Attorney General Jim Hood joined attorneys general from all states and five territories today in a letter urging Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) before it expires this year.
VAWA originally passed in 1994, and over $6 billion in grant funding has been awarded since to government and nonprofit organizations nationwide. In a letter to Congressional leaders, the attorneys general emphasized the importance of VAWA to reducing the rate of sexual violence toward women and addressing the devastating effects of these crimes.
“In the past, funding under the VAWA has allowed the Domestic Violence Division to add a resource prosecutor and conduct statewide trainings,” General Hood said. “Since its creation in 2006, our Domestic Violence Division has provided training to thousands of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges and medical personnel in Mississippi. Additionally, through authorized funding under the VAWA, we partnered with the Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault in October 2014 to launch the Mississippi Encourage Sexual Assault ARREST Project to improve the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes in our state. The importance of funding under this act cannot be overstated.”
According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, VAWA encouraged “community-coordinated responses that brought together, for the first time, the criminal justice system, the social services system, and private nonprofit organizations responding to domestic violence and sexual assault.” In encouraging this coordination, it also recognized and supported the thousands of shelters and organizations across the country that provide resources, protection and assistance to those in crisis.
A copy of the letter can be found here.
Attorney General Jim Hood Press Release
9/18/2018
Sarah Ulmer
