Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) and 170 of her colleagues in the House introduced on March 8 the “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021” (H.R. 1620). The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is landmark legislation that provides protections and support to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Originally enacted in 1994, VAWA is reauthorized periodically to update provisions and programs. The “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021” builds upon the housing protections that were expanded when VAWA was last reauthorized in 2013.
The bill protects survivors from evictions based on criminal actions of perpetrators, enhances the emergency-transfer process, and addresses the need for consistent implementation, compliance and accountability regarding VAWA’s housing protections. The bill also makes clear that crime victims have the right to seek law enforcement or emergency assistance on behalf of themselves or others and must not be penalized for doing so by being evicted. Instead of punishing survivors and their landlords, states and localities are permitted to use existing federal grant programs to identify more effective means of combating crime.
Learn more about the “Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021” at: https://tinyurl.com/2an5934t
Information about the needs of survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking is on page 6-6 of NLIHC’s 2020 Advocates’ Guide.