Pathway to Progress: 1999 to Present

As a result of more women in corporate culture and politics, the Violence Against Women Act of 1999 brought to the forefront victim protection and stalking prevention. It can be proven through legislation such as this that when more women are in powerful positions, more progressive and realistic referendums are made.

The Violence Against Women Act of 1999 opens with a compelling plea from representative of Maryland’s eighth district (1987 to 2003), Ms. Constance Morella (“Constance Morella”), to continue providing grants and programs to victims of domestic violence.

“Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, these grants and programs are giving victims a second chance. They must be maintained to continue the commitment that Congress made in 1994 by providing women and children with alternatives to living with fear and danger of domestic violence and child abuse. Awareness is raised every day, and more victims are coming forward. That is a good sign. I know in all of our [s]tates throughout the country there are grants that have come from the Violence Against Women Act that are making a difference specifically in local communities. And [sic] you have cited in your opening statement … the statistics that indicate the tremendous need for continuing with the Violence Against Women Act... What the process needs from us is time to continue the programs and spread the message that victims of domestic violence will be protected from abuse.” (Morella, 20)

As Morella has firmly communicated, attempts have been made in the past to prevent acts of domestic violence; however legislation and protections need to continue evolving in order to guarantee safety for victims of abuse. Just nine years before this critical hearing (1990), “[a] survey of several hundred therapists regarding domestic violence cases [revealed] reveals that 41% failed to identify obvous [sic] evidence of violence. None of the therapists identified the lethality of the situation. Those who did identify conflict minimized the severity and 55% said they would not intervene. Fourteen percent said they would work on the couples ‘communication style’” (“History of Battered”). It became apparent that legislative action and congressional representation was critical in revamping the fundamentals of women’s rights issues because, in 1992 the “U.S. Surgeon General [ranked] ranks abuse by husbands to be the leading cause of injuries to women aged 15 to 44” (“History of Battered”).

The correlation between progression and legislation can indisputably be connected to the data on women in leadership positions. (See chart.)

From 1991 to 1999, there was a seven percent increase in women in the U.S. Senate. Even though in 1999 only nine percent of the U.S. Senate were women, there was an appreciable increase in women’s contribution to corporate culture and politics during that decade (Brown). We as a nation needed legislation that could further defend people’s right to life and liberty, hence the introduction of the Violence Against Women Act of 1999.

1999 proved to be a year of innovation and reconstruction through monumental statutes such as the Violence Against Women Act, but also the Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act. Section seven of this salient regulation

“[r]equires the Secretary to develop a plan for carrying out a national campaign to educate young adults, youths, law enforcement personnel, educators, school nurses, counselors of rape victims, and hospital emergency room personnel on: (1) the dangers of date-rape drugs; (2) the applicability of the CSA to such drugs, including penalties; (3) recognizing the symptoms that indicate an individual may be a victim of such drugs, including symptoms of sexual assault; and (4) appropriately responding when an individual has such symptoms.’ (“H.R.2130”)

Women’s issues arguably became most acknowledged in the late nineties to early two-thousands after having spent so long being ignored and contravened, because more women fought (politically) for their voices to be heard.

Even though there has been groundbreaking legislation, movements, and an overall growth in the nation’s ability accept and adapt to change, there are still many loopholes to current legislation and blatant prejudices or malice in everyday life. “In the United States, ~ 27% of women… aged ≥ 18 years are physically assaulted, stalked, or raped by an intimate partner each year.” (Schub) Ninety-four percent of victims from all murder-suicides involving an intimate partner are women (NCADV, statistics). Morella’s plea in 1999 was to keep legislation regarding women’s issues and safety evolutionary, so that as society progresses, the gender based gap that unnecessarily divides the nation can eventually be diminished. Considering there are only twenty-one women serving in the U.S. Senate (Brown), there is a long way to go before there is authentic equality.Works Cited:

States., United. “Violence Against Women Act of 1999, Stalking Prevention and Victim Protection Act of 1999: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Crime of the Committee on ...” HathiTrust, hdl.handle.net/2027/pur1.32754071777167.

Constance Morella.” Profile Constance Morella, School of Public Affairs, www.american.edu/spa/faculty/cmorella.cfm.

Brown, Anna. “The Data on Women Leaders.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project, 17 Mar. 2017, www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/03/17/the-data-on-women-leaders/#us-senate.

History of Battered Women’s Movement.” ICADV, California’s Domestic Violence Resource/ Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse, Sept. 1999, www.icadvinc.org/what-is-domestic-violence/history-of-battered-womens-movement/#sproul.H.R.2130 - Hillory J. Farias and Samantha Reid Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act of 2000.”Congress, Library of Congress, www.congress.gov/bill/106th-congress/house-bill/2130Schub, T, and O Avital. Intimate Partner Violence. Edited by D Pravikoff, EBSCO Publishing, 9 June 2017, eds.b.ebscohost.com.ccbcmd.idm.oclc.org/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=023ae94d-b2da-403e-af36-3da1c01bbdf4@sessionmgr101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#AN=T700659&db=nr

NCADV | National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.” The Nation's Leading Grassroots Voice on Domestic Violence, ncadv.org/statistics