On September 13, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994. This was United States federal law that provided $1.6 billion toward the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women. It imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted and allowed for civil redress in cases which were unprosecuted. The Act which was drafted by then Senator Joe Biden also established the Office on Violence Against Women within the Department of Justice. It had bipartisan report in both the House and the Senate, and aside from a few legal debates over mandatory HIV testing and restitution, the bill survived. It was reauthorized by Congress in 2000 and 2005 and signed by President George Bush.
But in 2012, after the bill had expired it faced stiff objection from conservative republicans. After months of committees, procedures and debates the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Renewal Act of 2013 finally passed with a vote of 286 to 138 votes in the house, and 78 to 22 votes in the senate. Many conservative Republicans voted against the bill including 10 women and the 2016 Republican candidates Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Lyndsey Graham. What would drive these individuals to oppose renewing this act? They argued that the Democrats were playing politics, by expanding the bill to include LBGT rights and provisions for same-sex couples. For example, the Renewal Act expanded non-discrimination protections for LGBT people to prohibit shelters and other domestic violence services from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. On March 6, 2014 the United States Conferences of Catholic Bishops released a statement opposing the expansion, that "these two classifications are unnecessary to establish the just protections due to all persons. They undermine the meaning and importance of sexual difference. They are unjustly exploited for purposes of marriage redefinition." It was an effort to redefine marriage that many conservatives opposed, not protection of women. The question one must ask is this. Were Democrats fighting to expand protection to all women? Or were they playing politics. After all 2012 was an election year.
Now it was 2013, and Prescient Obama was just re-elected. On the day of Obama's 5th state of the union addressed, the senate had just passed the renewal of VAWA and Obama urged the House to do the same.
"But we can't stop there. We know our economy is stronger when our wives, our mothers, our daughters can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace and free from the fear of domestic violence. Today the Senate passed the "Violence Against Women's Act" that Joe Biden originally wrote almost 20 years ago. And I now urge the House to do the same. Good job, Joe"http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=102826
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_Against_Women_Act
http://www.ibtimes.com/who-voted-against-2013-violence-against-women-act-congressional-roll-call-reauthorization-bill
http://www.eclectablog.com/2013/02/women-betrayed-nine-female-house-republicans-vote-against-the-violence-against-women-act.html
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2013/03/01/ann-wagner-opposes-violence-against-women-act-i-was-pleased-to-stand-up-for-all-women
http://www.usccb.org/news/2013/13-046.cfm
http://inamerica.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/04/debate-over-violence-against-women-act-centers-on-the-vulnerable/
http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/president-barack-obama-applauds-as-vice-president-joseph-biden-looks-picture-id163295424
https://psychologybenefits.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/blog-violence-against-women.jpg
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