Data Points: The 30th Anniversary of The Violence Against Women Act (featuring Lenora Claire)
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Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Something Was Wrong early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Hi friends, it's Lenora Clare from the upcoming podcast, Credible Threat. I'm guest hosting this episode of Broken Cycle Media's new series of informational episodes, Data Points. These special episodes will include educational information and support on different topics that are important to our community.

I recently had the honor of returning to the White House as a guest for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of VAWA, or the Violence Against Women Act. The Broken Cycle Media team and I thought this would be a great opportunity to highlight the impact and significance of VAWA as both protections and resources for victim-survivors of gender-based violence. Thank you so much for listening. The Violence Against Women Act, VAWA, is a landmark piece of U.S. legislation aimed at addressing and reducing violence against women.

VAWA was first introduced by then-Senator Joe Biden in 1990 and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994 as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. This groundbreaking legislation was part of the first of its kind to specifically draw attention to violence against women as a national crisis, creating new opportunities for victims to seek justice and safety.

Its history reflects a significant shift in how the legal system and government institutions treat issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other forms of gender-based violence. Prior to VAWA, there was a highly inadequate amount of federal attention geared to tackling gender-based violence. Local and state-level response was inconsistent, and victim-survivors had very little recourse.

Calls to action from the feminist and women's rights movements of the 1970s and 80s helped raise awareness to these issues, leading to growing calls for a federal response. The movement informed the foundation of AWA, which was designed to provide this critical support.

The original 1994 Act created several key provisions that have been expanded over time, and that has included grants for services, law enforcement, and prosecution support, interstate protections, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The National Hotline provides crisis intervention and referrals for victims of domestic violence.

Also, VAWA allocated federal funds for programs that include services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This includes the funding and the formation of shelters, hotlines, and legal aid. These laws also strengthen protections for victim-survivors by encouraging more aggressive prosecution of offenders and for the creation of specialized units within police departments and prosecutors' offices to deal with gender-based violence cases.

Another facet of VAWA addressed situations where domestic violence crossed state lines, ensuring that protective orders are enforced nationwide. According to a comprehensive study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, since the creation of VAWA, annual reported intimate partner violence rates against women have dropped by 53% between the years of 1993 and 2008. During those years, rates of intimate partner violence against males declined 54%.

Between 1993 and 2007, the number of intimate partner homicides of females decreased 26%, and the number of intimate partner homicides of males decreased 36%. Since its establishment in 1994, VAWA has been reauthorized four times. Each time, its provisions were expanded and refined to address the needs of survivors in an ever-evolving world. Its most recent reauthorization was in 2022 after a lapse in authorization from 2018 to 2022.

The 2022 reauthorization of VAWA strengthens this landmark law by authorizing all current VAWA grant programs until 2027, and in many cases increasing authorization levels. The goals of these updates would be to offer more comprehensive support for existing survivors and means of prevention for future potential victims.

For example, the 2022 reauthorization expands special criminal jurisdiction of tribal courts to cover non-native perpetrators of sexual assault, child abuse, stalking, sex trafficking, and assaults on tribal law enforcement officers on tribal lands that were not previously involved in VAWA.

The reauthorization also supports the development of a pilot project to enhance the access to safety for survivors in Alaskan Native villages and underserved and marginalized communities, including LGBTQ plus survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

VAWA's 2022 reauthorization also continued to establish more federal protections. For example, it established a federal civil cause of action for individuals whose intimate visual images are disclosed without their consent, allowing a victim to recover damages and legal fees. It also created a new National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals, which is designed to support state, tribal, and local government efforts to prevent and prosecute cybercrimes, including

including cyber-stalking and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. Another goal of the Act's reauthorization is to increase prevention and response to sexual violence, especially through increased support for the Rape Prevention and Education Program and Sexual Assault Services Program.

More support is now offered through the expansion of prevention education for students in institutions of higher education to reduce dating violence, help children who've been exposed to domestic violence, and engage men in preventing violence. The Act's updates also include the enactment of the Fairness for Rape Kit Backlog Survivors Act, which requires state victim compensation programs to allow sexual assault survivors to file for compensation without being unfairly penalized due to rape kit backlogs.

VAWA also works to improve the health care system's response to domestic violence and sexual assault through enhanced training for sexual assault forensic examiners. VAWA's 2022 reauthorization had a role in enacting the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, NICS, Denial Notification Act to help state law enforcement investigate and prosecute cases against individuals legally prohibited from purchasing firearms who try to do so.

President Biden's efforts to reduce and eliminate gender-based violence has also led to the release of the National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, which is a government-wide plan to prevent and address sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, and other forms of gender-based violence.

According to the White House website, the national plan identifies seven strategic pillars. One, prevention. Two, support, healing, safety, and well-being. Three, economic security and housing stability. Four, online safety. Five, legal and justice systems. Six, emergency preparedness and crisis response. And seven, research and data.

And on September 13th, 2024, VAWA's immense impact and 30th anniversary were celebrated with survivors from all over the country. While I previously had the honor of speaking at the White House and Department of Justice with a group of survivors in honor of Stalking Awareness Month in January of 2024, I believe being invited would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was with great pride that I received an invitation to attend the White House's 30th anniversary of VAWA celebration as a guest.

President Biden's speech highlighted not only the advancement since VAWA's inception, but the need for dedicated resources for emerging crimes, such as image-based sexual abuse. He proudly spoke about VAWA's creation of a national hotline for domestic violence, which has received over 7 million calls. Several survivors spoke at the VAWA anniversary event, including Kyle Richard, who shared his story of bystander intervention having been shot twice while stopping a sexual assault in progress.

The event was also attended by luminaries such as Tarana Burke, survivors, activists, and White House staff. While the subject matter is inherently heavy, it was one of the most inspiring and hopeful days of my life. Victims and survivors rarely get a sense of community, so the importance of feeling so seen and heard resonated deeply. For more information about the nonprofit organizations mentioned prior, please visit the episode notes.

For a more comprehensive list of organizations that are working to help eradicate victims of gender-based violence, please visit somethingwaswrong.com backslash resources. Many of the amazing groups listed on the website are only able to exist because of the community's help and support from people like you. If you'd like to find out more information about volunteer opportunities, please feel free to visit the resources page as well and reach out directly to the organization of your choice.

I'm Lenora Clare, and you can find me on social media, with the exception of TikTok, at Lenora Clare, my consulting website, LenoraClareLLC.com, or my private investigation company, SpecialKPI.com. Thank you so much for listening and learning with us.

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