Family Violence Prevention and Services Act and Violence Against Women Act 1994

Running head: CRIMINAL JUSTICE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE1
Abstract
Domestic violence is the abuse of violence towards an individual in what can be
described as domestic setting such as co-habitation or marriage. Other terms that can be used
for domestic violence are family violence or intimate partner violence. In domestic violence a
person can be abused physically, emotionally or sexually and it also includes stalking by
former or current partner. In this essay a detailed discussion has been done in relation to
‘Family Violence Prevention and Services Act’ and ‘Violence Against Women Act 1994’,
their position in solving the issue of domestic violence, their effectiveness and limitation. The
‘Family Violence Prevention and Services Act’ (FVPSA) are seen as supporting lifesaving
services which include emergency shelters, counselling, crisis hotlines, and several other
programs for the communities that are under-served throughout US Alaska Native and
American Indian communities, and territories. ‘Violence Against Women Act 1994’ is a
federal law in the United States of America. It is the first federal legislation of the United
States that aimed for providing aid to the victims of domestic and intimate partner violence.
This Act has been effective for the prosecution and investigation of various crimes against the
women that are violent in nature.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE2
Introduction
Domestic violence is the abuse of violence towards an individual in what can be
described as domestic setting such as co-habitation or marriage. Other terms that can be used
for domestic violence are intimate partner violence or family violence. In domestic violence a
person can be abused physically, emotionally or sexually and it also includes stalking by
former or current partner. The issue of domestic violence can be seen as an increasing
concern in the recent years. According to National Statistics Domestic Violence Fact Sheets
observations have been made that in United States of America almost 20 people are abused in
a domestic setting every minute. The fact sheet further mentions that extreme level of
physical, emotional and sexual abuse is experienced by every one out of four women and
every one out of nine men from an intimate partner. Almost 20,000 phone calls are placed
nation-wide in an average to the hotlines for domestic violence each day. In the fact sheet in
furtherance a correlation has been made between domestic violence and the increase in the
rates of depression and suicidal tendencies. Domestic violence is considered as one of the
major reasons for the increase in the rate of homicide in the country. As per the National
Statistics Domestic Violence Fact Sheets mostly the women between the age group of 18-24
years are seen as becoming the victims of intimate partner violence (NCADV, 2019). Various
legislations have been enacted both state and nation-wide for preventing domestic and
intimate partner violence. One such legislation is ‘Violence Against Women Act 1994’
(VAWA). ‘Family Violence Prevention and Services Act’ is another legislation enacted for
preventing domestic violence. In this paper a detailed discussion has been done in relation to
the aforementioned legislations, their position in solving the issue of domestic violence, their
effectiveness and limitation.