FEMINIST MAJORITY

Working for Womens Equality

May 7, 2012 The Honorable Lamar Smith Chairman House Judiciary Committee 2138 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. Ranking Member House Judiciary Committee 2138 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Conyers: The Feminist Majority strongly opposes H.R. 4750, the Cantor/Adams Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA), and urges House passage of VAWA Reauthorization that includes critical provisions included in the bipartisan bill passed by the Senate (S. 1925). Violence is violence and VAWA must cover all victims. In attempting to reach this goal of protection for all victims, S. 1925 strengthens VAWA by including protections for Native American women, better access for immigrant women who fear deportation if they report violence and better access for LGBT victims. Unfortunately, H.R. 4750 not only omits these critical provisions that seek to help all victims, it even takes back existing protections for immigrant women. By reversing confidentiality provisions that have existed since 1996, this bill would put them at even greater risk of further violence. In the almost 18 years since VAWA was initially passed, millions have benefited from its provisions. Between 1993 and 2010, the rate of intimate partner violence declined by 67%. States are taking violence against women more seriously and all states now have stalking laws, criminal sanctions for violation of civil protection orders, and reforms that make date or spousal rape as serious of a crime as stranger rape. Moreover, VAWA established the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which receives over 22,000 calls each month and VAWA funds train over 500,000 law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, and other personnel each year. The increase in mandatory minimum sentences in H.R. 4750 over what is included in the Senate bill is also of grave concern. Severe mandatory minimum sentences in these cases are a deterrent to victims reporting and also make prosecution more difficult. The Feminist Majority strongly opposes the narrowing of critical protections for victims and urges the House to include the carefully crafted provisions included in S. 1925. Eliminating violence against women is not must not be a partisan issue. For Womens Lives,

Eleanor Smeal, President Feminist Majority