Violence Against Women: The Violence Against Women Act
Resources to educate and inform the AACC community about issues related to violence against women.
Information from the U.S. Government
Read the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, signed into law by President Obama.
Explore the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women: From thier website, "The mission of the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, is to provide federal leadership in developing the national capacity to reduce violence against women and administer justice for and strengthen services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking."
Find information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health. Their Violence Against Women pages cover topics including types of violence, getting help, laws and government initiatives.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer research, recommendations and guidelines for 2012-2015 addressing violence against women.
E-books from AACC Truxal Library - barcode from Student ID Card or Library Card required for off-campus use
Violence Against Women in Families and Relationships –by Publication Date: 2009... takes stock of all of the ways in which legislation, programs and services, and even public attitudes have impacted victims, offenders, and communities over the last few decades. Contributors pay special attention to how race, class, and cultural differences affect the experience of abuse.
Violence Against Girls and Women: International Perspectives –by Publication Date: 2013... some data suggests as many as three in every four women face violence against them throughout their lifetimes. The incidences range from the earliest stages of life with infanticide, to child trafficking, sexual assault, and domestic violence, to the end of life by elder abuse. This two-volume set provides a comprehensively broad treatment of the global problem of violence against women.
Women and Violence –by Publication Date: 2008Violence against women is, on a global scale, so common that some experts consider it a normal aspect of women's experiences; and yet research on the issue is subjective and inconsistent. Women and Violence is a comprehensive look at the issue of violence against women and its many appearances, causes, costs and consequences.
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from Mazzone, Jason. "Violence Against Women Act." Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement,Vol. 2, 2004. Ebook Collection, Ebsco. Web. 25 Feb. 2015
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT
Responding to the harm to women caused by domestic abuse, rape, stalking, sexual assault, and other forms of violence, in 1994 Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA contained numerous provisions designed to reduce the frequency of violence against women, to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions, and to provide greater relief to victims. It also authorized $1.62 billion in federal funds over six years for these purposes. The most innovative provision of VAWA created a civil rights remedy allowing victims of violent crimes motivated by gender to bring a legal action against their perpetrators for monetary damages and other relief. However, in 2000, in United States v. Morrison, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the civil rights provision of VAWA was unconstitutional.
BACKGROUND AND KEY PROVISIONS
Congress enacted VAWA following extensive hearings on the pervasiveness of violence committed by men in the United States against women. Congress found that a principle effect of this gender-based violence was to exclude women from full participation in the economic sphere, including by undermining the ability of women to maintain employment and forcing many women into poverty and welfare dependency. Congress determined that existing state laws were inadequate to address the systematic violence against women because such laws often exempted marital rape and precluded recovery for torts committed by a victim's spouse or parent and because police, prosecutors, and judges tended to trivialize domestic violence, rape, and other crimes in which women were victims. Moreover, existing laws did not remedy crimes motivated specifically by gender bias that undermined the place of women as equal citizens.
VAWA used a multipronged approach to address violence against women. Subtitle A, labeled Safe Streets for Women, increased prisons sentences for perpetrators of federal sex crimes and imposed mandatory restitution to victims; provided funding for states to investigate and prosecute violent crimes against women and to improve the safety of parks and public transportation; allowed the use of federal funds for rape prevention and educational programs; and amended the federal rules of evidence to prohibit introducing evidence about a victim's sexual behavior or history in rape trials and other cases. Subtitle B (Safe Homes for Women) funded a national domestic violence hotline, criminalized domestic violence committed across state lines, required states to recognize orders of protection issued in other states, required the collection of data at a federal level on sexual and domestic violence, and increased funding for women's shelters and to educate young people.
Subtitle C of VAWA (Civil Rights for Women), the provision at issue in the Morrison case, made certain gender-based crimes federal civil rights violations. This provision empowered victims of violent crimes motivated by gender to sue their attackers in federal or state court for compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and other remedies. VAWA defined a crime of violence broadly to include any felony under federal or state law against a person or against property if it entailed a serious risk of physical injury to a person. Such crimes were deemed motivated by gender, and therefore subject to a civil action, if committed because of the victim's gender or on the basis of gender and due to an animus toward the victim's gender. This provision made relief available to victims even if the perpetrator of gender-based violence had never been prosecuted under criminal law.
Subtitle D (Equal Justice for Women in the Courts) provided grants to educate judges and court personnel about rape and domestic violence and to study gender bias in the federal courts. Subtitle E (Violence Against Women Act Improvements) increased penalties for federal sex offenses, allowed victims of sexual assault free testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and funded studies about campus-based violence and battered women's syndrome. Subtitle F (National Stalker and Domestic Violence Reduction) enhanced record keeping and information sharing among federal, state, and local government on domestic violence and stalking offenses. Subtitle G (Protections for Battered Immigrant Women and Children) allowed battered immigrant women to seek lawful immigration status without the cooperation of an abusive spouse. Together, these provisions made VAWA a far-reaching response to violence against women.
