From ELCA Advocacy (https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Publicly-Engaged-Church/Advocacy):
Take action today. (NOTE: You do not need to be Lutheran to use this action.)
Congress created the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994 with broad bi-partisan support. VAWA is an essential tool in combatting gender-based crimes, including domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault and other forms of violence against women. VAWA funds shelters and crisis centers, supports a national hotline for victims, and trains law enforcement to better investigate violence against women and offer support to survivors.
VAWA is reauthorized every five years, giving opportunity to update and improve tools and resources for protecting lives, but reauthorization is not automatic – and the time to reauthorize again is now.
The last VAWA reauthorization in 2013 was a crucial step forward in addressing legal barriers to safety and justice for Indigenous women. With an ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls more must be done, including the important authority to make possible for tribal authorities to prosecute non-Indigenous perpetrators of sexual violence, child abuse, stalking, trafficking or assaults against law enforcement. Additionally, Alaska Native tribes were not included by Congress in the VAWA 2013 reauthorization.
More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women (84.3%) have experienced violence in their lifetime, which includes sexual violence, physical violence by an intimate partner, stalking and psychological aggression by an intimate partner.
96% of Indigenous women who are victims of sexual violence experienced violence at the hands of a non-Indigenous perpetrator.
The U.S. House passed a bi-partisan VAWA reauthorization (H.R. 1620) last year and the Senate must too. A bi-partisan group of U.S. senators recently introduced a Senate version of VAWA reauthorization. The bipartisan Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization Act of 2022 (S. 3623). This legislation could be voted on by the Senate in early March. During the coronavirus pandemic, violence against women has risen in what the United Nations has termed “a shadow epidemic.” Now is the time to urge action.
Both bills include key provisions to protect Indigenous victims of sexual assault and keep Indigenous children safe from violence by expanding tribal jurisdiction over non-Indigenous perpetrators. The bill promotes tribal access to federal criminal databases, improves coordination and response rates across multiple jurisdictions and includes protection for Alaska Native tribes.
Both bills also offer significant new protections for survivors in federal public, subsidized and assisted housing; supports victims and survivors who need assistance rebuilding financially; addresses the needs of underserved communities; increases investment in domestic violence and sexual assault prevention; includes a new LGBTQIA+ grant program for survivors; and improves the healthcare response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.
ELCA social teaching supports these policy protections, including the social statement “Faith, Sexism and Justice: A Call to Action,” the social message on “Gender-Based Violence,” and the 2016 churchwide assembly action “Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery.”
Your voice is needed to support the strongest possible VAWA reauthorization.
The Senate must act now. Please advocate for this action by sending a personalized message to your lawmakers through the ELCA Action Center. Additionally, you can call your senators at 202-224-3121.
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