draft

In designing the Violence Against Women Act, the Department of Justice was determined to be the administrator of funds and the criminal justice system became the focal point of “services”.  The very (masculine) system that previously refused to assist women in danger was handed the power to control the funds meant to assist the survivors.  The perpetrators of abuse were and are in control of how much and what form of assistance women receive.  And so, here we are stuck in a system that may provide immediate relief in the form of protection orders and shelter but ultimately fails because criminal prosecution has become the norm by which the system determines who are worthy survivors.  VAWA largely fails to provide what survivors need to become independent: economic sustainability.  

As Patti Seger, executive director of End Domestic Abuse WI recently commented:  ” I try to imagine how much more effective VAWA would be if it were located in HHS rather than DOJ.  It would focus on services rather than punishment.”