[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 17, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75945-75946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21269]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 17, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 75945]]

                Proclamation 10808 of September 12, 2024

                
30th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women 
                Act

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Tomorrow, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 
                Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which has 
                transformed our Nation's response to sexual assault, 
                domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking while 
                also providing communities with the tools necessary to 
                support survivors and save lives. I was proud to write 
                VAWA and champion it three decades ago, and I am even 
                prouder to honor its lasting legacy today.

                Before VAWA, our country did not talk about violence 
                against women as a national epidemic or an issue the 
                Government had to address. As a society, we often 
                overlooked domestic violence--calling it a family 
                matter, not a crime. Too few police officers were 
                trained on how to properly respond to domestic 
                violence, and there were not enough places for 
                survivors to go for the help they needed or the justice 
                they deserved. There was no national hotline, and many 
                survivors' stories went untold.

                That is why, as a United States Senator, I worked 
                closely with brave and committed survivors and 
                advocates to write VAWA--and with the incredible 
                efforts of activists and women's rights leaders, we got 
                it passed. Courageous survivors spoke out about the 
                abuse they had endured, bringing this hidden epidemic 
                out of the shadows and changing the way America saw 
                this issue. VAWA was a game changer. We began to 
                increase justice for survivors and accountability for 
                perpetrators. And we finally acknowledged ending 
                gender-based violence as a shared priority for the 
                Nation and turned to developing the coordinated 
                response that survivors need and deserve.

                Beginning in 1994, VAWA has delivered critical 
                resources and support to help survivors of gender-based 
                violence. Shelters, rape crisis centers, housing, and 
                legal assistance were made available, and funding was 
                provided to train law enforcement, prosecutors, 
                advocates, and judges to improve our justice system's 
                response to survivors. We also created the first-ever 
                National Domestic Violence Hotline, which has provided 
                millions of people with lifesaving, confidential 
                support and this year answered its seven millionth 
                call.

                I have worked across the aisle to reauthorize VAWA four 
                times since its initial signing, each time making this 
                critical law even stronger. We strengthened protections 
                against stalking, dating violence, trafficking, and 
                sexual assault, expanded access to justice for Tribal 
                communities, and improved services for immigrant, older 
                adult, and LGBTQI+ survivors, among other underserved 
                communities. As President, I signed the most recent 
                reauthorization of VAWA in 2022, and secured the 
                highest-ever funding level for VAWA implementation. We 
                provided support for survivors and invested in 
                prevention efforts and educational programs so that we 
                can put a stop to violence and abuse before it occurs. 
                And we established a new Federal civil cause of action 
                for individuals whose intimate visual images are 
                disclosed without their consent.

                My Administration has prioritized putting an end to 
                gender-based violence even beyond VAWA. I signed the 
                most significant gun safety law in nearly three 
                decades, which narrowed the ``boyfriend loophole'' to 
                help keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. 
                And I established the first-ever White

[[Page 75946]]

                House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. We put in 
                place new protections to support survivors and address 
                sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace 
                and released the first-ever National Plan to End 
                Gender-Based Violence, an all-of-government approach to 
                preventing and addressing all forms of gender-based 
                violence. And through the American Rescue Plan, we have 
                invested $1 billion in supplemental funding for rape 
                crisis centers, community support organizations, and 
                other services for gender-based violence survivors.

                We have led historic, bipartisan military justice 
                reforms to ensure that prosecutorial decisions in cases 
                of gender-based violence are fully independent from the 
                chain of command and better protect survivors in our 
                military. My Administration has restored and 
                strengthened vital protections under Title IX to help 
                keep students and employees safe from sexual assault 
                and harassment on campus. And Vice President Kamala 
                Harris and I launched a Federal task force that has 
                taken concrete steps toward prevention, accountability 
                for perpetrators, research, and support for survivors 
                of online harassment and abuse, including launching the 
                first 24/7 national helpline for survivors of image-
                based abuse.

                When I presented VAWA to the Senate all those years 
                ago, I envisioned a world where every woman could live 
                free from fear, free from violence, and free from 
                abuse. We have made tremendous strides toward achieving 
                this vision, but there is still much more to do. On 
                this milestone anniversary, let us recommit to creating 
                a society that is truly safe and where we all agree 
                that even one case of gender-based violence is too 
                many. And let us honor the survivors and advocates, 
                whose powerful voices and tireless dedication have 
                changed our world for the better.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 13, 
                2024, as the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against 
                Women Act. I call upon each of us to change the culture 
                of violence against women and provide meaningful 
                support to all survivors. Together, we can transform 
                the country and build a Nation where all people live 
                free of violence and abuse.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twelfth day of September, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                ninth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-21269
Filed 9-16-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P