Biden emphasizes the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act during his presidency's late stages.
Emphasizing the landmark legislation he spearheaded as a US senator, the president will host around 1,000 survivors, advocates, ex-staffers, and allies at an event commending the legislation on the South Lawn of the White House. The Biden administration is introducing new initiatives to combat gender-based violence to coordinate with the legislation's anniversary, administration officials reported.
In an op-ed set to be published on Thursday, the president praised the "significant advancements" due to the legislation over the past 30 years and stressed how the enactment lessened the taboo surrounding domestic violence.
“Back then, society generally looked the other way, dismissed pleas for help, or blamed the victims. It was unjust,” Biden wrote in the op-ed on Thursday. “I have consistently believed that putting an end to violence against women requires a comprehensive cultural transformation – one that brings this hidden epidemic out from the shadows.”
The initiative comes as Biden moves into a unique phase of his presidency following his decision to retire from a second term in the White House. Though the spotlight primarily focuses on campaign trail candidates, the president seeks ways to reinforce key legacy projects from his time in office on both domestic and international fronts.
The Violence Against Women Act, which Biden played a crucial role in drafting and introducing for the first time in 1990, is one of the most personally meaningful measures he has managed throughout his five-decade political career. The president has repeatedly named it his most prominent legislative achievement, as it introduced comprehensive protections and assistance for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault for the first time.
“He made it happen, and he dragged it out of the shadows,” said former Sen. Barbara Boxer, who collaborated with Biden on the legislation in the early 1990s. “In those years, violence against women, especially in marriages and relationships, was the best-kept secret. A woman would appear with a bruise on her face. She would never confess her husband did it. It was hardly regarded as a crime.”
“Joe was enraged about that,” Boxer shared during an interview with CNN. “He said, ‘There’s no such thing as, quote-unquote, domestic violence. It’s just violence. And we have to bring this issue to light.’”
Biden unveiling new strategies to tackle domestic abuse
The president will once again shine a spotlight on the subject on Thursday as he hosts an event preceding the Friday anniversary of the law’s enactment. Survivors are expected to share personal narratives to emphasize why the safeguards established by VAWA are essential for those who have faced abuse.
The new measures from the Biden administration set to be introduced on Thursday include the Department of Justice announcing $690 million in grant funding to support survivors of gender-based violence and the establishment of the Office on Gender-Based Violence at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to address housing concerns facing survivors.
The Department of Justice will also announce funding for the National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals to combat "cyberstalking, the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, and other forms of technology-facilitated abuse," according to the White House. The administration will also announce voluntary commitments from technology companies to combat the creation of image-based sexual abuse, including content produced using artificial intelligence.
“The focus is now on: How do we grow? How do we meet the next challenge?” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who previously worked with Biden on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “We’re building on a history and a legacy from the president’s work in initiating this conversation, pushing this legislation, pushing this change.”
Reorienting the conversation on domestic violence
Biden initially presented the Violence Against Women Act in 1990 to provide protection for survivors and shift the narrative on the issue of domestic abuse.
“The bill has three primary, but straightforward, objectives: to make streets safer for women; to make homes safer for women; and to defend women’s civil rights,” Biden said at a Senate hearing in 1990.
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden conducted some of the first substantial hearings on domestic violence, which included female witnesses recounting their harrowing ordeals with violent incidents. In their efforts to raise awareness about the issue, judiciary committee staff read testimonials from women who suffered violence at the hands of their partners and reached out to battered women's shelters and police departments to amass data and gain insight into reports of violence against women.
“It was primarily about changing attitudes and raising awareness to shift the conversation about this problem,” said Monaco, who was a young staff member at the time. “It was about genuinely shining a light on a problem, on an injustice, and revealing what the law wasn’t addressing and why it needed to evolve.”
Boxer worked alongside Biden on the legislation while she served in the House and afterward in the Senate. In an interview with CNN, she mentioned a time when Biden joined a group of female lawmakers to discuss the bill but allowed the women to take the lead.
“What Joe Biden exemplified in those years was his respect for women and his eagerness to propel us forward,” Boxer said. “He had such a feeling in his heart that he wanted the women to take the front seat, and he didn’t want to overshadow them. He wanted to collaborate with us.”
Biden later added VAWA to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1994. The all-encompassing crime bill included an assault weapons ban and deployed 100,000 new police officers. However, it also implemented harsher sentencing regulations and offered incentives for states to implement mandatory minimum standards – elements several now argue contributed to an era of mass incarceration.
The VAWA regulations significantly enhanced protections and aid for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. It established the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which has been contacted over 7 million times since 1996. The law secured funding for rape crisis centers, women's shelters, and programs assisting survivors, while also bolstering training programs for law enforcement, advocates, prosecutors, and judges on gender-based violence.
Counteracting misuse of authority
With every renewal of the act, Biden and its backers advanced its scope to incorporate victims of dating violence and individuals of any sexual orientation or gender identity. They also bolstered resources for immigrants and minority communities.
Given that the law needs renewal every five years, it has faced challenges in Congress. The act lapsed in 2019 under former President Trump, compelling Biden to emphasize its renewal upon assuming office.
According to Jennifer Klein, director of the Gender Policy Council at the White House, "Biden was determined to ensure it was reauthorized, aimed for bipartisan support, and sustained the law's previous accomplishments; enhancing, expanding, and tackling new issues."
In 2022, the law was renewed and incorporated new protections for LGBTQ+ survivors and individuals in tribal communities and rural areas. Additionally, it introduced new safeguards to combat online harassment and abuse. Discussions to eliminate the so-called "boyfriend loophole" as part of the renewal were abandoned, but later incorporated into a bipartisan gun safety bill passed later that year.
público Biden has consistently pledged his dedication to tackling violence against women, tracing it back to family values.
"My father believed the gravest transgression one could commit was the misuse of power, and the most serious offense was for a man to lay a hand on a woman or a child. That's what this law has always been about: the misuse of power," Biden stated in 2022.
- In her upcoming interview, former Senator Barbara Boxer will reflect on Biden's role in drafting and introducing the Violence Against Women Act, stating that he was instrumental in bringing the issue of domestic violence out of the shadows.
- As part of the Biden administration's initiatives to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, they will announce funding for the National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals to combat technology-facilitated abuse, reinforcing their commitment to addressing all forms of gender-based violence.
