ICYMI: The Truth About The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Reauthorization The Left Won’t Tell You

The 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act claimed to prioritize women’s safety, but in reality, it introduced policies that could do more harm than good. Protecting women from violence is not a partisan issue—it’s a shared priority. Yet, instead of focusing on areas where both sides could agree, the reauthorization missed key opportunities to strengthen protections for women.

VAWA completely missed the mark on modern threats like internet crimes, sextortion, and voyeurism—issues that are getting worse by the day. Worse yet, the new version of the bill lets biological men into women’s prisons, as we saw at Rikers when a woman was raped by a man posing as transgender just this year. We cannot say we are preventing violence against women if we are at the same time endangering them.

We have a duty to ensure laws actually safeguard women, which is why I introduced bills like the Protect Victims of Digital Exploitation Act and the Stop VOYEURS Act. These measures are designed to keep women safe from today’s threats. It’s time to put politics aside and focus on solutions that work for everyone.

The VAWA Act fell short of protecting women from sextortion and internet crimes which are becoming more and more prevalent as technology and AI advance. Moreover, it included civil torts for things like revenge porn, but didn’t criminalize them. Similarly, things like voyeurism, or the recording of women in a sexual manner without their knowledge or consent, was not even included in VAWA either as a civil tort or a crime. 

I have introduced H.R.7567, the Protect Victims of Digital Exploitation and Manipulation Act of 2024, to make it a federal crime to produce or distribute sexually explicit deepfake images. I've introduced H.R.7778, the Stop VOYEURS Act of 2024, to dramatically expand the scope of the federal law against video voyeurism. I have also introduced legislation to increase the civil penalty for non-consensual “revenge porn,” to establish a civil right of action for individuals impacted by video voyeurism, and to enact sweeping laws to criminalize non-consensual “revenge porn,” among other initiatives.

Long before I ever came to Congress, I was fighting for women. In 2019, South Carolina was one of the first states to have exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother in a fetal heartbeat bill, because I put them in there. I did that as a survivor of rape and was offended, at the time, that no one was looking out for victims during the passage of this bill. Fast forward to 2024, my H.R. 7909, the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, aiming to make illegal aliens inadmissible and deportable if they commit sex crimes or domestic violence has passed the House. We’re hearing too many cases of illegal aliens being detained for acts of violence, only to be let out and offend again. We need to protect women from becoming victims of the migrant crime surge.  

When Alabama ruled on IVF, I was one of the first Republicans to oppose the ruling. I drafted a very thoughtful bipartisan resolution supporting IVF. I had Democrats and Republicans alike lined up to support the resolution, but at the last minute, Democrats were demanded to withdraw their support from within their party.

Our stance on VAWA exemplifies principled leadership rooted in a deep respect for constitutional rights and a genuine concern for the safety and well-being of women. Victim's rights should not be treated as pawns or wedge issues to pass a $1 trillion omnibus.