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The article explores how the eviction crisis affects survivors of domestic violence, where existing legal protections for survivors fall short, and underscores the need for eviction diversion programs to supplement statutory protections. It mentions implications of eviction for survivors of domestic violence. It also mentions federal protections in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and state and municipal housing protections for survivor.

Intimate partner violence ("IPV") has persisted throughout human history. It has spanned across nearly every race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, class, and religion. It should come as no surprise that it also spans across partners of all age groups. And yet, elderly couples are not often associated with this type of violence. Narrowly focusing research and possible solutions toward younger and middle-aged couples unfortunately overlooks a segment of victims: the elderly. These elderly victims are habitually left to suffer unnecessary abuse because, in part, the system that society trusts to identify and assist them is frequently ill-equipped to actually do so. As history has shown, there may never be a solution that reaches all victims and solves all problems. Nevertheless, we would be remiss if we did not strive to be as close to that point as possible. When a victim finds the courage to reach their hand out, our system must be able to see it, grab it, and help the victim out of an unfortunate situation. This Note discusses ways to raise awareness of elderly IPV and to explore options to begin addressing the issue. In sum, it recommends an overhaul of IPV screening procedures for the elderly, altering and re-authorizing the Violence Against Women Act, and a removal of systemic barriers to relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When, and on what terms and conditions, do the experiences of an immigrant survivor of sexual violence matter? 1 On what basis do we, and should we, devise our immigration laws in relation to gender-based violence? In wrestling with these questions, this Article seeks to develop a framework with which to more meaningfully support survivors of sexual violence in immigration detention. Building on a recognition that "the power of narrative turns the legal process into a vehicle for personal and societal definition,"2 this Article offers a critical examination of the "victim narratives" underlying carceral feminist and immigration machineries, as well as the structural barriers these narratives create and compound. In discussing how victim narratives move, in all their distortions, through carceral machineries, this Article offers insight into how we can create more robust forms of redress, support, and protection for survivors of sexual violence in immigration detention. It further argues that detained immigrant survivors should be understood as survivors of state violence rather than of atomized acts of sexual violence. Using this reconceptualization, this Article calls for the creation of a new form of immigration relief for immigrant survivors of state sexual violence. This relief, the Article concludes, should build on and expand the Violence Against Women Act self-petition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the need to expand the Tribal Courts criminal jurisdiction for crimes such as domestic violence against Native women and children. It mentions application and enforcement of tribal laws and step in creating funding and programs to assist victims of domestic violence after the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). It also mentions a bill which expanded gun ownership restrictions and temporary orders on gun ownership in certain situations.

The article explores the role of state housing finance agencies in the U.S. in the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. It presents key findings and best practices that emerged from two national surveys on implementing the act's housing protections and remedies in the LIHTC program more effectively. The benefits of sharing the best practices under the Fair Housing Act are discussed.

The article focuses on gendered nature of both firearm possession and intimate partner violence. Topics discussed include connection between firearm possession and social images of white masculinity; legislative remedies, including the improvement of the accuracy of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); and Lautenberg Amendment and respondents in ex parte restraining orders from Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA).

The article focuses on specific legal barriers Native American victims of domestic violence face in accessing justice. Topics discussed include need for states to enforce tribal protection orders through full faith and credit under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 2013; federal government to provide tribes with access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to enter tribal orders; and importance of tribal judicial sovereignty.

The article focuses on the laws governing animal cruelty and domestic violence in the U.S. using an example of David John Celinski and Sheryl Jones. Topics discussed include social problems associated with animal cruelty and domestic violence; enactment of Violence Against Women Act of 1994 for preventing violence against women; and history of the development of animal cruelty laws for mandating animal protection.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) allows those victims of domestic violence who are married to U.S. Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents to "self-petition" for lawful status. To be approved under VAWA, the self-petitioner must prove, among other things, that her marriage was bona fide. This Note examines the practical difficulties that battered immigrants face in producing primary evidence of bona fide marriage and discusses the perverse incentives this requirement creates. Specifically, VAWA petitioners. abusive spouses often destroy the documentation of bona fide marriage, never include the immigrant spouse's name on the documents to begin with, or threaten further abuse if the immigrant spouse tries to obtain the documents. Because these issues are only amplified in a short-lived marriage, battered immigrants have perverse incentives to stay with their abusive partners longer, to marry their abusers, and to have children with them. As a possible solution, this Note argues that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services should give greater weight to affidavits as qualitative proof of bona fide marriage, which allows VAWA petitioners to explain any documentary gaps and to tell their own stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the court case Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District No. 1 Board of Education, on the issue involving high school junior Ashton "Ash" Whitaker who was not permitted to use the boys' bathroom because of his status as a transgender student. Topics discussed include overview of the case, requirements for a plaintiff to pursue a preliminary injunction, definition of the Title IV claim in the U.S. and the district court's decision to grant Ash the preliminary injunction.

