UNITED STATES
The Garden of Roses: Stories of Abuse and Healing
Virginia Jones
Our politicians are at it again — playing games rather than trying to solve problems. Now they are playing with VAWA. VAWA is the Violence Against Women Act, which was passed in 1994 to improve criminal justice and community support for victims of abuse. Among other things, VAWA provides federal money for domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers and other programs to end abuse and support survivors.
When the act was renewed in 2000 and 2005, congress added provisions enhancing services for various categories of victims including the disabled, teenaged victims of dating violence and others. This year, congress added new protections for illegal immigrants, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender individuals and Native American women. Republicans placed a hold on current legislation, demanding that these new provisions be removed. So far Democrats have refused to comply.
My concern for VAWA comes from what I have learned since 2008, from walking across portions of Oregon each summer to raise awareness about abuse, to support survivors and to connect them with local domestic violence and child abuse agencies. Over the last few years, many of these agencies underwent dramatic budget cuts. Foundations, individuals and governments simply aren’t providing the funds they used to provide.
Abuse doesn’t disappear when funding is cut. Indeed, murder rates for both men and women murdered by intimate partners dropped after congress enacted VAWA in 1994. Even so, various sources indicate that as many as one in four women experience some form of domestic violence during their lifetimes and as many as three women and one man are murdered by an intimate partner every day in the United States.
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