09/13/2026
From a "private family matter" to a matter than could no longer be ignored. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was enacted on this day in 1994 as a landmark federal law that treats domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as serious crimes.
The law passed in large part thanks to so many who stepped up to testify and write letters urging lawmakers to improve legal protection and increase access to services for domestic violence and sexual assault victims. Goals included helping victims survive the harm done to them, to hold offenders accountable, and to improve the criminal justice response to violence against women.
Some of the key things to know that have been put into place because of VAWA:
• It provides federal grants to fund domestic violence shelters, support r**e crisis centers, hotlines, and counseling
• Funds also help train police officers, prosecutors, and judges on how to treat victims safely and fairly
• The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was created inside the U.S. Department of Justice to run these grant programs.
• Ensures cross-state recognition of protective orders issued by other states, tribes, and territories within the U.S.
• It makes it a federal crime to cross state lines to hurt an intimate partner.
• It has increased rates of prosecution, conviction, and sentencing of offenders by helping communities develop dedicated law enforcement and prosecution units and domestic violence dockets
• It stops landlords from evicting survivors of abuse from federally subsidized housing due to the abuse they experienced
• It helps ensure that r**e kits and protection orders do not cost the victim money
• Allows victims who are abused by U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouses, parents, or children to self-petition for legal status (a green card) independently without the abuser's help.
Survivors of abuse and anti-abuse activists are the reason the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) exists.
Signed into law on September 13, 1994, VAWA was the first federal law in America to offer legal protections and funding to address domestic violence, stalking and sexual violence.
Before VAWA, domestic violence was considered a “private matter” and many victims suffered in silence, or worse.
It would take decades of survivors speaking up, but finally, in the early Nineties, Congress could no longer ignore the calls to protect survivors.
At a time when so many rights and protections are being rolled back, we can’t afford to let VAWA be one of them. When VAWA is up for reauthorization in 2028, let’s honor the advocates who made it possible by loudly demanding its renewal 📢
[Image description: A picture of a survivor holding up a cardboard sign in front of a purple U.S. Capitol Building that reads “Love shouldn’t hurt.” Above the survivor are the words: “The VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT OF 1994 (VAWA) exists thanks to the advocacy of survivors & activists.”]