The two most recent Department of Homeland Security interior immigration enforcement programs, Secure Communities and the Priority Enforcement Program, have directed deportation efforts toward noncitizens convicted of crimes. One of their targets, the 'criminal alien,' has been (re)fashioned in political and legal discourses since the 1980s. Through critical discourse analysis of the 2013 immigration reform debates and their incorporation of the Violence Against Women Act (2013), this article examines the ways in which contemporary immigration policy renders the racialized 'criminal alien' (sexually) threatening to the 'vulnerable' woman. Dichotomous constructions of deserving and undeserving immigrants, in turn, bolster an array of strategies to manage the 'risk' of noncitizens, including border control and financial self-regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American Indian/Native American (AI/NA) women are disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence (IPV). The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2013 included new provisions under the Title IX Safety for Indian Women. This act created funding for the implementation of modern criminal justice structures allowing tribal governments to prosecute non-Indian perpetrators. Although this piece of legislation is meant to address the high prevalence of gender-based violence perpetrated against AI/NA women, it has not been analyzed using indigenous or feminist perspectives. A policy analysis model was developed, incorporating indigenous values, feminist perspectives, tribal critical race theory, and social construction and historical contexts to examine Title IX's goals, social values, and outcomes from an indigenous perspective. The analysis reveals the intentions of Title IX to promote indigenous values of empowerment and interdependence but fails to account for the historical marginalization of AI/NA people and the tendency of AI/NA women to distrust law enforcement. Although Title IX did create cultural change and enhance acknowledgment of IPV improvements are needed to make a more indigenous-focused, feminist-based policy. These suggestions include providing access to culturally sensitive law enforcement approaches for AI/NA women, accounting for historical factors, and creating a standardized pathway for prosecution, which incorporates feedback from tribal members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One in three American Indian women will be raped in her lifetime. This rampant assault is only exacerbated by the fact that tribes have not been able to prosecute non-Indians for any crime, including rape, since the 1970s. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 took a small step toward filling this jurisdictional hole by creating provisions under which tribes can prosecute certain non-Indian defendants for a limited set of sexual violence crimes. However, VAWA is not enough to protect Indian women from the astronomical rates of violence they experience. This Comment explores mechanisms used by tribes to protect their communities from sexual violence that are more compatible with notions of tribal traditions and inherent sovereignty than the mechanisms required under VAWA. These mechanisms better balance the realities of a postcolonial world with the unique social and cultural needs of each tribe and indigenous victim of sexual violence. This Comment both celebrates what tribes have already done to eradicate sexual violence in their communities and discusses options other tribes have at their disposal to do the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the time of writing this Abstract, the United States is experiencing the longest partial government shutdown in our nation's history. The primary reason for this shutdown is President Trump's demand for funding of a "wall" along the U.S.- Mexico border. President Trump frequently touted such a wall on the campaign trail for the 2016 presidential election. It remains to be seen what the outcome of this shutdown will be. However, it is apparent that President Trump and his administration will be remembered for their virulent anti-immigrant policies. One immigration avenue--asylum--is continually narrowed by the Trump administration. This Comment analyzes the U.S. asylum system and focuses on the particular disadvantages that LGBT asylum-seekers face in their quest to achieve asylum and how the process has worsened under President Trump. More specifically, this Comment highlights the unique circumstances of LGBT asylumseekers who become victims of intimate partner violence and are ultimately unsuccessful in their asylum claim. Current avenues of protection, the Violence Against Women Act and the U Visa, do not go far enough to adequately protect this vulnerable group of individuals. This Comment proposes methods for improving the asylum system for this population by guaranteeing attorneys for indigent asylum applicants, modifying requirements of VAWA and the U Visa, and increasing financial resources for immigration court management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) requires participating states and the District of Columbia to pay for medical forensic exams for victims of rape and sexual assault, including the collection of evidence using "rape kits," whether or not the victim chooses to pursue criminal charges. The chief statutory purpose of the requirement is to preserve evidence in the interest of justice without pressuring a traumatized victim to decide on the spot whether to activate a criminal investigation. Rape kits collected without an accompanying police report are called "anonymous rape kits," "unreported rape kits," or "Jane Doe rape kits." This is because they are typically assigned an anonymous tracking number rather than the victim's name for privacy reasons, before being sealed and stored for evidentiary integrity. Beyond requiring their subsidization, VAWA is silent on anonymous rape kit preservation, leaving methods of storage to the discretion of each state, many of which defer to local jurisdictions. In states that defer, inconsistent storage practices can lead to the loss or destruction of the kits. These outcomes undercut the statutory purpose of VAWA's "nonreport" option and waste public funds. Using Washington State as a prototype, this Comment argues that states that do not regulate anonymous rape kit storage should remedy this problem legislatively. State legislatures should pass comprehensive statutes that assign maintenance responsibility to a relevant state agency, provide funding for costs associated with evidence collection and storage, ensure the preservation of evidence through the relevant statute of limitations, and require that victims be kept informed of their rights. Thoughtful regulation will ensure the proper preservation of critical evidence and facilitate the empowerment of sexual assault victims, and in those respects reinforce VAWA's nonreport option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the adverse effects of the political activities prohibition policy implemented by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations on the free speech rights of these organizations. Also cited are the policy's complete ban on political campaign advocacy, the need to advance the First Amendment speech rights of nonprofit domestic violence organizations, and the scheduled 2018 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

