Mary Beth Polley | Fall 2000 Headlines

National domestic violence program due to expire this weekend

By Mary Beth Polley

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which provides billions of dollars in federal funding for domestic abuse programs across the country, will expire tomorrow unless the Senate takes immediate action.

VAWA provided more than $33 million dollars to combat domestic abuse and sexual assault in Massachusetts last year. Since VAWA's initial passage in 1994, the act has provided billions of dollars to hire prosecutors; improve domestic abuse training for police, nurses and social workers; fund shelters and counseling services; and establish a national crisis hotline. However, if Congress does not reauthorize VAWA within the next few weeks funding for its programs will run out.

"I believe VAWA has been critical in providing training for courts, counseling for victims, funding for victims advocates, police and shelters," said Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Lawrence), who led efforts to reauthorize VAWA in the House of Representatives earlier this week. "I believe this bill has provided the resources that women need. This bill has been a success and we need to extend it."

On Tuesday, the House overwhelmingly passed the bill in a 415-3 vote. Rep. Meehan along with other local Reps. John F. Tierney (D--), John E. Sununu (R--) and Charles Bass voted in favor of the bill which authorized $3.6 billion in federal funding to combat domestic abuse and sexual assault.

Instead of receiving the same support in the Senate, however, the bill has fallen victim to politics because some Senators have tried to tie non-related legislation to the bill. Meehan and other members of Congress describe these moves as a "disgrace".

"I'm deeply concerned about the way this bill is being held hostage to election year politics," said Senator John Kerry (D), a co-sponsor of the original VAWA legislation in 1994. "We wrote and passed the Violence Against Women Act in bipartisan fashion to respond to a tragic need in Massachusetts and our country, and it has had an important impact - providing life-saving assistance to women across the country, a national domestic violence hotline, battered women's shelters, arming law enforcement with the resources to make a real difference, prosecuting more child abuse cases, and creating rape prevention programs. With so much at stake, political posturing should not get in the way of reauthorizing this act."

The entire Massachusetts delegation has voiced its support for the reauthorization of VAWA but despite their efforts, the bill has not yet been scheduled for a Senate vote.

"We're in crisis mode to try and get it passed," said Juley Fulcher, public policy director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Washington D.C. "We're going to push, push, push to get it passed."

According to Fulcher, no program funded by VAWA will close its doors on Sunday if the bill isn't reauthorized. The federal appropriations process has left VAWA programs with at least a two-week cushion beyond the Sept. 30 deadline to continue operating, she said. However, the bill must be reauthorized before Congress adjourns next month.

"There has been a 21 percent drop in domestic violence since VAWA's inception. It's absolutely crucial the federal government continue to show support for these programs," Fulcher said.

VAWA funds the 14-agency New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Jane Doe, Inc., a coalition of domestic abuse and sexual assault organizations in MA, as well as domestic violence training for local police in Manchester, Lowell, Framingham and Quincy.

"VAWA has created the ability for us to not only strengthen and coordinate domestic violence and sexual assault program in the courts, hospitals, police department," said Judith E. Beals, the director of Jane Doe, Inc. "It has also shown a national commitment to end violence against women. These programs aren't going to shut their doors but I would never underestimate the importance of reauthorizing VAWA."