Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks (R-Ind.-05) provided the following statement after voting to support H.R.1585, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, otherwise known as VAWA:
“According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, on average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. One in every four women and one in every nine men experience severe physical violence, sexual violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner. Victims of these extremely painful and life-changing experiences live in every congressional district.
Brooks
“Congress must work to break the cycle of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking in communities across the nation. In 2018 and 2017, VAWA provided programs across Indiana with over $11.3 million in grant funding to help victims reclaim control and safety in their lives and the lives of their children, and provide police officers, victim advocates and counselors, and sexual assault nurses with the tools they need to combat violence in our communities.
“Victims need our voices in Congress. I am proud to have supported VAWA in 2013 and am doing so again today, during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I look forward to the Senate passing their version of this critical legislation and conferencing our bills so the President can sign a reauthorization of VAWA into law.”
Brooks introduced an amendment to the bill that was included in final passage of H.R.1585. VAWA directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor to conduct a study analyzing the barriers survivors face in achieving economic security. This amendment specifies, but does not limit, components of economic security that Americans face when striving for economic stability including: Financial empowerment, affordable housing, transportation, healthcare access, and quality education and training opportunities.
VAWA was originally passed in 1994 as Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and provides grants supporting efforts to break the cycle of domestic violence in communities across the nation. VAWA funds assist first responder and sexual assault nurse training, domestic violence centers, victim advocates and counselors around the country.