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Meng Secures Provisions in Violence Against Women Act; Bill Passes the House

April 7, 2021
QUEENS, NY – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) announced today that the House of Representatives recently passed the bipartisan Violence Against Women (VAWA) Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1620) which included two key provisions authored by the Congresswoman.
The measures would:
  • Ensure family-focused programming for incarcerated women – from intake through reentry – to support the women's familial needs, as well as provide appropriate training for correctional staff to engage with their families.
  • Ensure clear distribution and accessibility of sanitary products to incarcerated women, and provide that no visitor is prohibited from visiting due to the visitor's use of sanitary products. This provision comes from Meng's comprehensive Menstrual Equity for All Act which will be reintroduced soon.
The VAWA Reauthorization Act also includes three provisions that Meng secured last Congress when it passed the House. The measures:
  • Ensure parenting classes are made available to prisoners with limited English proficiency.
  • Direct the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to develop tools that communicate parenting program availability and eligibility criteria to each BOP employee and each pregnant inmate to ensure that all incarcerated women understand the resources available to them.
  • Ensure cultural competency training is included in trauma screening trainings for correctional officers, and all BOP employees including instructors and health care professionals.
"A holistic approach to helping incarcerated women and mothers is central to transforming a broken justice system. We need a restorative justice system that supports the whole being of incarcerated women and moms, instead of a system that focuses on punishment," said Meng. "After all, studies show that preserving positive family ties yield positive benefits, reduce recidivism, promote healthy child development, and intergenerational criminal justice involvement. We have to make sure that we also prioritize and protect the well-being of children whose parents are incarcerated. My measures are a step in that direction to help women and mothers in the justice system continue to have the resources to support their families. I also believe that those who menstruate should be guaranteed access to menstrual products and should not be denied visitation from others who use these items. And I am proud that this particular measure is a part of my comprehensive Menstrual Equity for All Act. I look forward to the Senate now passing the VAWA Reauthorization Act."
"We applaud Rep. Grace Meng and the Judiciary Committee for including family-focused programming for incarcerated women and correction officer training on interacting with families in VAWA," said Elizabeth Gaynes, CEO and President of the Osborne Association. "Many incarcerated mothers were their children's primary caretakers prior to incarceration and their children miss and need them. Supporting these relationships benefits not only children and their families, but promotes transformation and successful reentry, while making Officers' jobs easier. The Osborne Association has facilitated family-focused programming inside prisons and jails for decades, and we have seen the positive, life-changing effect these have. Especially with the added stress of COVID, facilitating family contact and visits between incarcerated mothers and their children is more important than ever."
"I'm happy to see the inclusion of incarcerated women in the Violence Against Women Act. The health, safety, and dignity of women behind bars are equally important but remain forgotten far too often. I'm grateful for Congresswoman Meng's leadHERship of all women on this issue," said Pamela Winn, Dream Corps JUSTICE & Founder of RestoreHER.
"I appreciate Rep. Meng's commitment to upholding the health and dignity of all women. We need to ensure that the needs of incarcerated women are always included whenever we discuss protecting women in this country," said Topeka K Sam, Executive Director of The Ladies of Hope Ministries.
The original 1994 Act created transformative progress by calling for the protection of all Americans from violence and abuse, and working to ensure all victims and survivors have the support they need. This critical reauthorization will safeguard and further strengthen these life-saving protections for women throughout New York State and across the country. And the recent and targeting and murder of women, particularly women of color, in the mass shooting in Georgia, further illustrates the critical need for this bill.
This VAWA reauthorization builds upon the progress forged over the two-and-a-half decades since this legislation was first passed: since then, the rate of domestic violence in America has fallen by half. But more protections are needed, especially as 1 in 3 women still experience domestic violence, and as the coronavirus crisis has forced many women to quarantine in unsafe domestic situations.
The VAWA Reauthorization Act improves the current law, including by:
  • Making vital new investments in violence prevention;
  • Strengthening essential protections for the most vulnerable, including immigrant, LGBTQ and Native American women and specifically supporting communities of color in a culturally-sensitive way;
  • Improving services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking;
  • Making improvements in the criminal justice response to gender-based violence and improving the health care system's response to domestic violence;
  • Helping stop abusers and stalkers from obtaining firearms; and
  • Expanding protections for victims' and survivors' financial security, including housing protections and anti-discrimination protections in the workplace.
The Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act passed 244 to 172. It is now pending before the Senate for consideration.