Exciting news from Washington D.C. today for women! Source: Shutterstock

Let’s take a moment to celebrate ladies, because today is a pretty darn good day for women. To start, there’s the news that President Obama reauthorized the VAWA today!

I’m getting ahead of myself though – not explaining what exactly the VAWA means is like freaking out that somebody’s brought cake and not knowing what it’s for. You have to know the reason for celebration to make it more special!

You may have heard the term “VAWA” thrown around in the news lately, but basically here’s the scoop: VAWA stands for the Violence Against Women Act. It first was introduced by Joe Biden in 1994 (he was only a Senator then!).

The act set out to provide support for women who were victims of violence, and also to create stricter laws that protect victims and crack down on those who perpetuate violence against women. For example, you may have heard about the “rape shield law,” which means a victim’s sexual past can’t be used against them in a rape trial. That’s just one of the things that this act helped establish. Another example of VAWA’s impact is the establishment of the National Domestic Violence Hotline for people to call. These are just two examples, and it’s encouraging that according to the White House fact sheet for VAWA, from 1993-2010, statistics have shown declines in domestic violence.

After being passed in 1994, the bill was re-authorized in 2000 and 2005, and then expired in 2011. Since that last expiration, it actually had kind of a tough road to re-approval, as debate related to the renewal got it held up for more than a year. Luckily, something this great was able to make it through the system! Just like in that “I’m Just A Bill” song (come on, you know it), it went through the Senate, then the House of Representatives, and then onto President Obama’s desk.

What’s new in this reauthorization? The law will now be expanded to protect more individuals, including Native American women and gay couples. It’s great to see us being able to move forward and benefit even more individuals who deserve the protection and support of such important laws and services. Awesome news!

While it was actually signed yesterday, we couldn’t have shared this news on a more special day, as March 8 is International Women’s Day. Basically the point of today is just to celebrate women all over the world as we continue to work together and improve women’s lives. I definitely urge you to check out the website, because I couldn’t even begin to hit the tip of the iceberg on the ways that people are celebrating today worldwide. Truly inspiring.

So there you have it, folks – not only is it great that today is Friday, but it’s a fabulous day for women, too!

Are you excited about the VAWA news? Are you or your community doing anything to celebrate International Women’s Day? Tell me in the comments!

Did you know it’s also Women’s History Month right now?!

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