Violence Against Women Act Passed
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was a section of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which was signed into law on this day.
The law was the first one directed toward violence against women, and it created the Office of Violence Against Women in the Justice Department. The major areas of focus include domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. A bill to reauthorize VAWA of 1994 was signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2013.
A separate section of the law authorized the Justice Department to sue local police departments for violations of the constitutional rights of people where there was a “pattern or practice” of violations. See the separate entry on this day for this important police accountability measure.
Visit the Office of Violence Against Women to learn about its programs and research: http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/
Get the latest data on Intimate Partner Violence, 1993–2010: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ipv9310.pdf
Learn about the ACLU’s work on violence against women here
Read about patterns of domestic violence against women here