Rush Votes in Favor of Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) voted in favor of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021 (H.R. 1620), which passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 244--172.

"Domestic violence in the United States has been a pandemic within a pandemic this year, as intimate partner violence spiked while Americans stayed home to fight COVID-19," said Rush. "The Violence Against Women Act is lifesaving legislation for millions of Americans and for many of my constituents in Illinois, where the rate of domestic violence is higher than the national average. Today, we vote to restore and strengthen VAWA and send a message to women everywhere that we will not stop fighting to ensure their safety against these atrocious acts."

Since the passage of the original landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (also known as VAWA), the rate of domestic violence in the United States has declined by 63 percent. However, experts estimate that one in three women in the U.S. still experience domestic violence. The rate is even higher in Illinois, where 42 percent of women have been harmed by an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to the most recent estimates from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

39,500 Illinoisans received domestic violence related services in 2019. That same year, the Chicago Police Department made 10,095 domestic violence related arrests and received 193,800 domestic violence related calls.

VAWA expired in 2018 under a Republican-led Congress. In April 2019, the Democratic-led House passed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2019 in a bipartisan vote of 263--158, with Rush voting in favor. However, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) failed to bring the bill up for a vote.

H.R. 1620 makes several improvements to VAWA to address gaps in existing law. These include improving services for victims of domestic violence, increasing access to housing for domestic violence survivors, supporting communities of color, improving the criminal justice response to gender-based violence and conditions for women in federal custody, and investing in sexual assault prevention, among other things.

The legislation is supported by the National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women, a coalition of more than 200 organizations.

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