NNEDV Applauds Priority Introduction of Violence Against Women Act

Urges Congress to Quickly Pass a Bill that Safely and Effectively Protects All Victims

January 22, 2013 - The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) applauds Senators Leahy (D-VT) and Crapo (R-ID) for swiftly reintroducing bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The legislation closely mirrors their bipartisan bill that passed the Senate with a significant (68-31) margin last spring.

"Stopping violence against women should not be a partisan issue or a political football," said Kim Gandy, President and CEO of NNEDV. "Senators Leahy and Crapo are leaders in the fight to end violence against women. They, and the bill's co-sponsors, have wasted no time in introducing a bill that, with modest improvements, will meet the urgent need to protect and serve all victims of violence. We hope that this early introduction will be followed by swift bipartisan passage on the Senate floor."

Today U.S. Representatives Gwen Moore (D-WI) and John Conyers (D-MI) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"Representatives Moore and Conyers, and the bill's 150-plus co-sponsors in the House, are also working to ensure that VAWA's passage is a priority," said Gandy.

Although NNEDV was disappointed over the failure to reauthorize VAWA in the 112th Congress, advocates were heartened by the substantive discussions on the last Congress' bill near the end of that session. Advocates look forward to continuing to work with both the House and the Senate to promptly pass a bipartisan VAWA that safely and effectively meets the needs of all victims.

VAWA is the cornerstone of our nation's response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, and because of VAWA, millions of victims have received lifesaving services and support. Despite VAWA's proven ability to substantially improve lives, it has not reached all victims. VAWA's reauthorization provides an opportunity to build upon the successes of the current law by including key improvements to protect and provide safety and access to justice for Native American, immigrant, and LGBT victims, as well as victims on college campuses and in communities of color. Additionally, a reauthorized VAWA must include strengthened housing protections that provide emergency housing transfer options for survivors, as well as implementation of transparent and effective accountability measures that support and strengthen, rather than endanger, those programs that assist victims.

NNEDV Applauds Obama Administration's Proposed Gun Violence Policies

NNEDV Urges that Domestic Violence Homicides Be Addressed

January 16, 2013 - The National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) applauds the recommendations put forward today by President Obama and Vice President Biden in response to the devastating impact of gun violence. The very fact that the Administration has undertaken this initiative represents a significant step forward in making our country a safer place.

"This Administration cares deeply about both gun violence and violence against women," said Kim Gandy, President and CEO of NNEDV. "The incidence of domestic violence homicide sits squarely at the intersection of these two important policy priorities."

More than three women a day, on average, are killed by an intimate partner, and guns play a large role in the level of lethality. We know that access to firearms dramatically increases the risk of intimate partner homicide, compared to instances where there are no weapons, and that abusers who possess guns tend to inflict the most severe abuse on their partners. Congress and the Administration must support targeted, effective policies that respond to the crisis of domestic violence homicide.

"Domestic violence is not a tangential issue," said Gandy. "It must be interwoven into the overall response to gun violence. The protections and restrictions on guns announced today will reduce the risks for victims of domestic violence, indeed for all people, and we are grateful to the Obama Administration for putting them forward. There is also a need for specific policies that focus on the particular risk that guns pose to victims of domestic violence."

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