AFGE Supports the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization
Friday, January 6, 2012
According to workplace statistics used by Senator Leahy at his July 13, 2011 hearing, one in four women and one in seven men are victims of domestic violence. This is a worker health and safety issue that the Women’s and Fair Practices Departments believes impacts the well-being of not just our membership, but the workplace as a whole.
In 1994, the passage of the original Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), championed by then Senator Biden and signed into law by President Bill Clinton was a watershed in the way this country looked at domestic violence. For far too long, victims of domestic violence had hung their heads in shame, refused to report incidents of violence by intimate partners; but with the passage of VAWA, those victims were given a beacon of hope, that they would be protected if they came forward.
VAWA created programs to provide support, services and safety for both male and female victims of domestic and sexual violence. S. 1925 strengthens already existing programs, attempts to better serve immigrant and tribal women who suffer abuse, and extends the funding to new and different organizations who offer victim services. The legislation includes important grants for housing assistance and training healthcare providers. The current VAWA reauthorization bill builds on the awareness raised by VAWA when it was enacted in 1994 and reauthorized ever since.
Many provisions of the Violence Against Women’s Act were set to expire on September 30, 2011, with little fanfare or press. Congress did act to extend the provision set to expire by including it within continuing resolutions. Continuing resolutions, quite frankly, are not adequate when it comes to worker health and safety. There is a time for action, and it is now.
**Send this letter to your Senator asking them to cosponsor S. 1925, the VAWA reauthorization act.**
* NVP Thomas' letter to Senate
* WFP Report on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization