Houston, TX - The Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”) is landmark legislation which—through policy reforms, interstate cooperation and grant allocation—has been pivotal in providing a national response to protecting half of the population. Equally important, it has ushered in a seismic transformation on how society perceives violence against women. Since VAWA’s codification in 1994, more victims report episodes of domestic violence to the police and the rate of non-fatal intimate partner violence against women has decreased by almost two-thirds. VAWA has also led to a significant increase in the reporting of sexual assault. For example, the percentage of victims of rape and sexual assault who report the assault to the police increased from 28.8% in 1993—the year prior to VAWA’s initial passage—to 50% in 2010. In the first 15 years of VAWA’s validity, rates of serious intimate partner violence declined by 72 percent for women and 64 percent for men. Unfortunately, VAWA expired on September 30, 2018, over two months after the introduction of H.R. 6545, the 2018 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Its extension has been incorporated into a series of Continuing Resolutions, with the most recent iteration expected to expire on Friday, December 21, 2018. Join Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee this Wednesday as she, together with other stakeholders, discusses efforts to pass this vital piece of legislation.