The Truth About the Violence Against Women Act
Washington,
April 5, 2019
Tags:
National Security
The Truth About the Violence Against Women Act: I have consistently supported the funding of VAWA programs because all victims of violence deserve resources that help to protect and keep them safe. In February of this year, the VAWA programs expired. Instead of continuing the bipartisan tradition of reauthorizing VAWA, House Democratic leaders have sabotaged this legislation and are forcing a vote this week on a partisan version of this bill purely for political gain. This new authorization contains a laundry list of liberal proposals that could put victims in greater danger. This includes a new provision that would implement “alternative justice responses” for sexual assault and domestic violence cases where a victim and an abuser would be put in the same room together. Allowing this only re-victimizes the abused individual. The new authorization would allow male prisoners to be kept with the female population, and have males be placed in women's protective shelters. Additionally, the new authorization strips religious freedom protections that would allow private religious agencies to continue serving victimized women. The right way to proceed on this legislation is to engage in a bipartisan process to shape and update the original 1994 law. That’s why I cosponsored Representative Elise Stefanik’s (NY-R) clean, one-year extension of VAWA’s provisions that expired in February 2019. This would give members of Congress time to negotiate a bipartisan bill in good faith. All women, like my wife and daughter, deserve legislation that protects them and their well-being, not partisan gimmicks. |
