President Bush Signs Violence Against Women Act – VAWA – Into Law
Author: Womens UN Report Network
Date: October 6, 2015
President
Bush Signs Violence Against Women Act – VAWA – Into Law
At a private ceremony in the Oval Office on Thursday, January 5 that included
congressional champions, President Bush signed the Violence Against Women
Act of 2005 into law. “Our homes and communities will be safer and
healthier as a result,” Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler
said.
“We commend Congress for passing this critical legislation, and the President
for signing it so promptly,” she added. “It can significantly improve the
nation’s response to domestic, sexual and dating violence, and stalking.”
The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 contains groundbreaking
initiatives to help children exposed to violence, train health care providers to
support victims of abuse, encourage men to teach the next generation that
violence is wrong, and provide crisis services for victims of rape and sexual
assault. H.R. 3402 is part of the Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of
2005. It also continues efforts to improve the law enforcement response to
violence against women and provide supportive services, such as transitional
housing, to women and children forced to leave their homes because of
violence.
“We urgently need Congress to fully fund all the programs this law contains,”
Soler concluded. “Only if we do that will we be able to say that our nation is
doing all it can to stop domestic and sexual violence, and help victims.”
Among those attending the signing ceremony were First Lady Laura Bush,
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Representatives Mark
Green (R-WI), James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Hilda Solis (D-CA). “This law
supports programs that have been successful in combating domestic violence and
changing attitudes toward violence in the family in America,” Sensenbrenner
said.
“This is a comprehensive law that strikes the right balance between
rejuvenating core programs, making targeted improvements and responsibly
expanding the Violence Against Women Act to reach the needs of
America’s families,” said Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) in a statement. “The
Violence Against Women Act of 2005 provides cities and towns with the
tools they need to combat domestic violence, assist victims and go after abusers
when it occurs.”
This “is a critical step and a national commitment to keep women and children
safe from fear and abuse,” House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a
statement. “We can and must do more to intervene and prevent violence before it
starts and harms generations of families and communities.”
First passed in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act was the first
federal law to comprehensively address violence against women. It was
re-authorized in 2000, continuing the essential work begun earlier and adding
important services for immigrant, rural, disabled and older women.
The new re-authorization will expand and extend the law for five years, with
funding appropriated at approximately $3.9 billion. Congress must determine
actual authorization levels each year, however, and does not always fund
programs at the levels in the appropriation.
================================================================
To
leave the list, send your request by email to:
wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com. Thank you.
Categories: Releases