There is no evidence that VAWA has been effective in reducing intimate partner violence. While it is true that partner homicide rates have dropped since 1994, the decline began many years before VAWA was enacted into law:
Likewise, a 10-year analysis of non-fatal victimization of women shows violence that was perpetrated by friends (top blue line) or strangers (middle pink line) fell at a faster rate than violence committed by an intimate partner (bottom orange line):
Source: How Effective are Domestic Violence Programs in Stopping Partner Abuse?
So why are we spending half a billion dollars a year on VAWA, when there is no proof of effectiveness?
Women’s Leaders Speak Out:
- “We have an authority in the Department of Justice who says that there’s absolutely no evidence to date that VAWA has led to a decrease in the overall levels of violence against women.” — Janice Shaw Crouse, PhD, Senior Fellow, Beverly LaHaye Institute
- “Between 2000 and 2010, rates of domestic violence actually fell less than the drop in the overall crime rate – at a time when VAWA was pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the criminal system.” — Leigh Goodmark, Professor, University of Maryland Law School
- “There is limited empirical support for the assumption that mandatory arrest and prosecution policies in domestic violence cases have the intended effect of reducing violence against women.” — Linda G. Mills, Professor of Social Work, Public Policy, and Law, New York University
- “We have no evidence to date that VAWA has led to a decrease in the overall levels of violence against women.” — Angela Moore Parmley, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice