Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): Social Policy Analysis

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

The report responding to section 40507 of the Violence Against Women Act from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services- National Institute of Mental Health determined that:

Domestic violence, alternatively referred to as Intimate Partner Violence, is defined by the Department of Justice 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.” While domestic violence is commonly thought of as only physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence can also be emotional, economic, or psychological. Domestic violence has remained constant in society throughout history, even though over time society’s response to the issue has changed. While domestic violence affects everyone regardless of race, gender, age, etc. it is estimated that approximately 90% of all victims are women. For the purpose of this paper, I will be focusing on

Throughout history, women have continuously found themselves as the subjects of oppression. Although the treatment of women has drastically changed over time, women are still exposed to much of the violence that exists today. Per the National Organization for Women, “young women, low-income women and some minorities are disproportionately victims of domestic violence and rape” (National Organization for Women, 2016). Women-centered violence is highly prevalent and reoccurring all over the world, even in our local communities. Individuals may be hesitant to consider just how much violence against women affects their communities.

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.

This non-profit agency services to victims of rape and any type of sexual assault and provides trained advocates to offer hospital and/or legal accompaniments. The agency also provides specialized crisis counseling for victims and their families (contactburlco.org). My work at Contact was focused on a grant called Media Literacy, which offered preventative education within school systems and the community. Media literacy helped students and individuals learn the importance of becoming critical consumers of the media in order to develop their own opinions, as well as understand how media messages shape our culture and society (medialiteracyproject.org). Advocating for media justice is important when discussing the Violence Against Women Act in terms of thinking about how the media portrays women and the issues of violence. Today, we see countless media in which women are being objectified and also how the media desensitizes viewers to violence. While working at Contact of Burlington County I was able to teach youth to be proactive media consumers and media upstanders by choosing to make a positive stand on behalf of themselves and others. The Violence Against Women Act also provides programs to combat these views on domestic

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

The Violence against Women Act (VAWA) delineated funding programs to avoid violence against women and set a national domestic violence hotline. Also, new protections were given to victims of domestic abuse, such as confidentiality of new address and modifications to migration regulations that permit an abused partner to apply for permanent residency. This act also discourses federal tools to accuse domestic violence offenders in certain situations including firearms or interstate travel or activity. The federal domestic violence statutes offer

The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 is a United States policy that was put in place by the 113th Congress on January 3, 2013. The VAWA first passed in 1994 was under the guidance of then-Senator Joe Biden. Violence against women has become an important matter in the U.S. that needs to be addressed. This paper will give an in-depth analysis and will provide a better understanding of the VAWA policy. The policy analysis includes delineation and an overview of the policy, a historical analysis, social analysis, economic analysis, political analysis, policy evaluation, and current proposals for policy reform. The goal of the VAWA 2013 is to improve the response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

Domestic violence is an epidemic in our society with dramatic, negative effects on individuals, families and communities. Domestic violence is a crime that knows no economic, racial, ethnic, religious, age or gender limits. Women who are victims of domestic violence most likely are also victims of sexual assault and, stalking. A domestic violence victim may experience systematic rape in addition to physical and psychological abuse. According to Backman, (p.54) nearly one in every four women are beaten or raped by a partner during adulthood. Three women are killed by a current or former intimate partner each day in America, on average women are at an increased risk of harm shortly after separation from an abusive partner.

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”

Since 1970, there has been an increasing and alarming rise 138 percent of violent crimes committed by women. Still, while the equivalent percentage compared to male violence is small 15 percent to 85 percent the fact that the numbers have elevated so drastically points to something changing in society.

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

According to data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), in 2003 to 2012, domestic violence accounted for almost a quarter of all violent crimes committed. According to the same survey conducted, only 55% of those domestic violence crimes were reported to the police. Based on a study that was conducted on past domestic violence crimes, there was a decline of domestic violence from 1994-2003 but in recent years, depending on the type of intimate partner violence, each either had a small increase or stayed the same (Truman, 2014).