WASHINGTON, DC – Today, co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues Reps. Lois Frankel (D-FL-21) and Susan Brooks (R-IN-05) sent a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi urging them to support greater funding for preventative programs in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Authorization for VAWA will expire on September 30, 2018.

Since VAWA was first passed in 1994, serious victimization by an intimate partner declined by 72 percent for women and 64 percent for men. However, it is estimated that as many as 45 million adults experience physical violence, rape and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.

In part, the letter reads, “In addition to the emotional toll, this issue [violence against women] has great economic impacts for our country. Recent studies report the financial cost of rape to be more than $120,000 per victim with more than half of that cost coming from the lost workforce productivity. We believe it is critical to invest in increased prevention services in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, scheduled to expire at the end of this fiscal year, so we can ultimately stop this cycle of violence before it begins.”

Full text of the letter here.

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