Each week the AIT community receives #TakeActionTuesday with tips for creating impactful change in their community and beyond. From new online tools, to pending policy updates, subscribe today to make sure you don’t miss these action-oriented recommendations.
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is a landmark piece of bipartisan legislation first passed in 1994 that, for the first time, provided a federal legislative package designed to enable a coordinated community response to end gender-based violence including domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Since its creation, VAWA has awarded nearly $4 billion in grants to support state, tribal, and local governments and nonprofit organizations across the country that are working with survivors. However, VAWA is currently set to expire on December 21, 2018, unless it is reauthorized by Congress.
This #TakeActionTuesday, take action on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by engaging in one (or all) of the following ways:
- Visit Our Action Center. By visiting the AIT Action Center, you will be able to easily look up who represents you, find your representatives’ contact information, and send an email explaining your view on VAWA’s reauthorization. Once you have your representatives’ contact information, share it with others in your district, and encourage them to take action alongside you!
- Call Your Federal Representatives. Contact the offices of your federal representatives in both the House and Senate, and share how you would like to see them vote regarding VAWA’s reauthorization. Explain how the legislation personally impacts you and your communities. Check out the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s VAWA toolkit to get started.
- Submit An Op-Ed. Encourage your community to take action on behalf of VAWA by submitting an op-ed in your local newspaper. Call attention to the urgency of the reauthorization vote, and localize the issue by highlighting ways that VAWA impacts organizations and survivors in your own city and/or community. If this is your first time submitting an op-ed, check out the Op-Ed Project for some tips and tricks to get you on the right track.
Let us know how you are taking action on VAWA’s reauthorization at info@aitogether.org! Interested in learning more about VAWA? See one of our past #TakeActionTuesdays on VAWA here.
