JWI Commends Introduction of VAWA in the Senate!
Today, after years of working ceaselessly with allies across the country to build a world in which women can live safely and thrive, Jewish Women International (JWI) – the leading Jewish organization working to end gender-based violence – applauds the work of Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and offers their unwavering support for the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA).
In addition to Senators Feinstein, Ernst, Durbin and Murkowski, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).
Today’s introduction of this bill brings us one step closer to witnessing the reauthorization of this landmark piece of legislation.
The House of Representatives passed their version of this bill, led by Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) in March of 2021. The Senate bill builds upon the House companion bill H.R. 1620 and maintains existing protections, as well as expands VAWA to address persistent gaps in the current law. Despite being narrower, this survivor-centered bill is ground-breaking in many ways. It includes many historic victories that will prevent violence and increase access to services, safety, and justice.
Last year, JWI completed an in-depth needs assessment and subsequent report “Domestic Violence in the Jewish Community: Raising Awareness and Understanding” where we identified significant gaps in the legal, housing, and economic security needs of survivors, as well as failings in our communal response and preparedness. This modernized VAWA fills in many of the gaps identified in the report - it expands access to legal services across grant programs, enhances the enforcement and compliance of housing protections and improves the VAWA transitional housing program, mandates a government study and subsequent report to Congress on the barriers to survivor’s economic access, and increases funding authorization to programs serving underserved communities – including religious minorities.
JWI encourages the Senate to swiftly pass the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 and send it to the House for a vote. Join JWI by emailing your senators.
JWI CEO Meredith Jacobs issues the following statement:
"The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 does so much to address the gaps and fill the needs felt by women and girls nationwide. It is by far the most significant reauthorization of VAWA to date and JWI is proud to be part of the coalitions that helped bring it to bear.
Ending violence against women must be a national priority. When a woman is not safe, her home, her workplace, her community, is not safe. The ripple effects of the violence and trauma are deeply felt by her children and everyone in its wake. Far too often, we look at mass shootings, homelessness, and incarceration of survivors and find at the center violence against women.
For JWI, VAWA is personal — it has been for forty years — since one of our members was shot and killed by her estranged husband. That horrific event drives our mission. We have worked to bring the voice of the Jewish community into the many reauthorization efforts, but this is legislation desperately needed by every person, regardless of faith.
As an organization working to ensure the safety of all survivors, we call all senators to co-sponsor this bill — the safety and well-being of hundreds of thousands of victims and survivors are at stake.”
Jewish Women International (JWI) is the leading Jewish organization working to end violence against women and girls domestically and internationally. JWI's National Center on Domestic & Sexual Violence in the Jewish Community is the hub of resources, trainings, and research to support the field. It convenes The Collaborative, the network of all Jewish domestic violence agencies in the U.S. and established and hosts the Interfaith Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and the Clergy Task Force to End Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community. A Steering Committee member of the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, JWI’s advocacy efforts focus on the passage of legislation that supports women and girls, ensures their economic security, and protects their right to live free of violence.