Abstract
The growing number of domestic and sexual assaults on women and their children called for passage of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994, to protect women from these abuses. The focus of this study consequently takes into consideration what ignited the formation of VAWA and the problems associated with it during the enactment process. Furthermore, the article stipulates how activists struggled to draft policies and the interventions they incorporated in relation to the needs of women. Also, it has been noted that securing enough funding was a big issue faced by activists to facilitate the committee activities as well as supporting victims of violence. To understand the challenges and successes of VAWA, overall history of the Act and its stages, such as VAWA I and VAWA II, have been highlighted. Analysis of the Act’s 10-years in place has also been looked at. In this the regard, the article evaluated positive and negative results of the Act. At this point, concerns and gaps that emerged after the enforcement of the act have been systematically discussed.
The Violence Against Women Acts (VAWA), the initial federal law to completely tackle violence against women and children, signifies a major landmark in the country’s response to domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking. A decade following this enactment, and on the eve of expected reauthorization, many who have worked with Act and the legislators deciding its fate have to address the gaps that are remaining, incorporating the lack of devoted financing to support key services for casualties of sexual violence.
Problems that Necessitated the Act
According to Laney (2010) studies, Congressional passage of VAWA was finally necessitated by 10-years of increasing unease over the escalating violent crime level and the attention women as crime casualties. Starting in the 1960s, the rate of violent crime increased steadily, prompting anxiety from both the federal administration and the public. During 1970s grassroots movements began to emphasize the need for behavioral change concerning violence against women and their children (Babcock, 2013).
Consistent with Hollander (2014) report, the VAWA has improved local, state, and federal responses to sexual abuse by promoting reforms in public policy, attitude, and law. Nevertheless, a lot still need to be done so as to address fully continuing and emergency needs of sexual assault and their families. As well, whereas the VAWA started to progress in consolidation the criminal justice systems' reaction to sexual violence, it is clear that core service, financing, and policy gaps remain. In case the VAWA targets to motivate victims to participate in the criminal justice systems, there is associated obligation to offer for the emergency, emergent and on-going emotional recovery, economic and legal needs for those similar victims (Abrahamson & Cantrell, 2013).
History of Activism and Legislative Act
Commencing at the end of 1980's and intensifying during the begging of 1990's, activists for the victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and stalking organized to introduce a federal law to address these offenses (Babcock, 2013). In the 2000 Presidential poll, when "tough on crime" memos play a significant role in both contenders' campaigns, violence against women advocates around the state, and local movements started to involve in alliance-building to seek backing for federal legislation. This coalition drafted a policy that would ultimately become the initial Violence Against Women Act. This coalition, however, failed to include substantial representation from the sexual abuse field. By 1990, the anti-domestic violence society had accomplished more interrelation than the anti-sexual violence programs and domestic abuse had by now developed a nationwide infrastructure. Thus, as the concept of VAWA came to the realization during 1990, domestic violence came into the process with higher strength and organization (Itzin, 2014).
Simultaneously, the Senate Judiciary Commission, under the leadership of Senator Joseph Biden began a multi-million review of the states of violence against women in the United States. During 1993, a report was conveyed, clearly stipulating the Commission’s justification for initiating, and support for the VAWA (Wilkinson, 2015).
The report resolved that a national harmonized response to the problem of abuse against women is long unsettled. It took numerous years, but VAWA, first introduced during 1991, finally passed in 1994. When it eventually passed, it attracted almost unopposed bi-partisan support and comprised a combination of fresh criminal penalties and countless of grant programs to back both local and state criminal justice and fatality services actions to violence against women (Hollander, 2014).
Although the Act aimed to address sexual violence, stalking, and domestic violence, it failed to identify the equitable allocation of grant finances for victim services amongst all three crime fields. The initial VAWA did, nevertheless, craft a new formula grant program for education and rape prevention, offering essential funding support for rape emergencies hotlines, victims counseling, training allied experts like medical and law enforcement staff, and education programs in secondary schools and colleges (Abrahamson et al., 2013). At long last, the original VAWA provided much-required grant finances to support a key criminal justice based method to responding to violence against women. Nevertheless, whereas addressing some of the necessities of victims of violence and those who strive to help them, this intervention created a considerable public policy gap by not incorporating funding for basic services for casualties of sexual violence (Laney, 2010).
Effect of VAWA I
While the original authorization duration for VAWA came to a conclusion, indications that behavioral and attitudinal changes were taking place throughout the nation arose (as cited in Mcmullin, 2012, p. 17). And, as little to no empirical/practical evidence measuring the efficacy of VAWA is obtainable, anecdotal evidence shows that the first VAWA was a successful beginning. A report in 1999 by Senator Biden claimed that they have successfully started to change perceptions, attitudes and behaviors linked to violence against women. The report also suggested that 5-years following VAWA became legislation, it is evidently factual that the state of affairs that was present before its passage has changed for the better (Niewenhous, 2011).
