MORGANTOWN – Members of the WVU Student Government Association are pleased that Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito signed onto the bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was introduced in the Senate on Wednesday.
“It’s definitely important that we keep advocating and fighting for these resources, to make things better for women in the U.S,” said Olivia Dowler, SGA president pro tempore and a survivor of sexual assault.
SGA Sen. Azeem Khan said, “Sexual assault prevention and providing support to survivors is one of the most important things that we can do on a college campus. This legislation helps us in both areas.”
The bill was introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and has 21 co-sponsors, Manchin and Capito among them.
VAWA was enacted in 1994 to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and expired in 2018, Capito said. It provided federal resources and technical support for programs that assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking, including children, teenagers, the elderly, persons with disabilities and Native Americans.
A month before the bill was introduced, on Jan. 9, the SGA passed a resolution urging Manchin and Capito to co-sponsor the legislation.
The resolution noted that in West Virginia, one in six women experience attempted or completed sexual assault; one in three women experience intimate partner physical or sexual violence or stalking; and almost one in four female undergraduates at 33 major universities experienced sexual assault or violence.
Key sections of the reauthorization include:
improving the Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors (STOP) grant program to support responding law enforcement and require prosecutors to include best practices;
significantly increasing the authorized amount of grant funding to support domestic violence prevention and response organizations that provide victim services;
reauthorizing funding for violence reduction and prevention programs;
tackling the shortage of health professionals who perform medical sexual assault forensic examinations;
expanding access to safe housing for victims;
empowering law enforcement by providing additional tools to enhance public safety;
increasing enforcement of cybercrimes and supports victims of revenge porn;
increasing authorized funding for responses to child abuse and child sex crimes.
Commenting on Manchin’s and Capito’s involvement, Khan said, “We’ve had really, really productive conversations with both of their offices before we officially passed this resolution and since.” SGA identified some issues and challenges they’d been hearing about from classmates and talked to the senators about including them in the bill.
Commenting on her support for the bill, Capito said in a press release, “Ending domestic violence has long been a priority of mine. I have consistently supported the Violence Against Women Act, and voted to reauthorize this critical legislation twice as a member of the House of Representatives.
“In conversations with local leaders in West Virginia,” she said, “they have conveyed that the funding and support VAWA provides to local organizations working to combat domestic violence in our state is a lifeline to the work they do. I’m proud to join with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle today to introduce legislation that will ensure survivors of domestic violence have the resources they need, and expand efforts to prevent these crimes in the future.”
Manchin said, “This critical legislation makes necessary changes to the law that will protect our sisters, daughters and neighbors from abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault and a host of other issues that impact women across the globe. I am proud my colleagues on both sides of the aisle were able to come together to find a bipartisan path forward on this important bill, and I applaud their efforts to bring this legislation to the entire Senate. I look forward to voting for this legislation and seeing President Biden sign it into law soon.”
The GA resolution notes that four members of West Virginia’s 1994 Congressional delegation signed on to the original VAWA: Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Reps. Alan Mollohan, Bob Wise and Nick Rahall. Khan said they are pleased that Manchin and Capito are continuing that legacy.
Dowler said, “We continuously hear from the West Virginia Legislature that West Virginia is a great place to live, work and raise a family. I agree, but we have to make sure it is a safe place to live before those other two can follow up.” We have to ensure ongoing safety “to make sure that it’s a great place to live work and raise a family for everyone.”
Khan said, “Sexual assault and sexual harassment are some of the biggest issues on campus. We’re committed to working to create a culture here at our university where we can have tough conversations about these issues, about how we can prevent these situations from happening as well as how we can improve with this.”
SGA has worked with the WVU administration on these issues, he said, and the administration takes it seriously. “We will keep working with them to make sure every student has the support that they need.”
Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
