boehner appointed conferees to a non-existent conference committee and Senator Grassley refused Senator Patty Murray’s offer to send the Senate VAWA to the House. Unless a miracle happens this week OR we put on the heat, Congress will be home for the rest of August until after Labor Day without having passed a bipartisan VAWA that protects all victims. We need to tell Congress this is outrageous!

For nearly two months Congress has done NOTHING to finish the job and get VAWA signed into law. Congress will be in session for just a few weeks in September and then will go home the first of October and may not come back until after the elections. We have no time to lose.

ACTION 1: FIND YOUR CONGRESS PERSON AT A TOWN HALL, RALLY OR CAMPAIGNING ON THE STREETS AND ASK:
What are you going to do to get a final VAWA passed that helps ALL victims?

ACTION 2: CAN’T GET TO A TOWN HALL OR RALLY? CALL YOUR CONGRESS PERSON AND TELL THEM WHY VAWA IS SO IMPORTANT TO YOU!
Find your Congress Member here: http://www.civilrights.org/action_center/keep-up-the-pressure-in.html. Tell them why VAWA is critical to you, your loved ones, family and friends and ask them “What are you going to do to get a final VAWA passed?”

ACTION 3: CAN’T FIND YOUR CONGRESS MEMBER IN PUBLIC? VISIT THEM IN THEIR DISTRICT OFFICE WHILE THEY ARE HOME!
We all know that passing a VAWA that includes ALL victims is the right thing to do – spend the month of August telling your Congress Member to get VAWA done before they go on vacation. Ask them in their office, on twitter, through a letter to the editor or on Facebook “What are you going to do to get a final VAWA passed?”

ACTION 4: GOT A GREAT PROGRAM SERVING VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC OR SEXUAL VIOLENCE? INVITE YOUR SENATOR OR REPRESENATIVE IN CONGRESS TO COME VISIT YOUR PROGRAM!

We all know the power of seeing what victims are really going through and Members of Congress need to see it for themselves. Chances are that they will want the press to know about their visit and that’s another opportunity for you to get the message out to the public about the need for VAWA.

Attached are some tips for activism in August including letters to the editor, how to have an in district meeting, tweets, Facebook posts, and letters to the editor. You can also find these on 4VAWA.org at http://4vawa.org/pages/tips-for-advocacy-in-august!

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Check our website for fact sheets, press coverage, support letters and updates: www.4vawa.org.

Follow us on twitter at @NTFVAWA and “like” our Facebook page where you can find a toolkit and other action and information items: http://on.fb.me/NTF_Facebook_page.
Don’t forget to tweet about VAWA using the hashtags #ReauthorizeVAWA, #RealVAWA
and #VAWA.

If you aren’t on one of the VAWA email lists or want to add members of your staff or state/community leaders to our grassroots alerts e-mailing list, send names and contact information including email to ntfvawaalerts@icasa.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 31, 2012

 Op-ed by Vice President Biden: An Issue Beyond Debate: Congress Should Act Now to Protect Women

The full text of the op-ed by Vice President Joe Biden is printed below. The piece, published online today by McClatchy Newspapers and in hard copies tomorrow, can be read HERE.

An Issue Beyond Debate: Congress Should Act Now to Protect Women

By Vice President Biden

I’ve spent a lot of years in Washington, and in the past, I had always found that even when partisanship was at its worst, there were still certain issues that rose above the normal course of politics. These days, unfortunately, even that precept is being challenged.

Protecting victims of domestic violence, an issue that has always enjoyed bipartisan support and should be well beyond debate, has become the center of one in Congress. And women across the nation are now at risk.

Let me explain what’s happening:

In 1994, I wrote the Violence Against Women Act, which established several critical new protections: first, it provides law enforcement with new tools to prosecute domestic violence crimes and put offenders behind bars. Second, it helps victims find safe places to stay so they don’t have to choose between living on the streets or living with someone who is hurting them. And third, it gives women a crisis hotline they can call when they need immediate help.

We’ve made a lot of progress as a nation since the act first became law. Annual rates of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60 percent. The national hotline has answered more than 2 million crisis calls, directing victims to life-saving assistance.

But make no mistake, this violence still happens every day.

We need to continue these programs and we need to add improvements. For example, we now know that new screening tools can help law enforcement and the courts reduce domestic violence homicide rates, helping them to step in before abuse becomes murder. Such tools might have saved Sarah Rosio, a 24-year-old Wisconsin woman who was strangled to death by her boyfriend after having been abused many times before her death. Two weeks before her death, Sarah was denied a protective order against her abuser. Sarah is gone now, tragically, but we can help others avoid her terrible fate.

To do so, Congress must make the protections in the Violence Against Women Act available to every person in this country who may ever need them. This simply cannot be up for debate in a civilized society like ours.

Every few years, the Violence Against Women Act needs to be reauthorized. And in the past, Congress has worked cooperatively to reauthorize, improve, and expand the reach of the law. Up until now.

Earlier this year, the Senate passed the bill, and they did it with both Democratic and Republican support. Unfortunately, the House did not follow this broadly bipartisan path; Republicans there passed a much weaker version of the bill. While the House bill contains some of the important provisions of the Senate bill, it lacks key improvements – like protecting more victims and requiring dating violence and sexual assault prevention programs on campus – and, in some cases, it actually rolls back current protections for victims of domestic violence.

Support for the Violence Against Women Act runs broad and deep. It includes law enforcement, prosecutors, victims’ advocates, faith groups, and Democrats and Republicans alike. So this should be easy – and beyond politics. Instead, the clock is now running out for the more than 23,000 women who call our national domestic abuse hotline every month and for all women who may one day be the victims of violence.

Congress should pass the bipartisan version approved by the U.S. Senate.

I know there are fundamental differences between Democrats and Republicans, and I don’t expect those to disappear. But on this issue of basic decency, where there remains so much agreement between us, Republicans and Democrats ought to leave politics at the water’s edge. Because women everywhere are counting on us, and they can’t wait any longer.

Mr. Biden is Vice President of the United States.

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