Vice President Joe Biden will hold a forum today with other senior officials to discuss the importance of reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. According to MSNBC, those speaking at the forum will include Attorney General Eric Holder, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Lynn Rosenthal, the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, and Sharon Love, whose daughter Yeardley Love was killed after being the victim of domestic violence. The Washington Post reports that Maryland Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown will also join Vice President Biden. Brown's cousin was killed by her estranged boyfriend.
Debate on the reauthorization is said to begin in the Senate this week. VAWA was originally drafted by then-Senator Joe Biden and was signed into law in 1994. It was then reauthorized by Congress in both 2000 and 2005. The law has thus far allocated more than $9 billion to improve federal, state, and local-level investigation and prosecution of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault and to provide support for prevention, education, temporary shelters, rape crisis centers and community services for survivors.
Media Resources: MSNBC News 4/18/12; Washington Post 4/17/12; Huffington Post 4/16/12; Feminist News Wire 3/15/12
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