Presidential Document2024-21269
30th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act
Primary source
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Published
September 17, 2024
Signed
September 12, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75945-75946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21269]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 17, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 75945]]
Proclamation 10808 of September 12, 2024
30th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women
Act
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Tomorrow, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which has
transformed our Nation's response to sexual assault,
domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking while
also providing communities with the tools necessary to
support survivors and save lives. I was proud to write
VAWA and champion it three decades ago, and I am even
prouder to honor its lasting legacy today.
Before VAWA, our country did not talk about violence
against women as a national epidemic or an issue the
Government had to address. As a society, we often
overlooked domestic violence--calling it a family
matter, not a crime. Too few police officers were
trained on how to properly respond to domestic
violence, and there were not enough places for
survivors to go for the help they needed or the justice
they deserved. There was no national hotline, and many
survivors' stories went untold.
That is why, as a United States Senator, I worked
closely with brave and committed survivors and
advocates to write VAWA--and with the incredible
efforts of activists and women's rights leaders, we got
it passed. Courageous survivors spoke out about the
abuse they had endured, bringing this hidden epidemic
out of the shadows and changing the way America saw
this issue. VAWA was a game changer. We began to
increase justice for survivors and accountability for
perpetrators. And we finally acknowledged ending
gender-based violence as a shared priority for the
Nation and turned to developing the coordinated
response that survivors need and deserve.
Beginning in 1994, VAWA has delivered critical
resources and support to help survivors of gender-based
violence. Shelters, rape crisis centers, housing, and
legal assistance were made available, and funding was
provided to train law enforcement, prosecutors,
advocates, and judges to improve our justice system's
response to survivors. We also created the first-ever
National Domestic Violence Hotline, which has provided
millions of people with lifesaving, confidential
support and this year answered its seven millionth
call.
I have worked across the aisle to reauthorize VAWA four
times since its initial signing, each time making this
critical law even stronger. We strengthened protections
against stalking, dating violence, trafficking, and
sexual assault, expanded access to justice for Tribal
communities, and improved services for immigrant, older
adult, and LGBTQI+ survivors, among other underserved
communities. As President, I signed the most recent
reauthorization of VAWA in 2022, and secured the
highest-ever funding level for VAWA implementation. We
provided support for survivors and invested in
prevention efforts and educational programs so that we
can put a stop to violence and abuse before it occurs.
And we established a new Federal civil cause of action
for individuals whose intimate visual images are
disclosed without their consent.
My Administration has prioritized putting an end to
gender-based violence even beyond VAWA. I signed the
most significant gun safety law in nearly three
decades, which narrowed the ``boyfriend loophole'' to
help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.
And I established the first-ever White
[[Page 75946]]
House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. We put in
place new protections to support survivors and address
sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace
and released the first-ever National Plan to End
Gender-Based Violence, an all-of-government approach to
preventing and addressing all forms of gender-based
violence. And through the American Rescue Plan, we have
invested $1 billion in supplemental funding for rape
crisis centers, community support organizations, and
other services for gender-based violence survivors.
We have led historic, bipartisan military justice
reforms to ensure that prosecutorial decisions in cases
of gender-based violence are fully independent from the
chain of command and better protect survivors in our
military. My Administration has restored and
strengthened vital protections under Title IX to help
keep students and employees safe from sexual assault
and harassment on campus. And Vice President Kamala
Harris and I launched a Federal task force that has
taken concrete steps toward prevention, accountability
for perpetrators, research, and support for survivors
of online harassment and abuse, including launching the
first 24/7 national helpline for survivors of image-
based abuse.
When I presented VAWA to the Senate all those years
ago, I envisioned a world where every woman could live
free from fear, free from violence, and free from
abuse. We have made tremendous strides toward achieving
this vision, but there is still much more to do. On
this milestone anniversary, let us recommit to creating
a society that is truly safe and where we all agree
that even one case of gender-based violence is too
many. And let us honor the survivors and advocates,
whose powerful voices and tireless dedication have
changed our world for the better.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 13,
2024, as the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against
Women Act. I call upon each of us to change the culture
of violence against women and provide meaningful
support to all survivors. Together, we can transform
the country and build a Nation where all people live
free of violence and abuse.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twelfth day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
ninth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-21269
Filed 9-16-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 17, 2024.
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