Apr 20 2006
Violence Against Women Act
GUEST: Lucinda Marshall, feminist artist, writer and activist, and founder of the Feminist Peace Network
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), is a landmark piece of legislation first passed in 1994. It provides hotlines, shelters, services and laws to victims of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. The law was reauthorized and expanded in 2000 and marked a turning point in the national response to violence against women. The bill was unanimously reauthorized by Congress late last year. But under the Bush administration, the annual budget has not fully funded VAWA for 5 years in a row. Congress requested $1 billion for the programs but the President’s budget only requested $546.2 million. Meanwhile media coverage on the bill is shockingly scarce. In fact a Google news search on VAWA yields articles mostly written from a male perspective, bashing the bill. Some examples are “Why VAWA Hurts Families,” by Men’s News Daily, “Activists Resolve to Expose VAWA’s Inequities” also by Men’s News Daily, “The Hazards of Duke: Predatory Feminism,” by NewsByUs, and “Family Break-up Blamed on Intrusive Domestic Violence Laws,” by American Daily.
Read Lucinda Marshall’s piece, published a piece in Dissident Voice: “Ending Terrorism Against Women Begins at Home: The Urgent Need To Fully Fund VAWA.”
For more information, visit www.feministpeacenetwork.org, and stopfamilyviolence.org.
14 Responses to “Violence Against Women Act”
[…] Here is a link to the interview that I did with Sonali Kolhatkar this morning on her show, “Uprising”, on Pacifica’s KPFK in Los Angeles. The interview covers the importance of full funding for VAWA (Violence Against Women Act and problems with the way the media has reported not only VAWA but violence against women in general. […]
I’m glad you are enjoying our articles. Its not surprising that VAWA coverage is limited to feminist outfits such as Pacifica. There is no legal, moral, or scientific justification for continuing to pretend that domestic violence is purely a gender issue. That is why you are not getting the coverage you wish folks were stupid enough to give you.
You wrote, “The VAWA is a landmark piece of legislation…It provides hotlines, shelters, services and laws to victims…” The only eventful thing of the VAWA is that it passed. Doesn’t mean it’s upheld or enforced, or provides anything of substance–except an opportunity for even more funding fraud. There would be plenty of money if non-profits and other quasi-governmental agencies were regularly audited, monitered and held accountable. Afterall, they are contracting to provide a service and pick up the slack where governmental bodies ail, but I have yet to see any agency–especially in the worst of the worst: CA–fulfill its contractual obligations. What I’ve seen instead is a sickening strategy to create an exploitative industry that does little beyond raping the taxpaying public and re-violating the victim.
Since when does an agency director cut her pay (always a 6-figure pay) to fund legitimate services? To fund the cost of qualified and competent staff? To provide the services she’s paid to provide? Since never.
Unfortunately, quasi-elitist self-ascribed feminists fell under the assumption that since they bought a college degree they suddenly had a right to pay themselves a 6figure income while keeping bankers hours and simultaneously bilking taxpayers and clients.
The VAWA is a travesty. I don’t want hotlines, services or shelters. I want the government to enforce the laws it already has: charge the g-dam-ed criminal bum, put him in jail, throw away the key. Women and children shouldn’t have to leave their homes and go to a shelter because the State refuses to uphold its laws or the Constitution (refusing to fulfil its obligation to charge criminals and thereby securing the rights of life, liberty and property.. to the victim). And we already have hotlines and victims’ assistance services–we don’t need more. We certainly didn’t need to encourage more funding competition especially when the funding is scarce and fleeing.
I certainly hope some group challenges the unconstitutionality of the VAWA. Get rid of the dam-ed thing. A better avenue would be a class-action suit against the state and criminal prosecution of individuals who who refuse to uphold, honor and enforce the existing laws for women–especially when they act in an official capacity. We have good, solid laws. We just need them enforced. Creating yet another law (VAWA) that further diverts funds away from victims (and into the womens’ service worker’s pocket instead) is a travesty on many levels–including one of justice.
The impetus for the VAWA grew out of a WHO survey aiming to measure violence against women; no attempt was made to measure violence against men, nor was the survey properly conducted with a validated survey instrument. Based on this flawed piece of work, the feminist hegemonists set out to create the biggest violation of due-process, up until the Patriot Act, that is.
A main criticism of VAWA is that it allows an individual to claim ‘fear’ of imminent physical harm[8] without any supporting physical evidence to obtain a restraining order. This has resulted in an explosion of orders, principally by women against men, in order to get leverage in divorce and child custody cases. The effect on those charged under VAWA include loss of children, home, finances and stable employment. In Massachusetts[9], some 30-50,000 ROs are issued annually.
Other defects in the law include a loss of the constitutional right to trial by jury.
When you fully understand the impact of this poorly-conceived legislation, it’s plainly evident why organizations such as the ACLU have been critical of bill, in spite of the later turn-abouts in position brought on by tremendous internal and external political pressure, co-opting the ACLU into just another PR tool of the feministas.
Look at that photo of Lucinda Marshall. Would you want that bitching and yelling at you all day long? Hell, no! But hey, step outta line, and she’ll RO your ass faster than you can say My-Rights-Are-Toast. Yes, there are a lot of rapists out there, but some of them are just these very same psycho-hose-beasts from hell, who will try anything to get a free ride out of society (or their latest male victim). Lawsuits? Tortious behavior by the male perpetrator? Sure, why not. Now, with the VACA, you don’t even need evidence! After all, these women are ENTITLED to a free ride, and Marshall et al are determined to get it for them.
Being that the VAWA is completely sexist and discriminatory it should receive no funding whatsoever.
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