A group of bipartisan U.S. Senators announced on February 9th 2022 the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act(VAWA). This act will reauthorize the VAWA that expired in 2018. 

The Violence Against Women Act is a federal law signed and passed by former President Bill Clinton on September 19, 1994 that creates compendious cost-effective responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  Since its sanctioning, VAWA programs have administered and significantly improved federal, tribal, state, and local responses to these kinds of crimes. It also created the first U.S. federal legislation acknowledging domestic violence and sexual assault as crimes; therefore, creating more productive community based resources to combating violence against women. VAWA gives funding towards supporting sexual assault victims as well as investigating and prosecuting those who have committed sexual assault. 

In 2022, violence against women is still extremely prevalent. Nationwide, 81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime. Native Americans are at the greatest risk of sexual violence. 

In order to combat this terrible statistic, Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has established her Alaska tribal public safety empowerment pilot program. This program aims to address the public safety concerns of Alaska Native Villages. 

“This bipartisan legislation works to empower victims, bolster supportive services to those who have been victims of violence, strengthen law enforcement, and improve existing statutes to close loopholes, and correct injustices that have existed even before VAWA’s inception. The Alaska tribal public safety pilot builds on Congressman Young’s concept and provides a targeted solution to a unique Alaska problem,” said Murkowski. “Communities all across Alaska have lacked means to seek help or justice for far too long. This legislation addresses those existing problems and will help communities in preventing violence toward women and children and keep them safe. That is our ultimate goal.”

Actress Angela Jolie appeared on Capitol Hill with several senators to announce the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.”Standing here, at the center of our nation’s power, I can think only of everyone who’s been made to feel powerless by their abusers, by a system that fails to protect them,” Jolie said. “Parents whose children have been murdered by an abusive partner, women who suffer domestic violence yet are not believed, children who have suffered life-altering trauma and post-traumatic stress at the hands of people closest to them. Anyone who’s been in those situations will tell you just how far they feel from the power concentrated here in this building—the power to pass laws that might have prevented their pain in the first place.”

Sophomore Jieun Paik stresses the importance of the VAWA,  “I think that this is a very important thing, as escaping an environment of abuse is difficult (especially if the person is financially reliant on their abuser, as many women are). I think that these resources need to be more easily accessible, and we need to be working to create conversation on these topics.” 

For far too long America has failed to establish productive approaches and responses to violence against women. With rape culture still heavily prominent and victims of sexual assault still being questioned, there is a need for change on a systemic level. The VAWA is a stepping stone in protecting women.