U.S. Rep. Peters Votes Against GOP Bill to Weaken Violence Against Women Act

Press Release

Today U.S. Rep. Gary Peters voted against an extremist House Republican bill that would weaken the Violence Against Women Act. The GOP bill, as passed, would roll back basic protections for domestic abuse victims, make it easier for abusers to avoid prosecution and use the threat of deportation against undocumented immigrants to prevent them from reporting crimes. Even though the Senate recently passed a strong bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act by a vote of 68-31 (with every female Republican Senator voting for it), the House Republicans have once again decided to play politics with what should be a non-partisan issue.

"I'm offended that House Republicans want to roll back protections for abuse victims by eliminating many expanded protections included in the Senate-passed version of the Violence Against Women Act, this simply cannot stand," said U.S. Rep. Gary Peters. "I agree with all of the female Republican Senators that voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and I'm appalled that the Tea Party has yet again turned a common sense agreement into a partisan issue to continue their war on women. One in four women will experience domestic violence during their lifetimes, and we absolutely must come together to stand against this problem."

Because of the House GOP's extremist agenda in this bill, hundreds of organizations have formally opposed it including the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Human Rights Campaign.

One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.

An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.

85% of domestic violence victims are women.

Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they knew.

Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.

Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police.

Source