DNC recognizes Biden's Violence Against Women act as its renewal stalls in Senate

Former Vice President Joe Biden.
(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The Democratic National Convention's third night featured plenty of women speakers and a focus on women's rights ahead of its nomination of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as its vice presidential candidate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was among them, pointing out what she called President Trump's "disrespect for women" along the way.

A powerful section on domestic violence and sexual assault followed, highlighting the Violence Against Women Act that Biden authored in 1994 and It's on Us, his college program aimed at combating sexual assault.

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The timing of the segment was especially potent considering that the Violence Against Women Act actually expired more than a year ago, but the House and Senate have yet to agree on a way to reauthorize it. Bloomberg's Emily Wilkins tweeted that she was "surprised" Republicans' control of the Senate hadn't been discussed more during the DNC; This act could've been a good way to bring it up.

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Biden has often brought up the Violence Against Women Act during his 2020 run, but as The New York Times' Astead Herndon noted, he has avoided bringing up the crime bill it was packaged with.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.