The Violence Against Women Act: What’s Next?
On April 4, 2019 the House of Representatives passed the 2019 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Since it was introduced in 1994, VAWA has helped millions of survivors. This latest reauthorization strengthens the law to add more funding for violence prevention and expands protections for Native women and LGBTQ survivors. It also closes the “boyfriend loophole” by forbidding dating partners (now in addition to spouses or formerly married partners) convicted of abuse or under a restraining order from firearm purchases. This is critical—take a look at The New York Times article Murders by Intimate Partners Are on the Rise, Study Finds (April 12, 2019) to see why. In it you’ll read that “Homicides by intimate partners are increasing, driven primarily by gun violence after almost four decades of decline, according to a recent study looking at gender and homicide.”
So now what? The future of VAWA now rests with the Senate. Our grantee partner, Women’s Justice NOW is sending their report, Survivors Speak Out: Why We Need the Violence Against Women Act to our country’s senators. You can read the report and learn about ways to take action at SurvivorStoriesNOW.org. Follow Women’s Justice NOW on Twitter and Instagram:@NOW_NYC and on Facebook: @NationalOrganizationForWomen.NYC to keep up with their work.
We’ll be sharing what other grantee partners are doing to advance VAWA, so watch this space and follow us too: Twitter and Instagram: @NYWomensFdn and on Facebook:@NewYorkWomensFoundation