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37 Harv. J. on Legis. 1 (2000)
The Civil Rights Remedy of the Violence against Women Act: A Defense

handle is hein.journals/hjl37 and id is 7 raw text is: ESSAY THE CIVIL RIGHTS REMEDY OF THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT: A DEFENSE SENATOR JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR.* In 1994, Congress enacted the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to combat inadequacies in the judicial system's protection of women. In a 1998 decision, the Fourth Circuit held unconstitutional VAWA's Section 13981, which creates a civil rights remedy allowing victims of gender- motivated violence to sue their attackers in federal or state court. The Su- preme Court recently granted certiorari to consider the constitutionality of this remedy. In this Essay, Senator Biden, the chief sponsor of the Vio- lence Against Women Act, defends the civil rights remedy as a valid exer- cise of Congress's authority under the Commerce and Equal Protection Clauses of the Constitution. In 1990, I first introduced the Violence Against Women Act in response to the escalating problem of violence against women-a national tragedy played out every day in the lives of millions of American women at home, in the workplace, and on the street.'2 On September 13, 1994, the President signed the bill into law.3 That signing marked the end of years of careful consideration and long hearings, fact-finding, and revisions in support of this important legislation. A vital subtitle of the Act, the Civil Rights Remedies for Gender-Motivated Violence Act, creates a new federal civil cause of action that allows a victim of gender-motivated violence to sue her attacker.4 This provision was recently held unconstitutional by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court has * Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-Del.) is a fifth-term United States Senator and member of the Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees. From 1987 to 1994, Senator Biden was chairman of the Judiciary Committee. I S. REP. No. 103-138, at 37 (1993). 2 S. REP. No. 102-197, at 39 (1991). 3 Pub. L. No. 103-322, Title IV, 108 Stat. 1902 (codified as amended in scattered sec- tions of 8, 18, and 42 U.S.C.). The Violence Against Women Act was passed as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, popularly known as the 1994 Crime Bill.' For its legislative history, see Victoria F. Nourse, Where Violence, Relationship, and Equality Meet: The Violence Against Women Act's Civil Rights Rem- edy, 11 WIs. WOMEN's L.J. 1 (1996). 4 42 U.S.C. § 13981 (1999).

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