The Violence Against Women Act was set to expire on Sept 30, but Congress postponed the reauthorization giving it a Dec. 7 deadline.
A short re-authorization period was attached to a defense and health spending bill that passed on Sept. 16.
The Office on Violence Against Women is responsible for distributing the money from the VAWA. The office’s website lists the requested 2018 VAWA budget as $480 million — a 1.2 percent increase from the 2017 budget. The office has 25 grant programs that they are responsible for funding.
Four grant programs have required funding by the law. The other 21 grant programs are discretionary.
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports one in three women will experience violence with an intimate partner in their lifetime.
Women, ages 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner. The overwhelming majority, 94 percent, of murder-suicide victims are women.
Citrus College has several ways for women to report violence.
“You can report it to us,” said Head of Campus Safety, Benjamin Macias. “You can report it to law enforcement, your campus counselors, or the Title IX officer.”
The Citrus College Title IX Officer is Brenda Fink. Fink has not responded to multiple requests for comment by email and phone.
“Once the report is made, an investigation is conducted,” Macias said.
The Citrus College annual safety report says there have been no violent crimes committed in the past three years. Glendora and Azusa Police departments post information about violent crime online.
Azusa Police arrested a man near Gladstone Park for allegedly attempting a sexual assault on Sept. 17. Azusa Police arrested another man for allegedly stabbing two women on Sept. 19.
The National Alliance to End Sexual Violence website says that the VAWA costs $15.50 per U.S. woman but saves each woman $159 in victimization costs.
“Approximately $14.8 billion in victimization costs are averted due to VAWA, which only costs $1.6 billion to implement,” the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence website says.
The Center for Disease Control published a study in June 2017 on the cost to rape victims over a lifetime.
The study says the lifetime cost of rape to a victim is $122,461.
The VAWA attempts to lower cost to the female survivors by providing healthcare and financial aid. The original VAWA was passed by the Clinton administration in 1994.
The act was reauthorized in 2000, 2005 and 2013 with support from both major parties. The funding for the VAWA was passed in 2013 with funding for a five year term.
The act faced opposition during its reauthorization in 2013 from conservative writers, including FreedomWorks, the Independent Women’s Forum and TownHall.
TownHall columnist Phyllis Schafly published “Violence Against Women Act Must Be Rewritten” on July 12, 2011.
“It is written and implemented to oppose abuse of women and to punish men,” Schafly wrote. “Men ought to be entitled to equal protection of the law.”
FreedomWorks posted an article titled “Reasons to Oppose the So-Called Violence Against Women Act” which voiced her opposition to the VAWA.
“Supporters of the VAWA portray women as helpless victims — this is the kind of attitude that is setting women back,” Borowski wrote.
The Independent Women’s Forum writer, Gayle Trotter published an article titled, “There are Real Reasons to Oppose VAWA.”
Trotter wrote VAWA is “federalizing a problem that would be better handled at the state level.”
A correction was made, on the day of publishing, she responded to an email saying that she was available for comment. However, the Citrus College Clarion published that Fink had not responded to multiple requests for comment by email and phone.
