President Joe Biden will mark the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act on Thursday by announcing new efforts to prevent gender-based violence, senior administration officials said.
Biden will speak survivors, defenders and allies Senior administration officials said in a call to reporters at an event to commemorate the law in South Lawn.
Jennifer Klein, Biden’s aide and Director of the White House Gender Policy CouncilBiden said the Justice Department, which he created in 2021 to advance gender equality, will announce a number of efforts to support survivors of gender-based violence, including $690 million in grant funding this year and plans to create a new national resource center. cyber crimes.
The resource center will aim to help law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and victim service groups fight cybercrimes against people, including cyberstalking and the sharing of intimate images without consent, Klein said.
The Justice Department also plans to boost federal funding for state and local law enforcement agencies, Klein said, adding that it will expand funding to strengthen programs that remove firearms from people who have been convicted of domestic violence or are subject to protective orders.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development will also announce Thursday a new office targeting gender-based violence that will help survivors find safe housing and economic stability, Klein said.
Biden is trying to shore up his record in the final months of his presidency after dropping out of the presidential race in June.
In 2022, he signed the law Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Actfirst introduced in 1990 when he was a senator.
Included in the original legislation passed in 1994 with a bipartisan crime bill the first National Domestic Violence Hotline.
The expanded legislation for 2022 includes provisions to protect against online harassment and abuse.
Biden’s American Rescue Plan also includes investments targeting gender-based violence. Family Violence Prevention and Services Act program informed approximately $1 billion in additional funding supported 252 tribes, 1,500 domestic violence programs, and 1,400 sexual assault programs.