Support the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2022
Late last year a bipartisan consensus was reached on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by Senators Feinstein, Ernst, Durbin, and Murkowski and a bill will soon be introduced. First passed in 1994, VAWA was enacted to ensure protection against domestic and sexual violence and abuse. It established a federal framework to coordinate federal and community-based responses for victims of domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. With each new authorization, VAWA is improved to be more comprehensive and inclusive, resulting in expanded protections for Indigenous People and the LGBTQ community in the 2013 reauthorization. The 2022 reauthorization is heavily reliant on the experience and input from survivors, it also includes what has been learned from the pandemic, when domestic violence increased significantly.
Our faith tells us that each person bears the image of God and each person’s life is valuable. We are called to oppose violence and abuse and ensure the protection and safety of others. Our 14th General Synod spoke to this stating, “Believing in the goodness and equality of men and women in the created order, we must testify that any unnecessary suffering – particularly the physical or sexual abuse of any person – is a blasphemy before God and a grave injustice in our midst.”
Please join with us in contacting your Senators to tell them to support the bipartisan consensus reauthorization bill to safeguard and uphold the programs supported by VAWA.