Violence Against Women Act — VAWA is Trans Inclusive
On March 7, 2013, President Obama signed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The law, first passed in 1994, makes it easier to prosecute domestic violence crimes in federal court and now in 2013 provides extended coverage to immigrants, native Americans and gays, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. It is significant as it is only the second federal law passed in Congress that is fully transgender inclusive, in a positive way for transpeople. The first was the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act which passed in 2009.
In his remarks, the President inferred and recognized our inclusion along with gays and lesbians, “Because this is a country where everybody should be able to pursue their own measure of happiness and live their lives free from fear, no matter who you are, no matter who you love.” And later, more specifically, “Today is about all the Americans who face discrimination based on
sexual orientation and gender identity when they seek help,”
“Gender Identity,” simply put is the Federal “legalese” for the inclusion of transgender people. For state and municipal laws, “gender identity or expression” is favored by legal experts.
Although so many LGBT people have been frustrated working, hoping, fighting for an inclusive Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) to be introduced and passed, we can acknowledge that VAWA reauthorization includes the LGBT community in historic and unprecedented ways.
This is the first time that federal law includes LGBT anti-discrimination provisions, a huge step forward for LGBT inclusion in our nation’s laws. VAWA reauthorization is also significant because it marks the first time the House under Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) allowed a bill with pro-LGBT language to pass. Republican House leadership put on extreme pressure to excise the LGBT provisions and finally, only allowed the bill to pass after their version without LGBT language failed on the House floor. Then, they took up the LGBT-inclusive bill already passed by the Senate.
For anyone who has attended a Transgender Day of Remembrance Observance, studied trans history, or read any of the relevant data it is fairly obvious that transgender people face inordinately high levels of violence of all kinds and domestic violence is no exception.
According to the Washington Blade,
The VAWA reauthorization helps protect the LGBT community against domestic violence and supports it victims in three ways:
• First, the law requires all programs that receive funding under VAWA to provide services regardless of a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Second, the law explicitly includes the LGBT community in the largest VAWA grant program, the “STOP Grant Program,” which provides funding to providers who collaborate with prosecution and law enforcement officials to address domestic violence.
• Lastly, the bill sets up a grant program specifically aimed at providing services and outreach to underserved populations, including programs that provide care specifically for LGBT people.
I think what is impressive is the fact that we can expect, going forward, full LGBT inclusion in legislation. It is clear that more and more LGBT groups are working together with progressive allies and our progressive and main stream friends do “get it.”
I’ve been fortunate and have had several successes in passing pro-trans legislation and working to change state regulations for transpeople as well as working with federal legislators and organizations to actually change their policy on transgender issues. In the future I hope to talk about how far we’ve come, how fast we’ve come, how far we still must go and some thoughts about how we’ve done it. I’d like to talk about working the system and building political capital. It’s not rocket science!
Category: Legal, Transgender Opinion, Transgender Politics
About the Author (Author Profile)
Babs at 76 passed away in 2019. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee, Deputy Vice Chair of the NJ Democratic State Committee and Political Director of the Gender Rights Advocacy Association of NJ. She served on the Executive Committee of Trans United 4 Obama. She has served as Vice Chair of the DNC Eastern Caucus, was President of NJ Stonewall Democrats, Co-Chair of National Stonewall Democrats Federal PAC Board, Vice-Chair of Garden State Equality, Executive Board member of National Stonewall Democrats as Chair of the DNC Relations Committee and a member of the NJ Civil Unions Review Commission.Subscribe
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