Has VAWA delivered on its promise to women?

Special Report

Published by: Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting (RADAR), 2007
Via: Docuticker

Domestic violence laws such as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) are not reducing abuse rates and may be placing women at greater risk of violence, according to a report released today. “Has VAWA Delivered on its Promises to Women?” reveals that partner homicides had already dropped 29% by 1994, the year that VAWA was enacted into law. After 2000, declines began to bottom out, according to Department of Justice statistics. Some VAWA-driven policies, such as mandatory arrest for restraining order violations, are seen as placing certain groups of women at greater risk of subsequent violence. “Get-tough domestic violence laws aren’t working the way persons had hoped,” notes RADAR spokesperson Lisa Scott. “In some areas, arrests of females have skyrocketed and 15% of restraining orders are taken out against women.”
(http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/VAWA-Has-It-Delivered-on-Its-Promises-to-Women.pdf)