The Violence Against Women Act

Approximately 1.3 million women each year are victims of physical assault by a partner in the United States, with larger numbers of such incidents not being reported (Herman, Rotunda, Williamson, & Vodanovich, 2014, p. 2). Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as sexual, physical, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse, which can include sexual violence, psychological and emotional violence, or physical violence (Herman et al., 2014, p. 2). IPV is also known as dating violence, domestic violence, family violence, or spouse abuse.

In order for VAWA true intentions to be carried out, the pilot project needs to be implemented into all tribes and funding also needs to be distributed to every tribe whether recognized by the Unites States government or not. Just because a tribe is not “formal” does not mean that the native women do not experience assault. In fact “Native American women represent a unique class of victims among the larger population…”(Torpy,2008). This idea is still prevalent to today's Native American women and the struggles that they endure in their everyday

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

Each change that has been made to VAWA over the few decades has made some attempts to fill in the holes left by the previous enactments. However, recent executive orders have arguably begun to strip away what VAWA had built. These recent changes are only making this already vulnerable group of women even more vulnerable.

The needs that were aimed to be met by the VAWA of 1994 were to hold rapist accountable for their crime by strengthening federal penalties, mandating that victims are not forced to bear the expense of their own rape exams or for protection orders, increasing rates of prosecution, conviction and sentencing, and educating police. The VAWA has ensured that victims and their families have access to the services such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The legislation created programs within the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services that aimed to reduce domestic violence and improve response to and recovery from domestic violence incidents.

The incidence of intimate partner violence is quite common amongst individuals in the United States. As a result, PTSD and depressive disorder have been consequences associated with this issue, further adding to numerous public health issues that our society is facing. Intimate partner violence not only affects the victim, but the families and society as well. Therefore, efforts must be made to decrease the prevalence of IPV, as well as assisting those individuals who have been victimized in this issue. Past research has associated PTSD with individuals with sexual abuse, but not specific to IPV. One example in particular, included research done amongst women

When it was first introduced some of the policy proposals were trying to protect all women and create programs for them. In the first title Enhancing Judicial and Law Enforcement Tools to Combat Violence Against Women, this policy provided women with classes for combat and training programs. In the second title, Improving Services for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking, it included safety for Indian women and for the U.S. to create programs for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in rural areas. In the third title, Services, Protection, and Justice for Young Victims of Violence, it would include tribal sexual assault parties in the program for rape prevention, and extend through the authorization of the program at rape crisis centers. In title four, Violence Reduction Practices, the policies use Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for academic purposes and research that shows what is best for preventing violence against women and children. In the fifth title, Strengthening the Healthcare System's Response to Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking, this policy would bring better programs not only for domestic and sexual assault victims but for stalking victims as well. In the sixth title, Safe Homes for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking,

In 1984, Congress passed the bipartisan Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), which made a national fund to support victims. Financed by fines paid for by offenders, the Crime Victims Fund bolsters victim services and victim compensation programs that pay a few of a victims out-of-pocket costs from the crime, such as

The mandatory arrest law, falling under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), though originally passed in 1994, has been reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. With the VAWA expiring in 2011, reauthorization of this act, including its

In 1994, Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Sacco, 2015). The bill was meant to help law enforcement respond to violence against women;

“Domestic violence is a type of abuse by one or both partners in marriage, friends, family, dating or cohabitation” (Aziz & Mahmoud, 2010). There are many forms of abuse from verbal and emotional to physical that often escalates over time in intensity for the victim. Data from the criminal justice system, hospital patient medical records and mental health records, police reports, surveys and social services reports of thousands of women revealed that many are injured and killed as a result of violence from someone close to them. “The US Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender” (Robertson & Murachver, 2009). Researchers and the criminal justice system have not been able to agree on a clear definition to domestic violence which can range from physical injury, stalking, verbal abuse and humiliation, denial of shelter and access to money, and intimidation through aggressive behaviors. The definition of domestic violence may vary but the results from physical injury, mental and emotional trauma, and sometimes even death can last a life time.

With grant funding as a source of reward and with the backing of many leaders in the battered women’s movement, VAWA utilized this golden opportunity to encourage states to adopt compulsory arrest policies that permitted domestic violence cases to move forward without the consent of the victims. Eighteen years later, VAWA, an active vocal group of researchers and lawmakers are questioning whether VAWA’s original urge to make law implementation was the basic tool to put a check domestic violence was the right approach. It’s now evident that “VAWA’s focus majorly on law enforcement controls. VAWA has also worked to increased prosecution rates of domestic violence

Violence against women act was passed in 1994. The act was passed as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Violence against Women Act was passed so that domestic violence and sexual assault were acknowledged as crimes. For years throughout history it was normal for violence against women.

Domestic violence is an issue in almost every corner in the world. It is a public health and human rights issue. The accepted levels of violence have changed with history and varies between societies. Here in the United States, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, on average nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused. 1 in 3 women have been victims of physical violence from an intimate partner. The presence of a gun increases the risk of homicide by 500%. On average 3 women are killed each day by an intimate partner, Intimate partner violence is 15% of all violent crime. An analysis done by Every Town for Gun Safety found that 54% of mass shootings were related to domestic or family violence. This paper will be looking at the problem of domestic violence in the United States through the sociological conflict feminist theory.

The final decade of the 20th century yielded many changes as the result of third-wave feminism. In 1993, the United Nations enacted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women which called religious and cultural customs an excuse for gender-based violence (Goldscheid, 2008). In the early ‘90s, the Surgeon General referred to domestic violence as a threat to the health of Americans and in a similar move, the American Medical Association created a campaign targeted at ending domestic violence (Eisler, 1992). Taking its first formal stance on the issue, the outcry of the people lead the United States to pass the Violence Against Women Act in 1994.