PRINTER'S NO. 4556

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

No.

1058

Session of

2020

INTRODUCED BY ISAACSON, MURT, McCLINTON, MADDEN, HILL-EVANS,

BURGOS, CEPHAS, A. DAVIS, DRISCOLL, FREEMAN, GALLOWAY, GREEN,

HANBIDGE, HOHENSTEIN, HOWARD, KENYATTA, KINSEY, KORTZ,

Against Women Act.

WHEREAS, Seventy-five years after some women were granted the

right to vote, 29 years after the monumental passage of the

Voting Rights Act of 1965, which provided voting rights to Black

women, and decades following the Women's Movement of the 1960s

and 1970s, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was enacted in

1994; and

WHEREAS, VAWA was the first statement of its kind and carved

into law legal protections and Federal funding for women

experiencing domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault; and

reauthorizations in 2000, 2005 and 2013, the landmark

legislation has activated the release of more than $8 billion in

grants to local, state and tribal governments and gave way to

the creation of private advocacy groups, such as the well-known

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN); and

WHEREAS, VAWA also allowed for the development of abuse and

assault hotlines as well as emergency housing programs for women

and mothers fleeing domestic violence, while also increasing

funding for law enforcement to address the inadequate education

and training resources related to responding to cases of battery

WHEREAS, In 2000, VAWA was reauthorized by Congress through

the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act to

include a new program for victims of domestic violence, dating

violence, sexual assault and stalking in need of transitional

housing and a new program designed to protect older adults and

women with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, The 2000 VAWA reauthorization was the first to

improve protections for immigrant women as well as victims of

dating and intimate partner violence; and

WHEREAS, The 2000 VAWA reauthorization further empowered

through an amendment of the Violence Against Women and

Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, which added

protections for battered and trafficked nonimmigrants, programs

for tribal and indigenous victims and programs developed to

improve the public health response to violence against women;

and

WHEREAS, This reauthorization further sought to encourage

community responses and initiatives to violence against women

and emphasized collaboration among law enforcement, health and

housing professionals; and

WHEREAS, The current proposal to reauthorize VAWA, the

Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019, as

introduced by U.S. Representative Karen Bass in H.R. 1585,

includes landmark provisions for the LGBTQ+ community and tribal

and indigenous communities, thereby highlighting the

significantly higher risk of abuse and violence against women

and girls in these communities; and

WHEREAS, H.R. 1585 seeks to expand the jurisdiction of tribal

courts over nonindigenous men who abuse indigenous women, with

more than one-half of American Indian and Alaskan Native women

WHEREAS, H.R. 1585 seeks to remove the "boyfriend loophole"

by extending the prohibitions to former or current intimate

partners of victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and

stalking; and

WHEREAS, On April 4, 2019, the United States House of

Representatives passed H.R. 1585 with bipartisan support and

delivered the bill to the United States Senate for

consideration; and

WHEREAS, Currently, H.R. 1585 remains stagnant in the United

States Senate, with no indication that the bill will be

reported being shot or shot at by their partner in their

lifetime; and

WHEREAS, The ripple effect of the expiration of VAWA,

juxtaposed with the unwillingness to close the "boyfriend

loophole" and failure to continue to invest in the protection of

women and girls, will extend far beyond the intimate

relationship and affect the children who witness or live with

violence against women and girls, family members, coworkers and

law enforcement officers who respond to the violence; and

WHEREAS, The fundamental goal of VAWA is to prevent domestic

criminal justice system, public and private social services

agencies, schools, colleges and universities and public health

organizations; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the United States Senate to

reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives condemn gender-

based violence, sexual assault, trafficking and stalking; and be

it further

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the United

Pat Toomey.