<title>Violence Against Women Act : Domestic Violence: A National Epidemic

Domestic violence is against the law.

In 1994, U.S. Senator Joseph Biden sponsored legislation called the Violence Against Women Act, as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The legislation passed with bipartisan support of 226 sponsors in the House and 68 in the Senate.

Here's what Senator Biden had to say a few years after passage of the Violence Against Women Act:

"I consider the Violence Against Women Act the single most significant legislation that I've crafted during my 35-year tenure in the Senate. Indeed, the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 was the beginning of a historic commitment to women and children victimized by domestic violence and sexual assault. Our nation has been rewarded for this commitment. Since the Act's passage in 1994, domestic violence has dropped by almost 50%, incidents of rape are down by 60%, and the number of women killed by an abusive husband or boyfriend is down by 22%. Today, more than half of all rape victims are stepping forward to report the crime. And since we passed the Act in 1994 over a million women have found justice in our courtrooms and obtained domestic violence protective orders."

Even with Senator Biden's comments about more domestic violence victims "stepping forward", according to national statistics, domestic violence still remains the most under reported crime.

Domestic violence is all about "power and control", a complete domination of one person over another in a marriage or other partnership. Many people seem to think that domestic violence isn't real unless there are physical injuries or when someone is murdered by a partner. That philosophy can be seen in our state laws, which in a lot of cases, seem to not even render a proper definition of domestic violence. It states can't even define it, how in the world can they hope to control it?

The U. S. Department of Justice says that a woman suffers from domestic violence once every 11 seconds in these United States. In other areas, this statistic reads - every 9 seconds, but the time doesn't really matter. The fact remains that over 4 Million women suffer the affects of domestic violence every year.

According to a fact sheet published by the White House, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has improved the criminal justice response to violence against women by:

holding rapists accountable for their crimes by strengthening federal penalties for repeat sex offenders and creating a federal “rape shield law,” which is intended to prevent offenders from using victims’ past sexual conduct against them during a rape trial;

keeping victims safe by requiring that a victim’s protection order will be recognized and enforced in all state, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions within the United States;

increasing rates of prosecution, conviction, and sentencing of offenders by helping communities develop dedicated law enforcement and prosecution units and domestic violence dockets;

ensuring that police respond to crisis calls and judges understand the realities of domestic and sexual violence by training law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim advocates and judges; VAWA funds train over 500,000 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and other personnel every year;

This fact sheet also indicates that the Violence Against Women Act has brought about positive change:

More victims are reporting domestic and sexual violence to police, and reports to police are resulting in more arrests.

States have reformed their laws to take violence against women more seriously:

Over 35 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted laws addressing domestic and sexual violence, and stalking in the workplace. These laws vary widely and may offer a victim time off from work to address the violence in their lives, protect victims from employment discrimination related to the violence, and/or provide unemployment insurance to survivors who must leave their jobs because of the abuse.

Attorney General Eric Holder released this statement on the 18th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act:

“Since the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) became law 18 years ago today, VAWA has vastly improved our ability to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and has helped countless victims of these crimes get access to needed services. "

According to a news report by MSNBC:

"Congress voted to reauthorize VAWA in 2000 and again in 2005, but the House stalled the act this spring when Republicans took issue with the Senate’s new expansions. The revised version extended provisions to LGBT individuals, immigrants, and Native Americans to receive protection. The House however rejected the Senate’s version and countered with its own act that excluded those groups.

Full reauthorization has been stymied, and the fate of the act remains unknown. VAWA is set to expire at the end of December and if the House does not move to reauthorize the Senate’s version by the end of this year, legislative process on the act would start over at the start of next year."

The "Violence Against Women Act" was written with much concern and hope to do something about domestic violence and abuse, but the law in itself can't do much.

We, as citizens of the greatest nation on earth, must come to the conclusion that violence against women is an act that will not be tolerated and we must let our elected government officials know.

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If you are a small business owner and aren't currently supporting any particular cause or campaign, why not join BWC Marketing in supporting public awareness of domestic violence? Domestic violence is all around us. It's in our neighborhoods and the places we work. It's not a private matter and it doesn't happen to just poor people. The only way we can help stop it is to talk about it. I would like to hear what you have to say. Please join me on LinkedIn and Google+.--Ken