Violence Against Women Act
United States crime legislation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law (Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, H.R. 3355) signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress when prosecutors chose to not prosecute cases. The Act also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Department of Justice.
Long title | An Act to Control and Prevent Crime |
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Acronyms (colloquial) | VAWA |
Enacted by | the 103rd United States Congress |
Citations | |
Public law | Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 103–322 |
Statutes at Large | 108 Stat. 1796 |
Codification | |
Titles amended | 42 U.S.C. |
U.S.C. sections created | 42 U.S.C. ch. 136 (originally expired on February 15, 2019, reauthorized on March 15, 2022) |
Legislative history | |
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Major amendments | |
VAWA was reauthorized on March 15, 2022, by President Joe Biden | |
United States Supreme Court cases | |
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The bill was introduced by Representative Jack Brooks (D-TX)[1] in 1994 and gained support from a broad coalition of advocacy groups.[2] The Act passed through both houses of the U.S. Congress with bipartisan support in 1994, however, House Republicans attempted to cut the Act's funding the following year.[3] In the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court case United States v. Morrison, a sharply divided Court struck down the VAWA provision allowing women the right to sue the accused in federal court. By a 5–4 majority, the Court overturned the provision as exceeding the federal government's powers under the Commerce Clause.[4][5]
VAWA was reauthorized by bipartisan majorities in Congress in 2000 and again in December 2005. The Act's 2012 renewal was opposed by conservative Republicans, who objected to extending the Act's protections to same-sex couples and to provisions allowing battered undocumented immigrants to claim temporary visas, but it was reauthorized in 2013 after a long legislative battle. As a result of the United States federal government shutdown of 2018–2019, the Act expired on December 21, 2018. It was temporarily reinstated via a short-term spending bill on January 25, 2019, but expired again on February 15, 2019. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill reauthorizing VAWA in April 2019 that includes new provisions protecting transgender victims and banning individuals convicted of domestic abuse from purchasing firearms.[6] In an attempt to reach a bipartisan agreement, Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) led months of negotiation talks that came to a halt in November 2019. Senator Ernst has said she plans to introduce a new version of the bill, and hopes it will pass in the Senate.[7]
The Independent Women's Forum has urged Congress to include provisions enhancing penalties for female genital mutilation (FGM) and funding to combat FGM.[8] According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 513,000 women and girls in the U.S. are at risk of FGM or have already been subjected to such abuse.[9] The 2019 House version of VAWA, H.R. 1585, does not include any additional federal penalties for FGM.[10] VAWA was reauthorized on March 15, 2022, by President Joe Biden.