American Indian and Alaska Native women face the highest rates of sexual assault of any group in the United States, and most often such attacks are by non-Indian offenders. Since Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, tribes cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians, even for crimes committed against an Indian victim in federally recognized Indian country. A history of complex jurisdictional and intergovernmental issues between federal, state, and tribal authorities further impede the investigation and prosecution of these crimes. In the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013), Congress extended criminal jurisdiction to tribes in a limited context over non-Indian defendants--so long as they possess ties to the tribe and to the victim as a domestic or dating partner. The requirement that a defendant must have a relationship with the victim, tribe, and land is novel. Indeed, during the VAWA 2013 legislative debates weighing the jurisdictional grant, even Senate opposition conceded that once jurisdiction was extended to crimes of domestic violence, "there would be no principled reason not to extend it to other offenses as well." Federal Indian law affirms Congress's plenary authority to recognize tribal sovereignty, but does the law require special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction for tribes to be so restricted? I argue it does not. This Comment first investigates the history of jurisdiction in Indian country and recognition of inherent tribal sovereignty by Congress. Second, it considers the problem of sexual violence in Indian country. Third, it assesses the main arguments in opposition to the current jurisdictional grant in VAWA 2013 to determine whether Congress can and should recognize tribal authority to prosecute all non-Indian crimes of sexual violence, as well as concurrent crimes of domestic and dating violence, committed against Indian victims in Indian country. In light of these oppositional arguments, this Comment argues that Congress can and should recognize such jurisdictional authority of tribal governments, and proposes specific language to affirm the inherent powers of tribes to further protect their land and their people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the laws governing U visa in the U.S. for providing protections and immigration relief from deportation for immigrant crime victims. Topics discussed include enactment of Violence Against Women Act for preventing the same; an account of justice administration of the country; and enactment of Trafficking Victims Protection Acts of 2000 providing the same.

In response to growing national concern about gender violence on college campuses, legislators have proposed a rash of state and federal bills that would require schools to refer all sexual assault reports to the police, regardless of the student victims' wishes. These so-called "mandatory referral" laws appeal to a popular intuition that the best way to address rape is to involve law enforcement. Yet surveys, victims' criticism, and the history of other efforts to force survivors into the criminal legal system show that such bills would discourage survivors who wish to avoid criminal intervention from reporting to their schools and, as a result, directly undermine the wellbeing of victims and reduce opportunities for accountability. Despite clear shortcomings, opponents of campus rape reform have been able to champion these counter-productive bills under the guise of supporting survivors by co-opting a historically salient feminist strategy: demanding that policymakers take gender violence "seriously," which the public imagination equates with criminal prosecution. This Article maps the political landscape that gives rise to mandatory referral bills, explains the proposals' failures as a matter of policy, and calls for a new rhetoric of taking victims' needs seriously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the treatment of human trafficking survivors in District of Columbia. Topics discussed include enactment of Violence Against Women Act and Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act for protecting human trafficking victims; implementation of trauma-informed diversion programs for redressing victims; and criminal justice system of Columbia.

The article focuses on laws governing rape in the U.S. Topics discussed include civil suits brought by rape survivors and role of criminal justice system in addressing the same; problems of underreporting of sexual assault in the criminal context; and enactment of Violence Against Women Act of 1994 for preventing the same.

The article examines the challenges facing foreign spouses seeking citizenship through legitimate legal channels in the U.S. It informs on spectrum of domestic violence and good moral character in the context of tax compliance for obtaining citizenship. It also informs on enactment of Immigration & Nationality Act of 1952 and Violence Against Women Act of 1994 for governing immigration and violence against women in country.

The article offers information on the U.S. Violence Against Women Act of 1994. Topics discussed include provisions within act that grant Native Americans jurisdiction over non-Native Americans in tribal court; Supreme Court cases that challenged tribal courts' civil jurisdiction over non-native respondents; and Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe court case on same.

