ICYMI: Congresswoman Gwen Moore Joins Democratic Women’s Caucus in Honoring the 30th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act

ICYMI: Congresswoman Gwen Moore Joins Democratic Women's Caucus in Honoring the 30^th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act

**Watch Rep. Gwen Moore's remarks here**

**Watch the full press call here**

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Thursday, September 12, 2024, Congresswoman Gwen Moore joined the Democratic Women's Caucus in honoring the 30^th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) via a press call. On the call, DWC Outreach Co-Chair Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Member Services Co-Chair Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), and Communications Co-Chairs Gwen Moore (WI-04) and Shontel Brown (OH-11) spoke about the progress made through VAWA thus far, and the work that remains to protect women and girls from gender-based violence.

Wendy Chun-Hoon, Director of the Women's Bureau at the Department of Labor, also spoke about the Fostering Access, Rights, and Equity (FARE) grant initiative at the Women's Bureau, the first DOL grant program dedicated solely to supporting community-based organizations' efforts to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and harassment at work.

"We have so much more to do. It was very distressing to me to see us backslide during COVID, which demonstrates the vulnerabilities that women face. We had governors telling women to stay home where it's safe, but home was not a safe place," said Communications Co-Chair Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-04). "It is really important that we shore up the Crime Victims Fund so that our communities can be prepared when we see these upticks and we can build on the progress of VAWA until we rid our nation of gender-based violence once and for all."

We have to make sure that communities have the tools to not only react to violence, but to proactively address the root causes and understand its enduring consequences, said DWC Outreach Co-Chair Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-06). "Survivors need housing, child care, legal assistance, counseling, food, financial assistance, and most importantly, space and time to heal physically, mentally, and emotionally."

"The Violence Against Women Act reminds us what's at stake [with funding the government ]... if you want to implement extreme cuts and even shut the government down, part of what's at stake is funding for women's shelters, transitional housing, funding for law enforcement to prosecute violent crimes against women, funding for training, funding for outreach, funding for education, and more," said Communications Co-Chair Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11).

"The illness, the sickness, that is violence against women and gender-based violence does not know title, it does not know geography, it does not know income, it affects all women in this country," said Member Services Co-Chair Rep. Melanie Stansbury (NM-01). "One in four women still experience physical violence by their partner, and with the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women still impacting our communities, we must remain steadfast in the work ahead."

"Everyone deserves to feel safe and healthy in their homes and at work. We know that domestic violence permeates not just our personal lives but our workplaces too, and that gender-based violence and harassment is not just a safety issue, it's an economic one," said Wendy Chun-Hoon, the Director of the Women's Bureau at the Department of Labor. The Biden Harris administration has an unwavering commitment to ending gender-based violence, releasing the first-ever U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, which lays out a roadmap for a whole-of-government effort to prevent and address gender-based violence in the U.S., including at work. The Women's Bureau is committed to continuing the effort to eliminate gender-based violence in the world of work through the Fostering Access Rights, and Equity (FARE) grant."

Congresswoman Gwen Moore led the 2013 reauthorization of VAWA, which strengthened tribal jurisdiction in domestic violence cases. This legislation also expanded tribal special domestic violence jurisdiction to include sexual violence, dating violence, stalking, and more. This provision took a critical step in holding non-tribal members accountable in crimes against American Indian and Alaskan Native women.

The Democratic Women's Caucus (DWC) has a long history of fighting for survivors of domestic violence and ensuring women and families have the support they need. This year the DWC once again advocated for fully-funding VAWA programs and initiatives in the appropriations process and pushed back against House Republicans when they proposed cuts to VAWA programs and grants in their FY25 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. This week the DWC also hosted a roundtable on the rise of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfake pornography which marks a new era of violence against women.

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