Womens Social Policy

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is a US federal law passed in 1994 to protect women from partner abuse. Though it has gone through reforms in 2000 and 2005, RADAR (2007) gives ten reasons why it is a failure.

Below is an annotated list of references:

(1) Laney G. (2005). Violence Against Women Act: History and Federal Funding.
This report for Congress from the Congressional Research Service provides a detailed background of the development of the VAWA from 1994 to 2005.

(2) Cho H, Wilke D. (2005). How has the Violence Against Women Act affected the response of the criminal justice system to domestic violence?(National Crime Victimization Survey). Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 32(4): 125-139.
This study tested if there is an association between the VAWA (1994) and the criminal justice system’s involvement in violence against women.

(3) Wood, S. (2004). VAWA's unfinished business: the immigrant women who fall through the cracks. Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy 11 (Spring 2004): 141-156.
This quantitative article explored the history of domestic violence in immigrant communities, and how the VAWA’s immigrant protection depends largely on a marriage to a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident.

(4) Erwin M, Gershon RRM, Tiburzi M, Lin S. (2005). Reports of intimate partner violence made against police officers. Journal of Family Violence 20(1): 13-19.
This case control study tried to identify risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) by comparing police officers who are charged and those who are not charged.

(5) FemJEPP. (2002). Good Policy for Women.
This unpublished draft consists of the organization’s vision, values, guiding principles, a framework for an integrated approach to public policy, the Integrated Policy Process, Impact Assessment, and Implementation. It may be useful in formulating a policy that will create change in the VAWA.

REFERENCES:

• Cho H, Wilke D. (2005). How has the Violence Against Women Act affected the response of the criminal justice system to domestic violence?(National Crime Victimization Survey). Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 32(4): 125-139.
• Erwin M, Gershon RRM, Tiburzi M, Lin S. (2005). Reports of intimate partner violence made against police officers. Journal of Family Violence 20(1): 13-19. 
• Feminists for Just and Equitable Public Policy (FemJEPP). (2002). Good Policy for Women.
• Laney G. (2005). Violence Against Women Act: History and Federal Funding.
• Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting (RADAR). (2007). Has VAWA Delivered its Promises to Women?
• Wood, S. (2004). VAWA's unfinished business: the immigrant women who fall through the cracks. Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy 11 (Spring 2004): 141-156.