President Obama has signed into law an expanded version of the Violence Against Women Act. This new bill increases the authority of Native American reservation courts. Tribal courts now have the right to try people who are not members of the tribe. It also gives homosexuals more access to anti-domestic violence resources.
“This is your day. This is the day of the advocates, the day of the survivors. This is your victory,” Obama said alongside domestic-violence survivors, tribal leaders, Vice President Joe Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder and several other lawmakers. “This victory shows that when the American people make their voices heard, Washington listens.
“Today is about the millions of women — the victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault — who are out there right now looking for a lifeline, looking for support.” Obama saluted the original Violence Against Women Act for helping make it more common and acceptable to discuss domestic violence openly, “It didn’t just change the rules; it changed our culture,” he said.
According to the Justice Department, the rate of sexual assault against women and girls age 12 and over has decreased dramatically within the last decade, but numbers still indicate one out of every five women in America will be raped in their lifetime.
The renewal provides some $659 million of funding per year over five years for transitional housing, legal assistance, law enforcement training, hotlines, rape investigation and educational programs on college campuses.
