Victims of domestic violence now have a national hotline to turn to, thanks to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), passed by Congress almost two years ago to combat the epidemic of violence against women in the U.S. The success of the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-SAFE) was highlighted at recent Senate oversight hearings on VAWA. The National Domestic Violence Hotline received 21,000 calls in its first three months.

VAWA funds have also been used to fund new women’s shelters, outreach workers, training sessions for law enforcement personnel, and domestic violence advocates. VAWA made it a federal crime to cross state lines and commit domestic violence, and according to Attorney General Janet Reno, over a dozen batterers have been arrested under VAWA for beating up their wives or girlfriends and crossing state lines.

At the hearing, Kathy Rodgers of NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, which has been leading the fight for full implementation of VAWA, emphasized that while full funding of VAWA will help in combatting the epidemic of violence against women, it is still just a beginning. "We cannot rest until every local law enforcement officer knows that she can and should enforce another state’s protective order, until every prosecutor understands the importance of punishing perpetrators of gender-based violence, . . . until judges see sexual battering, abuse and assault as the hate crimes that they are, not so-called domestic disputes or ill-fated romantic encounters," said Rodgers.

One of the most far-reaching aspects of VAWA is the "civil rights" provision, which makes gender-based violence a "hate crime," just like race-based violence. The provision allows a victim of gender-based violence to sue in civil court and receive damages. Until now, victims of rape and domestic violence could only press charges in criminal court, and could receive no damages for loss of income or medical expenses.

This provision was ruled unconstitutional by a conservative federal judge in Virginia. In a Connecticut case, a federal judge upheld the provision. The constitutionality of the provision will have to be decided by the Supreme Court.

Despite the successes of VAWA, many important VAWA programs remain underfunded or unfunded because of the recent prolonged budget debate and the new Republican Congress. Rape prevention and education programs, sexual abuse prevention, and community programs on domestic violence were allotted less money by the new Republican Congress. In addition, funding for some programs was cut altogether, such as training of judges to better understand domestic violence and rape, and a campus study of sexual assault.