Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005 Introduced in Congress

Legislation Includes Groundbreaking Housing Provisions for Battered Women

Press Type: Press Release   Associated Program: Domestic Violence

Released: 06/2005

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 2005, introduced today in the Senate, contains groundbreaking new housing provisions for battered women, says a national legal advocacy organization working against homelessness. According to the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP), one of the leading architects of the bipartisan federal legislation, the bill significantly expands the housing rights of battered women and their families. A bipartisan effort to reauthorize the existing law and expand its protections, VAWA 2005 is co-sponsored by Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Arlen Specter (R-PA) in the Senate.

Companion legislation is expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives later this week. VAWA 2005 improves safety for battered women in housing and shelter by bringing desperately needed resources, collaborations, and protections to help end homelessness and domestic and sexual violence. The bill does the following:
· Authorizes a grant program to help public and Indian housing authorities and subsidized housing providers respond appropriately to domestic and sexual violence.
· Ensures that victims have access to the criminal justice system without jeopardizing their current or future housing.
· Improves the ability of the Low Income Housing Assistance Voucher and Public Housing Programs to meet the housing and safety needs of victims.
· Funds collaborative efforts to create permanent housing options for victims that help develop communities and leverage private dollars.
· Expands an existing transitional housing program for victims to help victims maintain safety and self-sufficiency.
· Protects the safety and confidentiality of victims within the homeless services system.

VAWA 2005 acknowledges that all women - including homeless women, low-income women, and women living in public and subsidized housing - must benefit from the legal protections available under VAWA.

The legislation goes a long way towards recognizing and remedying major housing barriers that domestic violence victims and their families face in the U.S., while also moving in the right direction towards expanding housing rights for this marginalized population, according to Maria Foscarinis, founder and executive director of NLCHP.

Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness nationally. In 2004, 44% of U.S. cities surveyed reported that domestic violence was a primary cause of local homelessness. Between 22% and 57% of homeless women in varying regions report that domestic violence was the immediate cause of their homelessness. Between 50% and 100% of homeless women have experienced domestic or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Many of these women and their families lose their homes when they flee abuse. Other domestic violence survivors become homeless after being evicted from or denied housing as a result of the violence against them.

Exacerbating this crisis is the severe shortage of affordable housing for low-income individuals and families in the U.S. Federal housing assistance programs, including public housing, housing subsidy programs, transitional and supportive housing, and emergency shelter programs, are all under-funded, under increasing political attack, and insufficient to meet the rapidly growing need. For an individual who is in a violent relationship and already living in poverty, this harsh reality often means that she must choose between life with her abuser or life on the streets.

"VAWA 2005 takes major new strides towards preventing and ending homelessness and violence against women in the U.S. The new housing and homelessness programs and legal protections available to homeless and low-income victims of domestic and sexual violence under the pending legislation represent groundbreaking inroads for victims whose housing status is vulnerable. All of us must work together to ensure that this forward-looking, bipartisan legislation - currently under attack in Congress - is enacted before VAWA expires at the end of September", says Naomi Stern, staff attorney with NLCHP's Domestic Violence Program.

For more information, please contact: