The Violence Against Women Act was first authorized in 1994 by Congress. It was the first federal legislation that acknowledged  domestic violence as crime that did warrant a response from law enforcement. It requires reauthorization every five years. It expired in 2019 but was recently passed by the House of Representatives.

To learn more about VAWA, please visit the following resources:

https://nnedv.org/content/violence-against-women-act/

https://time.com/5675029/violence-against-women-act-history-biden/