...the silence is deafening

The Huffington Post reported this afternoon that House Republican leadership has remained silent in their support of the the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. With a very strong bipartisan vote, the Senate has managed to pass a VAWA bill that added many necessary improvements to the VAWA. These improvements reflect the hard and dedicated work of many practitioners in the field to include "best practices" in the legislation. Some of these improvements include new housing protections for victims, campus sexual assault provisions, and enhanced services and programs for tribal, immigrant, and LGBT victims of violence as well as communities of color, Rep. Gwen Moore reports. With its strong bipartisan support of the bill, the Senate is prepared to pass their version this week. The bill was introduced to the House two weeks ago, and though 193 Democrats have signed onto this piece of legislation, not a single republican has stepped up to the plate.

Language updated in 2005 keeps the programs and services of the VAWA alive, though its authorization expired over a year ago. There is, however, fear that a lack of support for this bill will jeopardize funding and affect domestic violence programs at the state and local levels.

As I read more into sickening stories of domestic violence I am struck by one in particular, in the NY Times, that the improvements to the VAWA are seeking to end. A Native American woman who's life was consumed by domestic violence was trapped in an endless cycle as her husband was white and they lived on a reservation. Because her husband was white, the tribal police couldn't do anything and, because they lived on the reservation, the local police wouldn't do anything. She even tried going to federal law enforcement, who had jurisdiction, but it went nowhere. Is this something that we as Americans can stand by and allow to happen?

The obvious lack of support we are seeing from republicans on women's issues is as disheartening and unacceptable as the rate of domestic violence in this country. The issue of domestic violence is not one to include petty, partisan politics, but one, we must realize, that spreads like a disease through our communities. It is time we all come together and understand how important it is for our mothers, sisters, aunts, friends, and colleagues to not have to live in fear, and how detrimental forcing them to live in fear is to all of us.

LH