WATCH: Sen. Ernst, a domestic violence survivor, on ‘modernizing’ Violence Against Women Act

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa was a part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers who announced a new proposal on Feb. 9 to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a 1990s law that extended protections for domestic violence survivors.

At a news conference, Ernst said she’s a survivor of such abuse, adding that she knows “firsthand what happens when someone you trust abuses you.”

“In college, I worked at a victim shelter, answering the hotline, and I've heard heartbreaking stories of abuse,” she said, adding that for the past three years she’s been working on “modernizing and strengthening” the VAWA.

“I believe we must provide better resources for survivors in their own communities,” including those in rural areas of the country “who are so often forgotten,” she said.

The senators, including Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; introduced a proposal to renew the law after it lapsed in 2019 under the Trump administration. Though the House approved the measure in 2021, the legislation stalled in the Senate due to Republican opposition to a so-called “boyfriend loophole” that prevented people convicted of stalking from possessing firearms. The National Rifle Association strongly opposed the provision and the new bipartisan deal does not include it.

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