As a the leader of YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, an organization committed to ending violence against women, I am very concerned with the lack of progress Congress is demonstrating toward renewing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA, which was drafted by then Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., approved by both branches of Congress and signed by President Clinton in 1994, provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women. The act established the Office of Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice and imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted of these crimes. This law has been a powerful tool used to protect and support victims of violence. However, with media attention focusing on the latest moves to avoid the fiscal cliff, Congress’s lack of action to restore VAWA has been essentially ignored.
The process for the reauthorization of VAWA has been frustrating. In April 2012, the Senate voted to reauthorize the act. The House, however, modified the bill by passing a measure that omits provisions for Native Americans, illegal immigrants, gay men and lesbians. YWCA Metropolitan Chicago is appalled by the efforts of our public officials to intentionally exclude certain victims from VAWA assistance. This provision creates a double standard and potentially, double victim: first of rape and/or violence and then of discrimination.
VAWA is a fundamental piece of legislation which addresses heinous crimes in our country. As a society, we are still too uncomfortable to really talk about rape and domestic violence, and by ignoring these issues, we hurt and isolate victims. By imposing the restrictions proposed by the House, we are choosing to hurt victims again by ostracizing women of color, immigrants, gays and lesbians. Excluding possibly our friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues from the bill implies these individuals are somehow not worthy of our country’s full support.
Since its beginning, VAWA has benefited from bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. I urge both Democratic and Republican advocates in Congress to stop making violence against women a partisan issue and to act to support all victims of violence.
— Pamela Bozeman-Evans, Interim Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago
