Sept. 12 (UPI) — The White House Thursday marked the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act that President Joe Biden wrote and championed as a U.S. senator, with new actions to reinforce government work on preventing violence against women.
“VAWA was the first comprehensive federal law to focus on preventing and addressing violence against women and to provide justice and support for survivors,” the White House said in a statement.
“The law transformed the nation’s response to gender-based violence by recognizing that domestic violence and sexual assault are not a private matter, but rather a violation of fundamental rights and dignity.”
The White House statement said Biden would deliver remarks about the landmark legislation, reflecting on the progress made “in reducing violence and supporting survivors as well as the work ahead to realize VAWA’s promise of a nation where every woman and girl can live free from fear, free from violence and free from abuse.”
New funding will be provided from the Department of Justice to address gender-based violence and to support survivors. More than $690 million in grants is expected.
More funding will also be awarded from the DOJ for the new National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals, as authorized by the VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2022, according to the White House.
The center will help law enforcement, prosecutors and victim services organizations to prevent, enforce, and prosecute cybercrimes with $5.5 million in new grant funding.
Another DOJ initiative will expand technical assistance and federal funding for state and local law enforcement programs that remove guns from domestic abusers convicted of domestic violence crimes or subject to protective orders.
The White House said the DOJ will work to narrow “the boyfriend hole” by “prohibiting persons convicted of misdemeanor crimes in dating relationships from purchasing or possessing firearms for at least five years.”
More steps are being taken across a range of issues related to reducing violence against women.
The Biden-Harris administration said it is working to fully implement the VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2022’s expanded protections and services to combat violence against women and support survivors.
In marking the VAWA 30th anniversary, the White House shared a quote from the then-Sen. Joe Biden in 1990: “For too long, we have ignored the right of women to be free from the fear of attack based on their gender,” he said at Senate hearing. “For too long, we have kept silent about the obvious.”
