FCNL Joins National and Local Organizations to Support the Violence Against Women Act (S. 1925)

See the PDF Version

April 26, 2012

Dear Representative:

We, the undersigned organizations, represent millions of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, the professionals who serve them, the faith organizations that support them, the schools that educate them, and the businesses and communities that care about them throughout the United States and territories. On behalf of the victims we represent, we ask that you support the Violence Against Women Act’s (VAWA) reauthorization.

VAWA’s programs support state, tribal and local efforts to address the pervasive and insidious crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. These programs have made great progress towards keeping victims safe and holding perpetrators accountable. This critical legislation must be reauthorized to ensure a continued response to these crimes.

Since its original passage in 1994, VAWA has dramatically enhanced our nation’s response to violence against women. More victims report domestic violence to the police and the rate of nonfatal intimate partner violence against women has decreased by 53%. The sexual assault services program in VAWA helps rape crisis centers keep their doors open to provide the frontline response to victims of rape. VAWA provides for a coordinated community approach, improving collaboration between law enforcement and victim services providers to better meet the needs of victims. These comprehensive and cost-effective programs not only save lives, they also save money. In fact, VAWA saved nearly $12.6 billion in net averted social costs in just its first six years.

VAWA has unquestionably improved the national response to these terrible crimes. We urge you to support VAWA’s reauthorization to build upon its successes and continue to enhance our nation’s ability to hold perpetrators accountable and keep victims and their children safe from future harm.

We look forward to working with you throughout the reauthorization process. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Juley Fulcher with Break the Cycle at jfulcher@breakthecycle.org, Rob Valente with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges at robvalente@dvpolicy.com, or Terri Poore with the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence at tpoore@fcasv.org.

Sincerely,

See the PDF Version for the List of Signers.

Resources

Think Progress: What You Need to Know about the Violence Against Women Act

National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women - http://4vawa.org/