(FBOP) - On Thursday evening, September 12, Director Peters attended an event to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) hosted by President Joseph Biden and Dr. Jill Biden on the South Lawn of the White House. The event was attended by hundreds of people, including survivors of domestic violence, advocates, administration officials and members of Congress.
The purpose of VAWA is to end sex-based violence and to transform the United States’ response to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. It was the first comprehensive federal law designed to improve criminal justice responses and to increase the availability of services for victims and survivors. After becoming law in 1994, the VAWA has been reauthorized numerous times making the law stronger and more inclusive. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled 8–1 in United States v. Rahimi to uphold the law's domestic violence restraining order which restricts firearm possession for people convicted of domestic abuse.
According to FBI statistics, between 1993 and 2022, annual domestic violence rates dropped by 67% and the rate of rapes and sexual assaults declined by 56%. A Fact Sheet commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act can be found on www.whitehouse.gov.
30th Anniversary of VAWA
Director Peters attends commemorative White House event
