Violence Against Women Act

Violence Against Women Act
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to Control and Prevent Crime
Acronyms (colloquial)VAWA
Enacted bythe 103rd United States Congress
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 103–322
Statutes at Large108 Stat. 1796
Codification
Titles amended42 U.S.C.
U.S.C. sections created42 U.S.C. ch. 136 (originally expired on February 15, 2019, reauthorized on March 15, 2022)
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 3355 by Jack Brooks (D–TX) on October 26, 1993
  • Committee consideration by House Judiciary
  • Passed the House on November 3, 1993 (voice vote)
  • Passed the Senate on November 19, 1993 (95–4, in lieu of S. 1607)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on August 10 and 21, 1994; agreed to by the House on August 21, 1994 (235–195) and by the Senate on August 25, 1994 (61–38)
  • Signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994
Major amendments
VAWA was reauthorized on March 15, 2022, by President Joe Biden
United States Supreme Court cases

The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law (Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, H.R. 3355) signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6 billion toward investigation and the prosecution of violent crimes against women, imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted, and allowed civil redress when prosecutors chose not to prosecute cases. The Act also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Department of Justice.

The bill was introduced by Representative Jack Brooks (D-TX)[1] in 1994 and gained support from a broad coalition of advocacy groups.[2] The act passed through both houses of the U.S. Congress with bipartisan support in 1994; however, House Republicans attempted to cut the act's funding the following year.[3] In the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court case United States v. Morrison, a sharply divided court struck down the VAWA provision allowing women the right to sue the accused in federal court. By a 5–4 majority, the Court overturned the provision as exceeding the federal government's powers under the Commerce Clause.[4][5]

VAWA was reauthorized by bipartisan majorities in Congress in 2000 and again in December 2005. The Act's 2012 renewal was opposed by conservative Republicans, who objected to extending the Act's protections to same-sex couples and to provisions allowing battered undocumented immigrants to claim temporary visas, but it was reauthorized in 2013 after a long legislative battle. As a result of the United States federal government shutdown of 2018–2019, the Act expired on December 21, 2018. It was temporarily reinstated via a short-term spending bill on January 25, 2019, but expired again on February 15, 2019. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill reauthorizing VAWA in April 2019 that includes new provisions protecting transgender victims and banning individuals convicted of domestic abuse from purchasing firearms.[6] In an attempt to reach a bipartisan agreement, Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) led months of negotiation talks that came to a halt in November 2019. Senator Ernst said she planned to introduce a new version of the bill, and hoped it would pass in the Senate.[7][needs update] VAWA was reauthorized on March 15, 2022, by President Joe Biden.[needs update]

In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled 8–1 in United States v. Rahimi to uphold the law's domestic violence restraining order which restricts firearm possession for people convicted of domestic abuse.[8]

  1. ^ "Cosponsors - S.11 - 103rd Congress (1993-1994): Violence Against Women Act of 1993". www.congress.gov. September 10, 1993. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  2. ^ "Report: 1 Is Too Many: Twenty Years Fighting Violence Against Women and Girls" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. September 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 21, 2017 – via National Archives.
  3. ^ Cooper, Kenneth (July 15, 1995). "House GOP Budget Cutters Try to Limit Domestic Violence Programs". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  4. ^ Bierbauer, Charles (May 18, 2000). "Supreme Court strikes down Violence Against Women Act". CNN. Archived from the original on February 13, 2008. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  5. ^ Greenhouse, Linda (May 16, 2000). "Women lose right to sue attackers in federal court". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  6. ^ "House passes reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act". CNN. April 4, 2019.
  7. ^ "Senate talks on crafting bipartisan Violence Against Women Act break down". Roll Call. November 7, 2019. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  8. ^ Martin, Nina (June 21, 2024). "Supreme Court Upholds Law Disarming Domestic Abusers". Mother Jones. Retrieved June 21, 2024.