On Wednesday (5-15), a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing met on the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act, part of the 1994 crime law. Asking that the Act be fully funded, chief sponsor of the legislation Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) testified that he had not been able to persuade lawmakers to restore $1.3 million requested for the training of state and federal judicial personnel for this year. Others testifying included Attorney General Janet Reno who said that domestic violence must be curbed to control violent crime in general, and Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Brown Simpson, who argued that judges “need to be educated on the complex dynamics involved in domestic violence.”
The first woman to sue in federal court under the Act, named as Jane Doe, has filed a lawsuit against her millionaire husband for spousal abuse and gender-motivated violence. Doe alleges her husband, whom she is in the process of divorcing, treated her like a slave and made her take care of his mistress’ poodle.
