The Violence Against Women Act: A Positive Change

By -
Domestic violence and sexual assault are serious topics to talk about that often leave us with heavy hearts.  However, there have been many positive strives towards ending violence against women that give us a reason for hope. Landmark federal legislation was passed in 1994 entitled the Violence Against Women Act which aims to hold offenders accountable and ensure the provision of direct services to victims.

Fewer people experience domestic violence than before the Violence Against Women Act was enacted in 1994. Between 1993 and 2010, the rate of intimate partner violence declined 67%. Between 1993 to 2007, the rate of intimate partner homicides of females decreased 35% and the rate of intimate partner homicides of males decreased 46%.

More victims are reporting domestic and sexual violence to police, and reports to police are resulting in more arrests. States have reformed their laws to take violence against women more seriously. 

  •  All states have reformed laws that previously treated date or spousal rape as a lesser crime than stranger rape.
  • All states have passed laws making stalking a crime.
  • All states have authorized warrantless arrests in misdemeanor domestic violence cases where the responding officer determines that probably cause exists.
  •  All states provide for criminal sanctions for the violation of a civil protection order.
  • Many states have passed laws prohibiting polygraphing of rape victims.
  • Over 35 states, the District of Columbia, and the U. S. Virgin Islands have adopted laws addressing domestic and sexual violence, and stalking in the workplace. These laws vary widely and may offer a victim time off from work to address the violence in their lives, protect victims from employment discrimination related to the violence, and/or provide unemployment insurance to survivors who must leave their jobs because of the abuse.   
The Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized most recently in 2013.  For more information about the Violence Against Women Act, click here. 

Written by Eckie F.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Priceless – The Movie; Spoiler Alert

By -
               Priceless is a faith-based movie about a story of sex trafficking, aimed to bring awareness to this tragedy. The main character agrees to make a delivery in a truck to earn some money, without knowing what See was delivering. He finds out there are two young women in the back of the truck and seeks to save them from being captured and sold.                I saw this movie when it aired at the Campus Theatre back in December, and I left with mixed feelings. I am super glad people are working to bring awareness to this tragic issue, and I hope it continues. The awareness surrounding human trafficking has increased tremendously over the last several years. For pure entertainment’s sake, it was a great movie. However, as a professional working in a victims’ service field with a special interest in human trafficking, I had a couple concerns.                My first concern deals with the portrayal of police. In the movie, the main character approaches a police officer
Read more

Update on PFC LaVena Johnson, Questions Still Unanswered

By -
We mentioned this victim a while ago on our blog, and wanted to give you an update following a blog posted on The Huffington Post.  I would strongly encourage you to read their blog, as it is more thoroughly researched and reported than this.  Unfortunately, nothing had changed since our last posting.  The family still has no answers, and continue to exhaust all their resources. Although there is not much new to report of their journey, I think it is important to continue to talk about LaVena.  Her loss is in the news for a short time, but this family has lost her forever and misses her...forever.  I would like to add our voice to others calling for a Bill of Rights for Bereaved Military Families .  There has been a Victims of Crime Act since 1984 , and specifically, a Crime Victims' Rights Act since only 2004. Currently the Crime Victims' Rights Act specifically states that if the victim is deceased: "the legal guardians of the crime victim or the representatives of t
Read more

Revenge Porn Covered in Local New Outlet

By -
Image
Local news outlet, Newswatch 16, covered the phenomenon of revenge porn , that we recently posted about. We appreciate their coverage of an important topic, and their respect for victims' privacy by not sharing the names of any websites.  PCADV's Ellen Kramer put it best when she said the practice is used solely to smear and intimidate women.  We hope that increased coverage and awareness of this type of behavior, specifically revenge porn and forwarding sexts to bully others, makes people more cautious of both taking and sharing these types of pictures. 
Read more