Commencing in 1997, domestic and sexual violence activism movements and campaigners met to deliberate strategies of carrying on with VAWA and constituted a committee to craft a new version of the bill. Their attempt lead to a bill that determined necessary technical reforms, developed new grant programs, and improved authorization levels for current grant programs. In this session of legislative action, the sexual violence area was more active in crafting the bill and amassing support for enactment. Consequently, the final version of the bill incorporated a stronger attention to the requirements for the victims and the personnel working for them (Babcock, 2013).
VAWA received great support and was passed in 19999 and later signed into law by President Clinton. VAWA II has authorized 3.3 billion dollars for the financial year 2000-2005, accounting for a significant rise over the first VAWA. As well, funding for the initial nationwide resource center on sexual abuse was established via the Rape Preclusion and Education Grant Program (Abrahamson et al., 2013).
Analysis of the First One Decade of VAWA
After the first 5-years of VAWA, empirical analysis of the efficacy of the Act was accessible. However, after 10-years, a negligible number of assessments started to pop up (Niewenhous, 2011). Regrettably, because of the condition of grant financing offered via the Act, with weight placed on regional authorities, state control through formulary grants, and some flexible grant programs, the general effectiveness of the Act is still hard to measure. By 1991, only two evaluations measuring the effectiveness of each grant programs existed. Regrettably, neither provided conclusions concerning the general efficacy of the Act.
The analysis of the STOP Formula Grant Program, nevertheless, offered empirical proof that grant funds from VAWA excessively distributed to deal with domestic violence. The 2000 evaluation findings found that less focus and STOP financing is committed to sexual abuse than to domestic abusevirtually 93%of law enforcement and hearing of STOP projects is the study indicated their agency concentrated mainly on domestic violence, in comparison with 7% reporting a main concentration on sexual assault (Hollander, 2014).
Positive Results of the VAWA
Changes in the Law – One of the dynamic concerns of domestic and sexual violence advocates, together with the original Congressional backers of the Act, highlighted to the insufficiencies, insensitivities, and inappropriate activities in all divisions of criminal justice system in respect to victims (Itzin, 2014). For instance, violence sexual advocates emphasized law implementation practices which interrogated victims' claims of rape, prosecutors' reluctance to file cases centered on he/she said consent argument, magistrates' lenient sentences, and other identical practices which eventually contributed to reduced willingness of causalities to report complaints. The first Act, in response, contained several laws to initiate charges in the civil and criminal justice system. For instance, VAWA doubled up federal penalties for repeat sex criminals and increased federal penalties for sex offenses (Wilkinson, 2015).
Concerns and Gaps following Decade of the VAWA
Consistent, devoted financing for direct services for sexual violence victims has never been given, either before of via the VIVA and an inequality of financing for central, basic services between domestic and sexual violence remains. Currently, the sexual violence area has not received a source of financing entirely committed to aiding the basic infrastructure of services and approaches used during the response to sexual violence casualties, for example, crisis intervention, court and hospital accompaniment, and continual advocacy and assistance after the abuse. With no funding, local rape emergency centers struggle to offer key services, struggle to secure what funding they could and frequently fear that the financing they have received will not be obtainable in the upcoming years (Niewenhous, 2011).
Additionally, even though the VAWA does not stipulate equal allocation of funds among the violent crimes it addresses, numerous activists in this area maintain that a legislative intention for equality exists. Sexual assault secures less capital and has fewer self-supporting services than domestic violence. And, perchance most disturbingly, the report identified that worker of the Staff of STOP-founded law enforcement, indictment, and private not-for-profit victim service projects continuously claim that their communities have a deficient response to sexual assault casualties that to casualties of domestic violence (Laney, 2010).
References
Abrahamson, J., & Cantrell, R. T. (2013). Violence Against Women Act: Elements & considerations. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science.
Babcock, B. A. (2013). Sex discrimination and the law: History, practice, and theory. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.
Hollander, J. A. (2014). Does Self-Defense Training Prevent Sexual Violence Against Women? Violence Against Women, 20(3), 252-269. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
Itzin, C. (2014). Pornography: Women, violence & civil liberties. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Laney, G. P. (2010). Violence Against Women Act: History and federal funding. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service.
Mcmullin, K. (2012). An Analysis of the Assets for Independence Act of 1998 for Abused Women. Violence Against Women, 6(10), 1066-1084. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
Niewenhous, M. D. (2011). The Violence Against Women Act: A powerful tool to combat gender-base violence. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Bar Institute, Continuing Legal Education.
Wilkinson, J. (2015, March 17). Dodd-Frank Wall Steet Reform 268 in the last year. Retrieved February 27, 2016, from https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/10/20/2014-24284/violence-against-women-act
