By COLLEEN LONG and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — As part of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the landmark Violence Against Women Act, the White House plans to announce new actions Thursday to combat online harassment and abuse and ease the housing problems many domestic violence survivors face as they try to escape their abusers.

President Joe Biden wrote and sponsored the bill as a U.S. senator. It was the first comprehensive federal law focused on combating violence against women and aimed to provide support for victims and justice. It aimed to change the national narrative about domestic violence at the time; that it was a private matter best left alone.

According to FBI statistics, the White House reported that between 1993 and 2022, the rate of domestic violence dropped by 67% and the rate of rape and sexual assault dropped by 56%.

During a 1990 hearing on domestic violence, Biden told the committee that “for too long we have ignored women’s right to be free from fear of attack because of their sex. For too long we have been silent about the obvious.”

Biden spent years championing the law, moved by horrific stories of domestic violence, and it passed in 1994 with bipartisan support.

Biden is expected to speak Thursday at an anniversary event where he will detail ongoing efforts to strengthen the law, including the announcement of more than $690 million in grants by the Justice Department, efforts to electronically serve protection orders, and strategies to address online gender-based violence, a growing problem that law enforcement has struggled to address.

Federal agencies also sent reminders about housing rights for domestic violence victims living in federally funded housing, including the ability to apply for emergency housing relocation.

“Today, officers, prosecutors, judges, families and society at large understand what should always have been clear: these crimes cannot be dismissed as somehow separate or private,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “Instead, we recognize that they are among the most serious crimes facing our society and that we must continue to improve access to justice, safety and services for survivors.”

Jen Klein, White House adviser on gender policy, said the aim of the measures is to continue efforts to help victims of domestic violence.

“While we have made tremendous progress since VAWA was signed into law in 1994, we also know there is still much work to be done in the fight to prevent and end gender-based violence,” she said.

The law was confirmed in 2022, but it almost didn’t happen. At issue was a provision in the last proposal, passed by the House in April 2019, that would have prohibited people previously convicted of misdemeanor stalking from possessing firearms.

Under current federal law, people convicted of domestic violence can lose their guns if they are currently or were married to the victim, live with the victim, have a child together or are the victim’s parent or guardian. But the law doesn’t apply to stalkers and current or former partners. Advocates have long called this the “boyfriend loophole.”

The expansion of restrictions drew fierce opposition from the National Rifle Association and congressional Republicans, leading to a stalemate. Democrats withdrew and did not include the measure.

The provision was later included in Biden’s bipartisan firearms safety bill, signed into law by Congress later that year, and now prohibits people convicted of crimes committed in domestic partnerships from purchasing or possessing a firearm for at least five years.

Originally published: September 12, 2024 at 10:26 AM