CAN YOU DEPEND ON THE GOP to govern in Your Interests?
MAPS: Did Your Congressmember Vote Against the Violence Against Women Act?
March 2013
Shining Light on Violence Against Women
October 2014
Domestic violence has been in the news a lot lately. Intimate partner violence (also known as IPV or domestic violence) is not new, but it is widespread. New research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows how staggering the problem is: over 38 million women in the United States experience violence at the hand of a husband, boyfriend, or other partner during their lifetime. But what many people don’t know is that the number declined significantly in the last 20 years, in part because of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA).
Prior to VAWA, in many states physical and sexual violence against a woman by someone she knew was not considered as serious a crime as was an attack by a stranger. Thinking about it now, it’s hard to believe.
From the Wiki on The Violence Against Women Act of 1994:
Conference of Catholic Bishops
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposed portions of the act that addressed the categories “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”, calling the sections unnecessary to achieve equal protection of all persons.(source -quoted below)[23]
USCCB Committees Express Concerns Over Domestic Violence Legislation
Unfortunately, we cannot support the version of the “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013” passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate (S. 47) because of certain language it contains. Among our concerns are those provisions in S. 47 that refer to “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” All persons must be protected from violence, but codifying the classifications “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as contained in S. 47 is problematic. These two classifications are unnecessary to establish the just protections due to all persons. They undermine the meaning and importance of sexual difference. They are unjustly exploited for purposes of marriage redefinition, and marriage is the only institution that unites a man and a woman with each other and with any children born from their union.