The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was signed into law by President Clinton as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. It was reauthorized and expanded in 2000 and 2005 and Congress is now considering the third reauthorization.
Check out this fact sheet from IWF in PDF to learn the answers to the following questions:
Why was VAWA instituted?
How has VAWA's ideological foundation affected its design?
Has VAWA been effective in reducing the effects or occurrence of domestic and sexual violence?
Why are new additions to VAWA problematic?