Violence Against Women Act: Reports and Resources

Legal Momentum led the effort to pass the federal Violence Against Women Act and continues to promote programs supporting and protecting victims of violence under the Act and at the state level.  Every five years, Congress reauthorizes this vital legislation. Legal Momentum works in coalition to see that each reauthorization increases rights and resources for victims and improves community support structures.

Learn more about the history of the Violence Against Women Act.

Learn more about the legislative history of the Violence Against Women Act.

Celebrating the Fifteenth Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act

In celebration of the fifteenth anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, Legal Momentum and The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law presented a symposium at Georgetown Law Center featuring Legal Momentum's long history of advocacy for women victims of violence and its leadership in passing this landmark legislation. The Symposium included presentations by Legal Momentum current and former staff attorneys who advocated, litigated, and helped reauthorize VAWA, and Vice President Joe Biden, who championed VAWA from its inception. Legal Momentum awarded Vice President Biden the Legal Momentum Hero Award for his invaluable work.

The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law's 2010 Symposium Issue includes an edited transcript of the speakers' remarks and articles by Legal Momentum staff and others exploring current violence against women issues and VAWA.

Download PDF Transcripts from The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law's 2010 Symposium Issue:

Welcoming Remarks and Panel One: Present at the Creation: Drafting and Passing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

Presentation of the Legal Momentum Hero Award to Vice President Joe Biden for Initiating and Championing VAWA

Panel Two: The VAWA Civil Rights Provision: Shaping It, Saving It, Litigating It, Losing It

Panel Two Commentary: Drafting, Lobbying, and Litigating VAWA: National, Local, and Transnational Interventions on Behalf of Women's Equality
by Professor Judith Resnik, Yale Law School

Panel Three: The Impact of VAWA: Billions (Yes, with a B) for Prevention, Victim Services, Law Enforcement, Underserved Populations and the Courts, and Looking Ahead to VAWA IV

Download PDF Articles from The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law's 2010 Symposium Issue:

The Need for a Uniform Federal Response to the Workplace Impact of Interpersonal Violence
by Lisalyn Jacobs, Legal Momentum Vice President of Government Relations and Maya Raghu, Legal Momentum Senior Staff Attorney

Mandatory U-visa Certification Unnecessarily Undermines the Purpose of the Violence Against Women Act's Immigrant Protections and its "Any Credible Evidence" Rules -- A Call for Consistency
by Leslye E. Orloff, Legal Momentum Vice President and Director of the Immigrant Women Program, Kathryn Isom, and Edmuno Saballos

Victims' Rights Unraveling: The Impact of Local Immigration Enforcement Policies on the Violence Against Women Act    
by Kavitha Sreeharsha, Legal Momentum Senior Staff Attorney