20 years of domestic violence prevention isn’t enough

It is both ironic and somehow fitting that we are celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the historic Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in the same week that the headlines and airwaves are saturated with news that a professional football player has been indefinitely suspended following a disturbing incident of domestic violence. The way that the case of Ray Rice was handled, by law enforcement and by the National Football League, shows both how far we have come in the years since enacting VAWA, the first comprehensive legislation focused on ending intimate partner violence, but also how very, very far we still have to go to keep women safe in America and around the world.  

Beginning with the initial drafting of VAWA in 1994, the National Council of Jewish Women has focused on the need both to protect against abuse and to provide the cultural and economic environment that empowers women to make the choices necessary to keep themselves safe. Through a national effort to end power-based personal violence and increase survivors’ autonomy by improving the economic status of women, our Higher Ground campaign and education program mobilizes advocates, community members and decision-makers to promote progressive policy solutions that champion economic justice for women.

{mosads}In the years since VAWA was first enacted, the country has made great strides. The protections in the law have been expanded to bar discrimination against LGBT survivors and to make it harder for abusers to use immigration status against their victims. More legal access now exists for women in tribal communities though, tragically, Alaskan natives are still woefully unprotected.

Domestic violence has come out of the shadows, and survivors now have greater access to services to keep them safe and help them put their lives back together. Law enforcement has greater tools to prosecute violent offenders, and public awareness of violence against women has grown exponentially. And yet, in the United States, every minute, 20 people become the victims of physical violence by an intimate partner. Every day, at least three women are killed by their intimate partner. And women represent two-thirds of murder victims killed by an intimate partner.

Clearly, our culture has not caught up with our laws. This remains tragically true on college campuses as well, where young women are subject to sexual assault on a terrifyingly regular basis and the perpetrators often go unpunished. And, our nation’s nonsensical gun laws put women at risk of being shot by a domestic partner on a daily basis.

It is also fitting that we celebrate 20 years of VAWA as Jews around the world prepare to celebrate the “High Holidays” — Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — a time of reflection, atonement for one’s sins, and rededication to our fellow human beings. The current headlines reflect what we know occurs in communities each and every day, though with less well known figures. As we reflect during these “High Holidays,” let us not only celebrate the successes of the Violence Against Women Act, but rededicate ourselves to continuing the fight to shore up legal tools and protections to keep individuals safe from those who are supposed to love them.

Kaufman is CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women.