Violence Against Women Act

The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) was passed as Title IV, sec. 40001-40703 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 HR 3355 and signed as Public Law 103-322 by President Bill Clinton September 13, 1994. It provided $1.6 Billion to enhance investigation and prosecution of violent crime perpetrated against women, increased pre-trial detention of the accused, provided for automatic and mandatory restitution of those convicted, and allowed civil redress in cases prosecutors chose to leave unprosecuted.

Related Topics:
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 - President Bill Clinton

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The National Organization of Women heralded the bill as "the greatest breakthrough in civil rights for women in nearly two decades." The American Civil Liberties Union derided the Act as "troubling" complaining that the increased penalties were rash, the increased pretrial detention was "repugnant" to the US Constitution, the mandatory HIV testing of those only charged but not convicted is an infringement of the (controvercial) right to privacy and the edict for automatic payment of full restitution was non-judicious in their paper "Analysis of Major Civil Liberties Abuses in the Crime Bill Conference Report as Passed by the House and the Senate, dated September 29, 1994. However, the ACLU has supported its reauthorization. https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr011=8t6xwr9p52.app26a&pagename=homepage&id=251&page=UserAction https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr011=8t6xwr9p52.app26a&pagename=homepage&id=251&page=UserAction

Related Topics:
National Organization of Women - American Civil Liberties Union - Right to privacy

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VAWA and the 1994 Crime Bill in general was supported by Congressional Democrats and President Clinton and opposed by then minority Congressional Republicans with a few exceptions.http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=2&vote=00295 Ironically, Paula Jones' attorneys Susan Carpenter-McMillan, Gilbert Davis and Joseph Cammarata would use VAWA in winning arguments one year later to allow a civil suit against President Clinton for sexual harassment to proceed. Eventually President Clinton paid an out of court settlement of $850,000 for the harassment.

Related Topics:
Democrats - Republicans - Paula Jones

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In 2000, the Supreme Court of the United States held part of VAWA unconstitutional in United States v. Morrison. It is unclear whether the rest of the statute is preserved by lack of occaision for its consideration by the Morrison court, or belief by the same that the balance of the act was constitutional.

Related Topics:
Supreme Court of the United States - United States v. Morrison

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VAWA is due for re-authorization in September 2005. Amnesty USA is sponsoring http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/178208095?z00m=30750&z00m=30750<l=1124433545 a petition to make the reautorization happen.

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