What to know about the Violence Against Women Act as the landmark law turns 30

Thirty years ago, a new law transformed the way the United States recognizes and combats gender-based violence.
The Violence Against Women Act, signed by President Bill Clinton on Sept. 13, 1994, was the first federal legislative package to designate domestic violence and sexual assault as crimes and require a community-coordinated response to violence against women.
It was the “most critical” piece of legislation to address gender-based violence, said Pamela Jacobs, CEO of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. Jacobs, herself a survivor of sexual abuse, says the act has been instrumental in helping women lead violence-free lives through greater services and support, holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes and encouraging survivors to come forward.
WATCH: Biden delivers remarks on 30th anniversary of Violence Against Women Act
“It’s really been life-changing for thousands and thousands of people, and has saved countless lives as well,” Jacobs said.
Between 1993 and 2022, domestic violence rates dropped by 67 percent and the rate of rapes and sexual assaults fell 56 percent, the White House said in a statement Thursday.
President Joe Biden authored and championed the legislation as a senator, introducing the bill in 1990. At a White House event held Thursday to honor VAWA’s 30th anniversary, the president said he met his goal of not only changing the law, but changing the “culture of America” by bringing the “hidden epidemic” of domestic violence “out of the shadows.”
Recalling his own father’s gentleness and abhorrence of violence against women and children, Biden said he believed that the only way to address the problem “was by shining a light on that culture and speaking its name.”
President Joe Biden marks the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 12, 2024 in Washington. Photo by Andrew Harnik/ Getty Images
Biden thanked advocates like those who run shelters and rape crisis centers and “survivors who speak up for themselves and empower those who suffer in silence.”
“You’ve turned your pain into purpose, and your bravery and spirit are unbreakable,” Biden said. “Because of you — and this is not hyperbole — because of you, we’re a better nation than we were 30 years ago.”
In no small part, VAWA shifted how Americans talk about gender-based violence by providing language and education awareness-raising to survivors and policymakers, Jacobs said. VAWA brought crimes that “thrive in silence,” like domestic violence and sex trafficking, out from behind closed doors and turned sexual violence into a societal and cultural issue rather than just a private one, she said. It became more difficult for perpetrators to operate with complete impunity as the criminal justice system began to take sexual violence crimes more seriously.
Pre-VAWA, domestic violence “was considered shameful, it was a family secret,” Jacobs said. “We didn’t see prevention initiatives and things to even just make people aware of what was happening and what options they had.”
Among many its many effects, VAWA also:
In a 2022 reauthorization, it also:
Biden announced Thursday that the Department of Justice will allocate more than $690 million in grant funding to support survivors of gender-based violence, including training for law enforcement. He named housing and cybercrimes as top concerns, stating his administration will focus on guaranteeing housing for survivors and preventing what he called “the next frontier of gender-based violence” — AI-generated deepfakes and online sexual abuse.
Many of these actions build on aspects of Congress’ 2022 reauthorization of VAWA, which is up for federal renewal every five years.
The White House statement also supported the use of federal funds to “keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers” and to continue narrowing what advocates have called the “boyfriend loophole,” by preventing not only married spouses but also stalkers and current and former dating partners from obtaining a firearm if convicted of domestic abuse.
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VAWA’s 2022 renewal was initially met with strong opposition from GOP lawmakers and the National Rifle Association due to a provision in the bill that aimed to expand limits on firearm access. The provision would have prohibited individuals with misdemeanor stalking convictions from possessing firearms and closed the “boyfriend loophole.”
While Democrats removed the provision from the VAWA reauthorization to get it passed, Congress later that year signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law. That gun safety legislation prohibits individuals convicted of misdemeanors in dating relationships from purchasing or possessing firearms for at least five years.
The Supreme Court this summer also upheld a federal law that prevents anyone subject to a domestic-violence restraining order from possessing a gun in United States v. Rahimi.
Jennifer Mondino, director of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund at the National Women’s Law Center, hopes that future renewals of VAWA implement more firearm limitations and checks on individuals with an established history of sexual violence.
“We have a huge problem with guns in this country, and [guns are] so, so often — I think heartbreakingly often — inextricably linked with sexual violence,” Mondino said. “If you look into the personal histories of so many people that have been involved in acts of violence in our country, let’s say in the last decade or so, so often those are people that had personal histories of sexual violence.”
The CDC estimates that every month an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner. Two-thirds of intimate partner homicides in the U.S. are committed with a gun, and 75 percent of intimate partner firearm homicide victims are women, according to Everytown Research and Policy.
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In addition to gun violence prevention, Christian Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women, says she wants future iterations of VAWA to address “the intersections of climate injustices and violence against women,” as well as the disproportionate effect of sexual and domestic violence on Indigenous women and women of color.
While advocates are celebrating and reflecting on their progress achieving greater visibility and safety for women, especially those from marginalized communities, Nunes also hopes this 30th anniversary will be a reminder of all the work still needed to be done.
“It’s so important that we’re starting to finally, at this 30th anniversary, recognize that we have to have a holistic approach in looking at how we are going to eradicate violence against women,” said Nunes, whose organization has lobbied for the passage and reauthorizations of VAWA for decades. “It cannot be one sided. It cannot be siloed. We have to look at every industry.”
Jacobs encourages “believing survivors” as the first step.
“It’s important that we’re listening to [survivors], hearing them, believing them, and being there to provide support” so they can access safety and healing, Jacobs said.
If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual or domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to be connected with a confidential advocate free of charge 24/7. Get connected to resources near you and learn how to make a safety plan on NDVH’s website. The Legal Network for Gender Equity at the National Women’s Law Center also provides free legal assistance for survivors.