Violence Against Women Policy Trends Report 8

January 30, 2001

David M. Heger
National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center
University of Missouri - St. Louis
Political Analyst

Federal

Last week the country said goodbye to eight years under the Clinton Administration. During this time, the Violence Against Women Act was enacted and reauthorized, providing billions of dollars in research, education, and services for victims of violence. Many advocates, including Esta Soler, Executive Director of the Family Violence Prevention Fund, report being pleased with the efforts of Clinton appointees Janet Reno at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Donna Shalala at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address gender-based violence.

President George W. Bush has wasted little time so far in his role as the nation's chief executive and has moved quickly to act on his campaign promises. The theme of his first week in office was education, and the President met with several members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, to discuss his proposals to "leave no child behind" in the classroom. Also during his first week, President Bush made his first executive order, which cuts off government funding to overseas family planning organizations that provide abortion services. The action was consistent with Mr. Bush's campaign pledge to support "pro-life" policies.

The President signed two additional executive orders during his second week in office. The first order creates the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which will be responsible for bringing more church and faith-based organizations into government efforts to respond to "problems like addiction and abandonment and gang violence, domestic violence, mental illness and homelessness." The move has drawn criticism from proponents of the separation of church and state, who fear that public funds will be used to endorse one religion over another. John Diulio, a University of Pennsylvania political science professor, will head the new office. In a related action, President Bush signed a second executive order to establish faith-based centers at five agencies, including DOJ and HHS, to "ensure greater cooperation between the government and the independent sector."

Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson was recently confirmed by a unanimous vote in the Senate to succeed Donna Shalala at HHS. President Bush has not yet announced an appointment to head the National Institutes of Health, but is expected to do so in the near future. John Ashcroft is still facing a tough battle for confirmation by his former colleagues in the United States Senate. Mr. Ashcroft is expected to eventually win approval, but several Democrats have publicly announced their intention to vote against his nomination. Opponents to Mr. Ashcroft are reportedly trying to send a signal to President Bush that he should not nominate a staunch conservative to the Supreme Court when the time arrives.

State

Legislative activity across the country has all but hit full stride as January comes to a close. Only a few states remain inactive. Alabama, Nevada, Oklahoma, and West Virginia will convene in February for their 2001 legislative sessions, while lawmakers in Florida and Louisiana will wait until March to begin work. In most active states, the focus continues to be on committee consideration of legislative proposals. Few states have been engaged in official session activity long enough to pass any legislation through both houses of the legislature. Virginia provides an exception to this trend because of their relatively short session that ends on February 24.

State lawmakers continue to address sexual assault legislation this year. The New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee recently passed a package of sex crime legislation, which will now be considered by the full Assembly. The bills require the state to report annually on the incidence of sexual assault on college campuses. In addition, colleges must post and distribute a "Campus Sexual Assault Victim's Bill of Rights," and convicted sexual offenders must pay a forensic laboratory fee.

In Indiana, SB 80 and HB 1718 have garnered attention from the local media because they extend the statute of limitations on rape to 10 years. The bills' supporters point to the use of DNA evidence in tracking down sexual offenders and cite similar laws in nine other states. Often times incriminating DNA evidence becomes available after the current deadline of five years has expired. Similar legislation is being considered this year in the Texas Legislature (See Trends Report 5).

Domestic violence issues are also being given the attention of state policymakers in 2001. Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack (D) continues to apply pressure to the Republican-controlled Legislature to pass his proposal of $8 million in new spending to address the abuse of children, spouses, and the elderly. Frustrated with Republicans' luke-warm response to the measure, the Governor recently told local media, "At this point in time, we've seen the conservative side of these folks, we have yet to see the compassionate side." Meanwhile, a bill to include "live-in boyfriends" to the list of persons who can be prosecuted for "child endangerment" has received serious consideration in the Iowa Legislature this year.

Discussion about domestic violence policy can also be heard reverberating through the halls of the Capitol in neighboring Minnesota. Men have joined with women in the state to advocate for new legislation to protect women from abuse. The Men's Action Committee to End Violence Against Women united recently with the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women to call upon their state lawmakers to provide additional battered women's services, allocate more resources to train the criminal and civil justice systems to work better with batterers, and change custody laws to more effectively address abuse.

Other

A two-part salon.com feature article criticizes victim-based approaches to domestic violence ad campaigns (http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/01/29/victims/index.html).