Press Release: Lawmakers Urged to Swiftly Implement VAWA’s Inclusiveness Mandate

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

Lawmakers Urged to Swiftly Implement VAWA’s Inclusiveness Mandate

WASHINGTON / March 12, 2013 – Following recent reauthorization of the federal Violence Against Women Act, SAVE, a leading victim-rights organization, is calling on state lawmakers to move swiftly to implement the inclusiveness mandate of the new federal law.

Lawmakers need to establish independent commissions to review the policies and practices of abuse shelters, police departments, and prosecutors, and then pass appropriate laws designed to weed out all traces of bias, SAVE says.

Discriminatory practices have been documented on a wide scale against male (1), lesbian/gay (2), and immigrant (3) victims of abuse. The new federal law features numerous provisions designed to bring a halt to discriminatory practices. SAVE, which advocates for all victims of domestic violence, has developed a summary of the new federal requirements (4).

“The VAWA debate over the last year has exposed a disturbing pattern of prejudice and bias in our nation’s approach to curbing partner abuse,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “We thank the members of Congress who stood up to say, ‘No victim of domestic violence should be re-victimized by shameful discriminatory practices.’”

Within hours of the bill’s passage in the House of Representatives, Attorney General Eric Holder released this statement: “I applaud Congress for passing a bipartisan reauthorization that protects everyone – women and men, gay and straight, children and adults of all races, ethnicities, countries of origin, and tribal affiliations.” (5)

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

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