Violence Against Women's Act (VAWA)

In certain respects, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is indeed workable and achieves some of its intended goals. VAWA was originally designed to make communities and homes safer for women, as well as to protect women’s civil rights. According to Modi, Palmer, and Armstrong (2014), since the implementation of VAWA in 1994, the rate of domestic violence directed towards women declined by 53% between 1993 and 2008. The overall estimated number of victims of intimate partner violence in the U.S dropped immensely, from 2.4 million in 1994 to 907,000 in 2010 (Modi, Palmer & Armstrong, 2014).

For centuries domestic violence has been perceived as a private matter private of which the government has not been concerned about nor was it considered the government’s business to intervene on behalf of a battered spouse. The unlawful nature of this failure for state or federal government intervention against this crime contributed to the systematic abuse of women in the family. The traditions, customs, and common law found in both British and American societies continued right up until the last decade of the 20th century and left the battered wives and very frequently, her children, at the mercy of the husband. It wasn’t until the 1990’s when the government began to do something to protect mothers, wives, and lovers from intimate

Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, is a common problem. As a result, the criminal justice adapted to demands, especially from feminists, who bemoaned the poor response of police, and in turn, the justice system by instituting mandatory arrests. However, mandatory arrests have proven that just like protection or restraining orders, they are not effective in deterring domestic violence (Davis, 2008). Similarly, the arrests do not have a substantial effect on recidivism and create undue procedural complications for the criminal system (Zelcer, 2014). On the contrary, proponents of the approach, argue that it has a deterrent effect on the perpetrators and that it can even protect offer immediate protection for the victims (Clark, 2010). Nonetheless, using statistical evidence and arguments from scholarly sources, this position paper will expose the inefficiencies and constitutional inconsistencies that make mandatory arrests harmful for the batterer, victim, and the criminal justice system.

Domestic violence is skyrocketing in our society. In the U.S., as many as 1.5 million women and 850,000 men were physically assaulted by their intimate partner last year, and numerous children abused by their parents. These sad criminal acts will continue to grow in our society, unless our community takes action to stop these crimes.

Joe Biden and the United States Congress recognized the severity of violence against women and the need for national policy by passing the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. The original Violence Against Women Act, for short VAWA, provided provisions holding offenders accountable for their crimes and ensured programs to provide services for victims of violence (whitehouse.gov, n.d.). VAWA improved the criminal justice response to violence against women with federal funds given to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, etc. every year to ensure adequate training and understanding

The goals of the VAWA act of 1994 was to change attitudes toward domestic violence, foster awareness of domestic violence, improve services and provisions for victims, and revise the manner in which the criminal justice system responds to domestic violence and sex crimes. The VAWA is available to all regardless of income and assets. The policy is also aimed to meeting immediate and long-range goals. Focuses on punishment more than actual prevention and elimination of violence against women.

Subsequently, VAWA continues to have a positive impact on the women who experience violence in the United States. The passing of the 2013 Violence against Women Act has proven that the national sentiment towards victims of domestic violence continues to move in a positive direction. It stands against the injustice being done to the American woman being abused right next door, to the Indian woman on a reservation enduring violence every now and then, to the human trafficked young girl brought here to sell her body, to the man who is silently being abused by his spouse. This act extends compassion and protection to all victims of abuse and it is a powerful legislative effort that guarantees the security and care of these

Reading “Things We Can Demand: Moving beyond Criminalization as a Response to Domestic and Sexual Violence” by Traci Schlesinger, I was moved by

In order to combat domestic violence, many states passed laws and legislation requiring police to make warrantless arrests in response to all domestic violence calls. Harvard scholar, Radha Iyengar, who has studied domestic violence related homicide and the effects of mandatory arrest policies for domestic violence, suggests that although these policies were created to help victims, the solution of mandatory arrests in domestic violence incidents, led to many negative consequences; putting many women in danger, rather than helping them (Iyengar). Though designed to deter violence by offenders, mandatory arrest laws make women more vulnerable to being arrested themselves, lead abuse in domestic violence disputes to become more severe, and deter women from reporting violence to police (Strout).

Domestic Violence is a critical issue negatively impacting women in the world today. There has to be something done to prevent this type of abuse from happening. The results of my research revealed that there are many victims that do not know the type of help that is available and there needs to be major improvement in the way domestic violence cases are handled. Based on my findings, awareness and prevention programs should be implemented in every state in order prevent this type of abuse from happening over and over. Also, each program must be monitored to ensure they are following the proper guidelines in order to better serve the victims and their families.

I am a 38-year-old white American female. Some would argue that there is no better time to a woman in America – we have far more rights and privileges than either our colonial ancestors or women in many third world nations. Yet, even in my lifetime women have achieved milestones like the Violence Against Women Act, originally passed in 1994 but reauthorized and updated in 2013. Females in this country fight battles on many fronts that males, as a group, do not have to deal with on the same level. Women are sexually harassed, assaulted and raped far more than men. I myself have dealt with all three scenarios so far in my 38 years. Sexual harassment, sexual battery, and rape are all social problems that millions of American women face daily.

Domestic violence became a realization and a serious concern in the mid 1970’s for many Americans. “This realization is due to the women advocating on behalf of the battered women movement”

The Violence against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 marked a turning point in our national response to the problems of both sexual assault and domestic violence. For the first time it considered the ways in which sexual assault and domestic violence were similar: they are both crimes of violence against women, rooted in historical and cultural traditions and attitudes. VAWA also addressed the ways our laws failed to prosecute and punish perpetrators of these crimes of violence, while often increasing the trauma experienced by victims. The act included measures designed to protect crime victims' rights and provide crime victims with compensation, establish hotlines for sexual assault and family violence victims, establish sex offender registration and community notification, protect women from "date rape," and coordinate law enforcement and social services to deal with crime in a unified manner.

Domestic violence used to be considered a private family matter and was not considered a societal problem until feminists in the 70's started pushing the matter. Beginning in the 1970’s, social policy toward female victims of domestic assaults focused on improving legal response and

In 1994, Bill Clinton signed the Violence Against Women Act. The VAWA Act improves criminal justice and community based on responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in the United States (“Dating Violence”). This shows that we, as Americans, are moving in the right direction, but because women are not properly informed on the consequences and warnings of dating violence, it will remain