Objectives.To determine whether privately insured female rape victims were billed for charges associated with a specific rape in the United States. Methods. We examined 2013 de-identified patient data from Truven Analytics Health MarketScan database for an assault that occurred by using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, code E960.1. Results. Analysis of insurance providers' payment patterns for 1355 incident events to female victims aged between 16 and 61 years revealed that victims remit, on average, 14% or $948 of the rape cost, whereas insurance providers pay 86% or $5789 of the total cost. Conclusions. Hospital billing procedures for privately insured victims of rape across the United States are not separate from billing procedures for privately insured nonrape patients. This standardized procedure leads hospitals to bill victims directly for services not paid under the victims' insurance policy. Public Health Implications. The Violence Against Women Act (passed in 1994, reauthorized in 2000, 2005, and 2013) must be amended to mandate that all costs incurred because of rape are not passed on to the victim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers insight to issues of campus sexual misconduct, along with the laws governing the same in the U.S. Topics discussed include laws regulating schools disciplinary proceedings for sexual misconduct; laws made under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 related to the same; and enactment of Violence Against Women Act for preventing the crimes against women's.

Rape is one of the most under-reported crimes that there is, and victims often say that they do not report because they are afraid they will not be believed. The worst case scenario for a rape victim is to be disbelieved by police and then charged with false reporting. Unfortunately, prosecutions of rape victims occur regularly, with some victims even serving time in prison. This Article analyzes why these cases occur and pays particular attention to the poor police investigatory practices that underlie the charging decisions in such cases. The Article proceeds in four parts. Part One describes some of the key weaknesses that characterize rape investigation today. It analyzes some of the ways that police handling of rape cases is inadequate and, as a result, exposes victims to the possibility of being charged with false reporting. Part Two describes the anatomy of a failed rape investigation, arguing that such cases are marked by a failure to follow rape investigation best practice guidelines. Such guidelines, if followed, would have changed the outcome of many cases where complainants were charged with false reporting. Part Three analyzes why certain complainants are singled out for prosecution, arguing that three factors are particularly salient: the vulnerability of the complainant, the difficulty and complexity of the rape investigation, and police or prosecutors' concern with their agency's reputation. Part Four makes recommendations for reform, including statutory reform that would require police to follow rape investigation best practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most controversial administrative actions in recent years is the U.S. Department of Education's campaign against sexual assault on college campuses. Using its authority under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (mandating nondiscrimination on the basis of sex in all educational programs and activities receiving federal funds), the Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has launched an enforcement effort that critics denounce as aggressive, manipulative, and corrosive of individual liberties. Missing from the commentary is a historically informed understanding of why this administrative campaign unfolded as it did. This Article offers crucial context by reminding readers that freedom from sexual violence was once celebrated as a national civil right--upon the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994--but then lost that status in a 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. OCR's recent campaign reflects a legal and political landscape in which at least some potential victims of sexual violence had come to feel rightfully connected to the institutions of the federal government, and then became righteously outraged by the endurance of such violence in their communities. OCR's campaign also reflects the unique role of federal administrative agencies in this landscape. Thanks to the power of the purse and the conditions that Congress has attached to funding streams, agencies enjoy a powerful form of jurisdiction over particular spaces and institutions. Attempts to harness this jurisdiction in service of aspirational rights claims should not surprise us; indeed, we should expect such efforts to continue. Building on this insight, the Article concludes with a research agenda for other scholars seeking to understand and evaluate OCR's handiwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides on background on colleges and their responsibility to address sexual misconduct on their campuses in California. It informs on Title IX as interpreted and defined by the Dear Colleague Letter of 2011; and enactment of Clery Act of 1990, Violence Against Women Act, and Campus SaVE Act for addressing the same.

Domestic relations law has struggled with feminism for decades, and it has never truly found a place in the family law arena. The crux of the problem, no doubt, is that family law has always had a difficult time defining feminism in context. From an economic perspective, is it feminist to provide economic assistance to women, who studies continue to show suffer far more than do their male counterparts in the wake of divorce? Or does feminism instead require a recognition of the ability of women to make equivalent financial contributions to a marriage as men, and thereby accept only pure equality of treatment? A series of incongruent doctrines makes it clear that family law truly does not know what feminism should mean. Consequently, the system of family law largely fails to achieve one of feminism's most fundamental tenets: empowerment. This Article will sample a diverse cross-section of family law and analyze it from a feminist perspective. Part I will consider the state of a woman's decision-making authority in the reproductive context. Parts II and III will explore the modern proliferation of domestic violence related legislation, analyzing state law schemes that provide for both punitive damage recoveries and permanent spousal support. Part IV will address marital property regimes around the country. Across all contexts, the Article will demonstrate that, often despite the best intentions of legislators and jurists, family law wholly fails to empower women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the protection of vulnerable children in India, and mentions amendment of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) for protecting child abuse committed by non-Indians on Indian land; serious problems of child abuse; and legal challenges faced by child abuse extension.