Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011--Continued

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. According to a recent survey, 24 people every minute become victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States. That means that just in the time it takes me to finish this statement, dozens will have been victimized.

Since it was passed by Congress in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has provided valuable, even life-saving, assistance to these hundreds of thousands of individuals. The impact of this bipartisan legislation has been profound. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the rate of domestic violence against women has dropped by 53 percent since VAWA's passage. This legislation is critical.

There is no question that we are making tremendous progress. But there are so many who urgently need help. Let's look at incidence of physical violence: The Centers for Disease Control tell us that nearly one in four women reports experiencing severe physical violence by an intimate partner. And the consequences can be severe. For example, according to one report, in 2007, 45 percent of the women killed in the United States died at the hands of an intimate partner.

Sexual assault statistics are just as alarming: The CDC tells us that nearly one in five women in the United States has been raped. And more than half of female rape victims report being raped by an intimate partner. One in six women in the United States has experienced stalking. Each one of these statistics, and every person who has suffered domestic and sexual violence, shows us that we need to reauthorize this legislation, and we need to do it now.

This legislation is supported by victims, experts, and advocates. It is supported by service providers, faith leaders, and health care professionals. And it is supported by prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement officials. It should be supported by all of us here in Congress.

The last two VAWA reauthorizations have appropriately--and carefully--expanded the scope of the law and improved it. This reauthorization is no exception. It applies the important lessons we have learned from those working in the field and renews our commitment to reducing domestic and sexual violence. Here is what the reauthorization does:

It ensures that funding will continue to go to the organizations and individuals who need help most. It places increased emphasis on responding to sexual assault, in addition to domestic violence. It does things like encourage jurisdictions to evaluate their rape kit inventories and reduce existing backlogs.

The reauthorization incorporates important accountability mechanisms. It consolidates programs to reduce duplication and unnecessary bureaucracy. And it reduces spending. Total annual authorization has been cut by 17 percent. The reauthorization also helps meet the needs of victims from communities that have had difficulty accessing traditional services, for example, because of their religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. It helps tribal communities. It helps abused immigrants.

The reauthorization helps ensure that law enforcement officials have access to the tools they need by allowing for the ``recapture'' of a modest number of U visas. U Visas, for victims of crimes, are an important law enforcement tool. They may be granted only after law enforcement certification and only if a non-citizen is the victim of enumerated--and serious--crimes. Law enforcement officials across the country have advocated for increased accessibility to U Visas: In my home State of Illinois, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said: ``Increasing the accessibility to U Visas will provide to prosecutors like me an important tool in protecting public safety.'' The Fraternal Order of Police wrote: ``The expansion of the U Visa program will provide incalculable benefits to our citizens and our communities at a negligible cost.''

I want to take a moment to discuss an important provision in this reauthorization that I authored, working with Senator Leahy, to address an appalling situation taking place in our immigration detention facilities. We have heard about truly horrific instances of sexual assault occurring in immigration detention facilities.

A troubling episode of Frontline, the PBS program, detailed one woman's story in great detail recently. But that was hardly an isolated incident. As the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission has said: ``[A]ccounts of abuse by staff and by detainees have been coming to light for more than 20 years. As a group, immigration detainees are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse and its effects while detained . . . .''

The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003--``PREA''--aimed to eliminate the sexual abuse of those in custody. This was legislation, championed by Senator Sessions, that I cosponsored. Our goal, together, was to create a ``zero-tolerance'' policy for this intolerable behavior. Nobody behind bars should have to fear abuse from others in detention or from those meant to protect them. Simply put: sexual abuse is not, and cannot be, part of the punishment for those accused of violating our laws.

We are waiting on the Department of Justice's final National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape. But it is unclear to what extent those standards will be interpreted to apply to immigration detention facilities--as opposed to, say, facilities under the Bureau of Prisons. When we drafted and passed PREA, it was always our intent that it would apply to all those in detention--including immigration detainees.

It was important to me to have a provision that clarifies that standards to prevent prison rape must apply to immigration detainees. This provision requires that, in the absence of other steps, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services quickly adopt standards for the prevention and punishment of sexual assault in all facilities with immigration detainees.

Custodial sexual assault is just one of the many issues addressed by the Violence Against Women Act. I urge my colleagues to work with me to reauthorize this legislation. Previous VAWA reauthorizations have always had broad bipartisan support. This legislation is not Democratic or Republican. It is about protecting our communities from abuse and violence. This reauthorization that we are passing is an impressive product that carefully incorporates the expert feedback from those in the field.

The dozens of individuals who have been victimized since I stood up here today need our help now. Let's give it to them.

I yield the floor.

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