Thirty Years of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

by Sammy Chavin-Grant (she/her), FV@W Federal Strategy Director

Last week, I represented Family Values @ Work at the White House’s Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 30th anniversary celebration. Together with the White House and other attendees, we celebrated the millions of lives touched by the passage, implementation, and expansion of VAWA. And, as someone only one month older than this legislation, I have grown up in a world where perpetrators of violence are intended to be held accountable for their actions.

We have taken violence against women from a private intimate issue to a public, systems-level failing that society must address. In its 30-year history, the VAWA has been expanded and improved to ensure the inclusion of tribal sovereignty and protections for the LGBTQ+ community, and includes even more protections than before. Per the White House, between 1993 and 2022, annual domestic violence rates dropped by 67% and the rate of rapes and sexual assaults declined by 56%.

I know intimately the need to go even further, having sat with more friends than I can count who are survivors of violence. I know we have more to do to ensure the full intent of the law, but I left this celebration buoyed by the changes already made and the difference in our country.

One of the many steps we can take is to ensure all workers have access to paid sick and safe days and paid family and medical leave that offers safe time, increasing survivors’ economic security and giving them a route out of violence. I’m proud to work towards that change so that when the next VAWA anniversary comes around, we have even more to celebrate.