Dani Gagnon

Last Tuesday, Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) reintroduced a revamped the Violence Against Women Act   (VAWA) to the newly-instated 2013 Congress. The bill is now being expedited to the floor by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NC), after it faced roadblocks last December from opposing lead Republicans in the House of Representatives. This is an exciting step as we can expect debate on the issue to heat up in the coming week.

The original VAWA was drafted by, then Sen., Joe Biden, in 1994 and has since been consistently renewed in the following years with strong bipartisan support. Therefore, when the renewal was halted in the last weeks of 2012, the country was shocked to find  itself without legal protection for half of their citizens and their fundamental rights for the first time since its initial passing.

In past years, VAWA’s approval was uncontroversial and passed without a second thought. In 2012, the Senate passed the act with its usual bipartisan support; the question lies in the House. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) have kept quiet on the subject. Recently, there has been speculation that Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) may take on a positive lead role for this agenda and consequently break the stark, debilitating divide  between the parties.

There were major objections to the 2012 version of VAWA because of proposed extended protections for LGBT communities and Native Americans, yet they are still included in the, since then revised, draft. However, the proposed increase in the number of visas for immigrant victims of violence has been removed. Nevertheless, Senator Leahy intends to continue work with the issue by including it in immigrant reform legislation.

Since its original approval, the act has been fueled by strong bipartisan support as VAWA has been a leading force for developments in the field of women’s rights. Despite efforts and some improvement, the Center for Diseases tracks that one out of four women report physical violence committed against them by an intimate partner and one in five women still report that they have been raped in their lifetime. Although these statistics show some improvement, there is still further work to be done.

Amid the difficult financial climate, the revised act bespeaks an awareness of fiscal reality. Currently, there are 13 established programs and the proposed act will move to consolidate them into four major programs in order to create the direct connection between organizations and grant funding. The act’s reorganization for the program administration will further strengthen necessary accountability for funding.

This version of the VAWA continues to uphold the value of expanding protections and services to all citizens. The extension of protection to the LGBT community and Native Americans refers back to our founding principles. The VAWA is one of the rare moments in which we uphold our founding values. As Americans, we aligned ourselves with the mission of working towards a country where all citizens are entitled and legally protected to the liberties which we frequently cite to justify an action and yet, seldom find legal protection for anything less than the majority.