Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), released the following joint statement to mark the 24^th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA):

“Twenty-four years ago, Congress came together to pass the first Violence Against Women Act to ensure that every victim has the support and resources necessary to escape domestic violence, and communities around the country have systems in place to respond to, prosecute, and prevent these crimes. But those protections and programs will expire in just four legislative days unless Congress acts.

“This summer, we were proud to join advocates and our Democratic colleagues to introduce legislation that would not only reauthorize VAWA, but make sure it works for every woman, man, or child who may need the protections and, over time, to reduce the number of families traumatized by domestic violence. Every stakeholder came to the table and worked together to draft and develop this bill, and every Member of Congress should be proud to cosponsor it.

“We cannot let nearly a quarter century of progress in addressing violence against women disappear. Congress must act to reauthorize VAWA now. We urge our Republican colleagues to join us and support this reauthorization bill. Together, we will show every victim of domestic violence that we stand with them and that we are fighting in their name to end the cycle of intimate partner violence in this country.”

According to the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Center for Disease Control & Prevention, every year, 7.9 million women in this country are raped, physically assaulted, or stalked by a current or former intimate partner and three women are killed by an intimate partner every day.

VAWA is set to expire on September 30, 2018. In July 2018, Congresswoman Jackson Lee and Ranking Member Nadler introduced the 2018 reauthorization of VAWA. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2018 expands the existing protections of VAWA, modernizes and updates its programs, and responds to the needs identified by the survivors and advocates who devote their lives to ending intimate partner violence.

A copy of the bill is available here.

VAWA section by section is available here.