Senate Passes Bill to Reauthorize VAWA
New Legislation Expands Housing Protections for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors
April 30, 2012
On Thursday, the Senate passed a measure that would
reauthorize the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA) and includes new housing provisions for which the
Law Center advocated. These include:
- Expanding
protections to all federal housing programs;
- Extending
protections to victims of sexual assault;
- Broadening
the definition of immediate family member, so that tenants are not
evicted due to violence against a relative; and
- Requiring
housing providers to immediately transfer survivors to new housing if
their abuser poses a continued threat.
The Law Center worked closely with Members of
the Senate to develop those provisions, and was pleased to see legislation
adopted with bipartisan support. It is
vital, now, that the House follow suit and adopt these critical protections
that will help ensure no domestic violence or sexual assault survivor is ever forced to choose between homelessness
and remaining in a dangerous situation.
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