Senate Passes Violence Against Women Act of 2005

Senate Passes Violence Against Women Act of 2005

The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill last night to help protect our nation's women and children from domestic violence. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005, authored by U.S. Senators Joe Biden (D-DE), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) renews several successful anti-violence programs and will help law enforcement and social services coordinate their efforts to assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, regardless of gender. It also increases federal funding for rape crisis centers, expands housing services for women fleeing violent homes, enhances medical and counseling services for battered women and provides help to children exposed to domestic violence. The bill also targets more resources for immigrant women, women living in rural areas, and Native American women.

Senator Biden, author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and VAWA 2000 called the legislation "critical to ensuring the safety and well being of our nation's women and children."

"We broke tremendous ground in 1994 and 2000. We wrote new domestic violence laws and distributed over $3.8 billion dollars to states and towns to train and support police, lawyers, judges, nurses, shelter directors and advocates to end domestic violence and sexual assault. And as a result, we've seen an almost 50% drop in domestic violence over the last decade," said Biden, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. "While the numbers show we are moving in the right direction, the problem of domestic violence continues to damage our communities and we must do more."

"The new Violence Against Women Act provides a comprehensive approach to combating domestic violence and sexual assault. It stiffens penalties for repeat offenders, provides more money for vital services and will help battered women get the assistance and support they need," continued Biden. "It also focuses on breaking the cycle of violence through education and helping rural victims in under-served areas."

"We have made substantial progress over the past decade, but we are by no means finished," said Senator Hatch. "In 2003, 27 Utahns died because of domestic violence, and far too many women live in constant fear and lack the means to get the help they so desperately need and deserve. This law reaffirms our commitment to helping victims of violence pick up the pieces of their lives and move forward. Its new programs may also help to prevent these tragedies from occurring in the first place."

"Violence against women knows no social, economic, or geographic bounds. Women and children are assaulted in their homes, on the streets, in the workplace, and on campuses," said Senator Specter, who chairs the Judiciary Committee. "The passage of this important legislation demonstrates our nation's commitment to preserve and improve the vital federal, state, and local programs that will combat violence against women and provide resources to strengthen families. I applaud the leadership of Senators Biden and Hatch on this issue and thank my Senate colleagues for recognizing the significance of this reauthorization."

According to the Department of Justice, on average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. More than 2.5 million women are victims of violence each year and nearly one in every three women experiences at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood. Reports also indicate that up to ten million children experience domestic violence in their homes each year.

"VAWA 2005 takes a community-based approach to helping victims become safe, secure, and self-sufficient. Not only does it provide money to crack down on violent abusers, but it will also provide victims with housing support and will continue serving the needs of children exposed to domestic violence and sexual assault," said Biden.

Like the original program, VAWA 2005 steers federal money to local governments and non-profit organizations that play a direct role in reducing sexual assault, stalking and domestic violence. Delaware has received nearly $10 million in VAWA funding, using the money to, among other things, train sexual assault nurse examiners, provide free legal services to victims of abuse and open shelters, including a shelter in Sussex County to serve Hispanic women and children.

Biden also noted that VAWA 2005 will not only saves lives, but also save money. A 2002 university study found that money spent to reduce domestic violence saved nearly ten times the potential costs incurred between 1995 and 2000. During that time, the federal government spent $1.6 billion for the Act's programs and avoided spending an estimated $14.8 billion on medical, legal and other victimization costs that arise from domestic violence. On an individual level, the bill costs roughly $15.50 per woman in the United States and saves an estimated $159 per woman.

The House of Representatives passed it's version of the bill last week. The bill now goes to a House-Senate conference committee where a compromise must be reached on a final version of the bill. The final version must then be approved by the full Congress and signed into law by the President.

A summary of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 follows:

Title I on the criminal justice system will: (1) renew and increase funding to over $400 million a year for existing grant programs for law enforcement, lawyers, judges and advocates; (2) stiffen existing criminal penalties for repeat federal domestic violence offenders; and (3) update the criminal law on stalking to incorporate new surveillance technology like Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

Title II on critical victim services will: (1) create a new, dedicated grant program for sexual assault victims that will strengthen the 1,300 rape crisis centers across the country; (2) reinvigorate programs to help older and disabled victims of domestic violence; (3) strengthen existing programs for rural victims and victims in underserved areas; and (4) increase funding to $5 million a year for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Title III on youth and children includes measures to: (1) promote collaboration between domestic violence experts and child welfare agencies; and (2) enhance to $15 million a year grants to reduce violence against women on college campuses.

Title IV contains prevention strategies and programs to engage men and boys in efforts to end domestic and sexual violence.

Title V strengthens the health care system's response to family violence with programs to train and educate health care professionals on domestic and sexual violence, foster family violence screening for patients, and more studies on the health ramifications of family violence.

Title VI eases the housing problems for battered women by including (1) $20 million grant programs to facilitate collaboration between domestic violence organizations and housing providers; (2) programs to combat family violence in public and assisted housing, including new requirements that domestic violence victims may not be evicted or cut off from voucher services because of the violence; and (3) enhancements to transitional housing resources.

Title VII creates a national clearinghouse on workplace responses to help victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Title VIII improves and expands the immigration protections for battered women. It would ensure that victims of trafficking are supported with measures such as permitting their families to join them in certain circumstances, expanding the duration of a T-visa, and providing resources to victims who assist in investigations or prosecutions of trafficking cases brought by state or federal authorities.

Title IX focuses more closely on violence against Native American women by creating a new tribal Deputy Director in the Office on Violence Against Women dedicated to coordinating federal policy and tribal grants.

http://biden.senate.gov/