Statement by Vice President Biden on the 18th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act
Eighteen years ago today, the landmark Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA) was signed into law. It was founded on the basic
premise that every woman deserves to be safe from violence, and since its
passage, we have made tremendous strides towards achieving that goal. We gave
law enforcement and the courts more tools to combat domestic violence and hold
offenders accountable. We created a national hotline to direct victims to
life-saving assistance. And since VAWA passed, annual rates of domestic violence
have dropped by more than 60 percent.
But we still have much work to do. Three women
still die every day as a result of domestic violence. One in five women have
been raped, many as teenagers, and one in six women have been victims of
stalking. While women and girls face these devastating realities every day,
reauthorization of a strengthened VAWA languishes in Congress. VAWA is just as
important today as it was when it first became law, and I urge Congress to keep
the promise we made to our daughters and our granddaughters on that day—that we
would work together to keep them safe.
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