Video: Violence Against Women Act – 20th Anniversary Recognized by Vice President Biden

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – law enforcement says they sent the video of NFL player Ray Rice in a domestic dispute with his now wife to the league months ago. While the investigation continues, more and more attention is brought the issue of violence against women.

It’s been 20-years since legislation was passed to protect women from such situations.

“There’s still sex bias that remains in the American criminal justice system in dealing with rapes, stereotypes. “She deserved it; she wore a short skirt” still taint prosecutions for rape and domestic violence,” says Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden called violence against women, America’s “ugly little secret” on Tuesday (9/9) when speaking at the National Archives to recognize the 20th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act. The Vice President also announced the Summit on Civil Rights and Equal Protections for Women, which will seek to allow victims the right to sue abusers.

Starkville attorney Brace Knox says the act has helped but it didn’t eliminate the abuse.

“Laws deal with crimes after they happen most of the time. They don’t stop them from happening, unfortunately,” says Knox.

Knox speaks from personal experience. She is also a domestic violence survivor.

“I kept thinking that it would get better. I kept thinking that it was circumstances that needed to change and stress but I came to know that that wasn’t the case,” says Knox.

The Violence Against Women Act was signed by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The Act allows the investigation and prosecution of crimes against women, imposes restitution on those convicted and allows women to file civil suit if a case goes unprosecuted.

“Assaults occur in different forms and fashion but under the Domestic Violence Act, that gives more teeth, more strength to enhance punishment and kind of take charge over things to protect women,” says Judge W. Bernard Crump, who serves in the Oktibbeha County Justice Court.

A new report from the Violence Policy Center showed that Mississippi ranked 5th in the nation in the rate of women murdered by men.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month is recognized every October.