History and Description of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Violence against women has been a societal crisis for decades in the United States and worldwide. In the early 1990s, Congress began to acknowledge the seriousness of the crimes that were being committed against women. The Democratic and Republican parties collaborated to pass a federal law that would provide protection to women affected by domestic violence and physical and sexual assaults. The law would also provide services to the victims and enforce stricter laws to prosecute the offenders. Vice-President Joseph Biden, formerly the Senator of Delaware, sphere headed the historic legislation, now known as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) along with the support of women
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The law acknowledged that women who were violated or killed lived in fear of their lives. The law uncovered that law enforcement agencies and the laws that govern the country failed to protect the women affected by domestic violence and other criminal acts they endured. The law also provided an opportunity to deal with societal issues that have plagued women such as, violence perpetrated against women is no longer a family matter, but a crime and the history of discriminating against woman in the legal system. (Sack, 2004, p. …show more content…
During the court hearings and revisions, men dominated the proceedings and they attempted to silence the women who were some of the main contributors of the legislation. Gleason discussed, that the battle over VAWA was due to men making arguments that made sense to men, but ignored the provisions in which women provided to help acquire the way as insiders and outsiders of the political process and who would also benefit from the law (Gleason, 2001, p. 2). Women are better informants of issues that concern women, but unfortunately, it is not always seen that way. Gleason made a profound statement about the passing of VAWA, she stated, "the enactment of VAWA is a story of perseverance, timing and the rise of women 's power both in and out of government to make their voices heard" (Gleason, 2001 p. 3). With the help of women 's organizations, the law was passed and women 's voices are continuing to be heard, women are continuing to be empowered and women no longer are being re-victimized by the system that was supposed to protect them. Since its inception in 1994, The Violence Against Women Act has had several reauthorizations and revisions. The law was reauthorized in 2000, 2005 and in 2013. Each reauthorization and revision was designed to improve and update the law, provide more services, funding, treatment and protection for women. The reauthorizations and revisions
The law acknowledged that women who were violated or killed lived in fear of their lives. The law uncovered that law enforcement agencies and the laws that govern the country failed to protect the women affected by domestic violence and other criminal acts they endured. The law also provided an opportunity to deal with societal issues that have plagued women such as, violence perpetrated against women is no longer a family matter, but a crime and the history of discriminating against woman in the legal system. (Sack, 2004, p. …show more content…
During the court hearings and revisions, men dominated the proceedings and they attempted to silence the women who were some of the main contributors of the legislation. Gleason discussed, that the battle over VAWA was due to men making arguments that made sense to men, but ignored the provisions in which women provided to help acquire the way as insiders and outsiders of the political process and who would also benefit from the law (Gleason, 2001, p. 2). Women are better informants of issues that concern women, but unfortunately, it is not always seen that way. Gleason made a profound statement about the passing of VAWA, she stated, "the enactment of VAWA is a story of perseverance, timing and the rise of women 's power both in and out of government to make their voices heard" (Gleason, 2001 p. 3). With the help of women 's organizations, the law was passed and women 's voices are continuing to be heard, women are continuing to be empowered and women no longer are being re-victimized by the system that was supposed to protect them. Since its inception in 1994, The Violence Against Women Act has had several reauthorizations and revisions. The law was reauthorized in 2000, 2005 and in 2013. Each reauthorization and revision was designed to improve and update the law, provide more services, funding, treatment and protection for women. The reauthorizations and revisions