Laura L. Cooper - Author
Sign up for RSS feed
  • Home
  • Stories & Articles
  • Updates
  • Biography
  • Pursuit of Justice Blog
  • Missing Children

Pursuit of Justice Blog

"I think the first duty of society is justice."
--Alexander Hamilton

FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE

Big Hand: Violence Against Women Act Reinstated

3/8/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Yesterday President Barack Obama signed the Violence Against Women Act (VAMA) into law. Not only does it reinstate the earlier VAMA provisions which helped women who suffered domestic violence and sexual assault, it also extends protections to lesbians, gays, immigrants, and Native Americans.

"All women deserve the right to live free from fear," President Obama said, (USAToday.com)

Last year the Congress failed to come to an agreement to reauthorize the act. This year, the Senate passed the bill on a 78-22 vote which included every Democrat, every woman, and 23 of 45 Republicans. An attempt to remove the protections for new groups was eventually rejected and the bill passed the House on a 286-238 vote, (FOXnews.com).

"The Violence Against Women Act has set the standard for how to protect women, and some men, from domestic abuse and prosecute abusers and is credited with helping reduce domestic violence incidents by two-thirds since its inception in 1994," (Bostom.com).

Selected VAMA Provisions
  • Enables domestic violence crimes against women to be prosecuted in federal courts
  • Prevents service providers from refusing services to gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual victims of domestic violence
  • Offers grants for transitional housing and legal assistance
  • Offers grants for law enforcement training and hotlines
  • Reauthorizes the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
  • Allows Tribal Courts to prosecute non-native attackers of Native American women on tribal lands
  • Adds stalking to the list of crimes for which protection is available to undocumented immigrants
  • Supports programs to reduce sexual assaults on college campuses
  • Authorizes programs to reduce the backlog of rape investigations

Native American women experience domestic violence at roughly twice the rate of the general U.S. population. Although Native American Tribes are legally sovereign nations, U.S. federal law and Supreme Court rulings have not enabled Tribal Courts to exert jurisdiction and prosecute non-native American perpetrators of crimes on their lands.

This is a huge barrier to justice for Native American women, nearly half of whom are married to non-American Indians. In fact, nearly "77 percent of people living in American Indian and Alaska Native areas are non-Indian, according to a recent Census report," (AP.org). The latest version of the Violence Against Women Act will change that in regard to domestic violence.

‘‘One of the great legacies of this law is it didn’t just change the rules, it changed our culture. It empowered people to start speaking out,’’ Obama said, (Boston.com)


Resources:

Associated Press, "Congress Passes Bill Renewing Violence Against Women Act," FoxNews.com, 2-28-2013.
Cohen, Tom, "House Passes Violence Against Women Act After GOP Version Defeated," CNN.com, 2-28-2013.
Fonseca, Felicia, "Law Gives Tribes New Authority Over Non-Indians," AP.org, 3-7-2013.
Jackson, David, "Obama Signs Renewal of Violence Against Women Act," USAToday.com, 3-7-2013.
Lederman, Josh, "Obama Signs Expanded Violence Against Women Act," Bostom.com, 3-7-2013.
Parker, Ashley, "House Renews Violence Against Women Measure," NYTimes.com, 2-28-2013.


0 Comments

    Author

    Laura Cooper lives in Nebraska and writes crime fiction and a wide range of short stories from her family farm.

    Categories

    All
    Capital Punishment
    Cisd
    Clemency
    Constitution
    Crime Prevention
    Crime Victims' Rights
    CSI
    Democracy
    Dna
    Domestic Violence
    Empower
    Evidence
    Fbi
    Fingerprints
    Freedom
    Half The Sky
    Hate Crimes
    Hostages
    Humor
    Jessica Ridgeway
    Justice
    Law Enforcement
    Liberty And Justice
    Lineups
    Mental Wellness
    Missing Persons
    Murder
    National Day Of Remembrance
    Nebraska
    NET
    Pardons
    PBS
    Public Safety
    RAINN
    RAINN Day
    Sentencing
    Sexual Assault
    Sexual Harassment
    Sexual Violence
    Shift Work
    Social Media
    Suicide
    Supreme Court
    Terrorism
    Thanksgiving
    Use Of Force
    Veterans Day
    Victim Impact Statement
    Victim Rights
    Women's Rights

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from DVIDSHUB, Abi Skipp, mrlaugh, MrCornfed, reborg, Luigi Rosa, carterse, 3 0 d a g a r m e d a n a l h u s, Matthew Wilkinson, leinadsimpson, Elvert Barnes, Mr.Thomas, Katie@!, Justin A. Wilcox, abraham.williams, Sue Waters, DonkeyHotey, Demon Brigade, srqpix, steakpinball, quatar, Ariane Middel, emily snuffer, Kátia :), midiman, Mr.Thomas, Mikey Angels, blvesboy, A Gude, Holding Steady, auntjojo, folkstone42, conner395, danesparza, USAG-Humphreys, Newtown grafitti, ewan traveler, mou-ikkai