Congress Must Reauthorize the Real VAWA And Reject “VAWA Lite”

HERvotes is joining our voices together in a blog carnival urging passage of the “real” Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization–the bipartisan bill that has already passed the Senate.

The House has passed a version of VAWA reauthorization that some have called “VAWA Lite” or “fake VAWA” – because it removes the Senate bill’s provisions addressing safety on campuses and protections for LGBT, immigrant and Native American survivors of violence.

Every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. Domestic violence results in more than 2 million injuries every year. Three women die every day in the U.S. as the result of domestic violence.

Since the passage of VAWA in 1994, the rate of intimate partner violence has declined by 67 percent. VAWA provides services to victims of violence and has improved the criminal justice response to violence against women.  But the last reauthorization of VAWA expired December 31, 2011.

Eliminating violence against women is not–must not–be a partisan issue.

HERvotes urges the House to pass the bipartisan Senate VAWA and extend VAWA’s lifesaving programs and services for another five years.

Join us by sharing the posts below on Facebook, Twitter (using the hashtag #HERvotes), and other social media. And be sure to follow @HERvotes on Twitter!

#HERvotes, a multi-organization campaign launched in August 2011, advocates women using our voices and votes to stop the attacks on the women’s movement’s major advances, many of which are at risk in the next election.

Part of the #HERvotes blog carnival.

Read More:

 

Turning “Ifs” into “Whens”: College Students Like Me Need Reauthorization of a Full VAWA – Dana Bolger, NWLC

Violence Exists. Women Exist. The Violence Against Women Act Should Too – Tessa Ross, Women’s Campaign Fund

AAUW Rallies for Inclusive VAWA – Laura Dietrich, AAUW

Violence Against Women at College? Something to Worry About – Allyson Bach, NWPC

Inadequate Legislation Empowers Abusers – Anny Bolganio, Coalition of Labor Union Women

Violence is Violence, No Matter What Gender – Samantha Aster, NWPC

Class Matters: Why VAWA Needs to Be Reauthorized – Danielle Marryshow, NWPC

Tragedy in Springfield, Mass.: When VAWA and Local Domestic Violence Intersect – Mary Reardon Johnson, YWCA USA

Perpetrators Don’t Discriminate, So Why is Congress? – Maggie Fridinger, National Council of Women’s Organizations

Save Our Campuses: Pass VAWA – Dani Nispel, National Council of Women’s Organizations

Empower Women: Reauthorize VAWA Today! – Hailey Cayne, Coalition of Labor Union Women

Joining the Chorus for VAWA – Arezu Kaywanfar, National Council of Jewish Women

Pass a Final Violence Against Women Act that Includes Campus SaVe – Chelsea Feuchs, Jewish Women International

Saving VAWA – Rev. Dr. E. Faye Williams, National Congress of Black Women

 NASW Still Supports Passage of Violence Against Women Act – National Association of Social Workers

Violent Against Women Act Helps Kids Too – Martha Burk

About

Kim Gandy is a lawyer and women's rights leader, having been active in movements for equality for more than 30 years. She was twice elected national president of the National Organization for Women, term-limited in 2009 after eight years, and now is Vice President and General Counsel of the Feminist Majority Foundation. In 2009 she was a resident Fellow of the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. During her tenure at NOW, Gandy was a lead organizer of the million-plus 2004 March for Women's Lives and led a multi-issue agenda committed to achieving equality for women, advancing reproductive freedom, promoting diversity and ending racism, stopping violence against women, winning LGBT rights, and ensuring economic justice. Gandy regularly appears on television and radio, as well as in print and internet media. She is an active leader in the progressive community, serving currently as Chair of the Board of Free Press, the media reform organization, on the board of Legal Momentum, the women's legal defense and education fund, and on the advisory committees of Ms. Magazine and Take Your Daughters and Sons To Work Day. She has served on a variety of nonprofit boards, including the Executive Committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the Rainbow/PUSH coalition.