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All Women Deserve Protection From Violence
Dear USAction Member,
Recently the Senate voted to renew the Violence Against Women Act, a previously bipartisan law that gives law enforcement agencies the tools they need to stop domestic violence.
This is great news but the fight is far from over as the House is debating H.R. 4970, a Republican version of VAWA today that strips the additional provisions to include immigrant, Native American and LGBT domestic violence victims from its full protections. We need to tell them to protect ALL women and pass the real VAWA, H.R. 4271.
Republicans’ efforts to exclude certain types of victims from protections are absolutely appalling.
Will you send a message to your Representative in Congress and tell them to support the real VAWA bill that was passed by the Senate — not the homophobic, racist, anti-victim Republican version in the House?
Every woman in America deserves protection from domestic abuse, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. We can’t put some women in danger just because they aren’t the right type of victim.
The Violence Against Women Act has been enormously successful. Since its passage in 1994, the number of women killed by an intimate partner has fallen 34%. And victims are now reporting incidents instead of hiding in fear, with reports of abuse up 51%.1
But the Republican version would have real consequences, endangering much of the population it was designed to protect. Because not only would their version exclude Native Americans and LGBT domestic violence victims, but it would roll back decades of protections for undocumented victim’s confidentiality by alerting the abuser that their victims sought help.2 This provision is unnecessary and incredibly unsafe — putting real women’s lives in danger just to score political points.
A vote in the House is imminent. Tell your Representative in Congress to vote for the real VAWA bill that seeks to protect all women — not the homophobic, racist, anti-victim Republican version in the House.
Sincerely,
Brittany Larson
USAction / TrueMajority
1 - http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvv.pdf
2 - http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/75959.html
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