Acting Director of the Office on Violence Against Women Laura Rogers issued a statement on February 19 clarifying that legal protections established in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) – including housing protections – do not expire even though VAWA has not yet been reauthorized.
“VAWA contains no sunset provision and does not expire,” Ms. Rogers notes in her statement. “Expiration of the appropriations authorizations in VAWA pertains to the grant programs alone and not to the other legal improvements that have accompanied these authorizations.” Although appropriations authorizations expired, Congress continued funding for VAWA grant programs for FY20, ensuring there is no lapse in funding for these critical programs.
First enacted in 1994, VAWA provides comprehensive protections and vital services for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The bill is meant to be reauthorized every five years to build on existing protections and better meet the needs of survivors. In April 2019, the House of Representatives passed the “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019” (H.R.1585; see Memo, 4/8/19), but negotiations in the Senate are ongoing. NLIHC sent a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein in December 2019 expressing support for the robust provisions outlined in the Senate’s “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019” (S.2843; see Memo, 12/23/19).
Learn more about the “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019” at: https://bit.ly/2SEUntD
Read Acting Director Rogers’s statement at: https://bit.ly/32atMrv
Information about the housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking is on page 6-2 of NLIHC’s 2019 Advocates’ Guide.