ICYMI: Democratic Women’s Caucus Honors the 30th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act
CONTACT: Lizzie Johnson, (202)-590-6073, lizzie.johnson@mail.house.gov (DWC)
**Watch the full press call here**
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, September 12, 2024, the Democratic Women’s Caucus honored the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) via a press call. On the call, DWC Outreach Co-Chair Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Member Services Co-Chair Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), and Communications Co-Chairs Gwen Moore (WI-04) and Shontel Brown (OH-11) spoke about the progress made through VAWA thus far, and the work that remains to protect women and girls from gender-based violence.
Wendy Chun-Hoon, Director of the Women’s Bureau at the Department of Labor, also spoke about the Fostering Access, Rights, and Equity (FARE) grant initiative at the Women’s Bureau, the first DOL grant program dedicated solely to supporting community-based organizations’ efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and harassment at work.
The Congresswomen explained the continued need to focus on protecting women and girls through VAWA and other means:
“We have to make sure that communities have the tools to not only react to violence, but to proactively address the root causes and understand its enduring consequences, said DWC Outreach Co-Chair Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-06). “Survivors need housing, child care, legal assistance, counseling, food, financial assistance, and most importantly, space and time to heal physically, mentally, and emotionally.”
“The Violence Against Women Act reminds us what’s at stake [with funding the government ]... if you want to implement extreme cuts and even shut the government down, part of what’s at stake is funding for women’s shelters, transitional housing, funding for law enforcement to prosecute violent crimes against women, funding for training, funding for outreach, funding for education, and more,” said Communications Co-Chair Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11).
"We have so much more to do. It was very distressing to me to see us backslide during COVID, which demonstrates the vulnerabilities that women face. We had governors telling women to stay home where it’s safe, but home was not a safe place,” said Communications Co-Chair Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-04). “It is really important that we shore up the Crime Victims Fund so that our communities can be prepared when we see these upticks and we can build on the progress of VAWA until we rid our nation of gender-based violence once and for all.”
“The illness, the sickness, that is violence against women and gender-based violence does not know title, it does not know geography, it does not know income, it affects all women in this country,” said Member Services Co-Chair Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-01). “One in four women still experience physical violence by their partner, and with the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women still impacting our communities, we must remain steadfast in the work ahead.”
“Everyone deserves to feel safe and healthy in their homes and at work. We know that domestic violence permeates not just our personal lives but our workplaces too, and that gender-based violence and harassment is not just a safety issue, it’s an economic one,” said Wendy Chun-Hoon, the Director of the Women’s Bureau at the Department of Labor. The Biden Harris administration has an unwavering commitment to ending gender-based violence, releasing the first-ever U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, which lays out a roadmap for a whole-of-government effort to prevent and address gender-based violence in the U.S., including at work. The Women’s Bureau is committed to continuing the effort to eliminate gender-based violence in the world of work through the Fostering Access Rights, and Equity (FARE) grant.”
VAWA was first passed in 1994 as landmark legislation designed to combat domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and other forms of gender-based violence. The law established new criminal provisions to hold perpetrators accountable, grant programs, and comprehensive support and services for countless women.
The Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) has a long history of fighting for survivors of domestic violence and ensuring women and families have the support they need. This year the DWC once again advocated for fully-funding VAWA programs and initiatives in the appropriations process and pushed back against House Republicans when they proposed cuts to VAWA programs and grants in their FY25 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. This week the DWC also hosted a roundtable on the rise of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfake pornography which marks a new era of violence against women.