Domestic violence in America: Domestic violence shelters did not open until 1776, and it was not until 1920 that husbands beating their wives became illegal in MOST states. In the '70s women's rights started to be fought for. 1973 was when the term domestic violence was coined.It wasn't until 1993 that marital rape was considered a crime (and while this marked all 50 states making it illegal, there are still 13 states, to this day, that find loopholes in this law and treat marital rape substantially different than non-marital rape (These states include: Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia).

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a law striving to end domestic violence, sex assault, dating violence, and stalking, was not signed until 1994. I WAS BORN IN 1995 — 21 (eh, 22 in May) years ago. That means that this protection act did not exist until only 23 years ago. The banning of domestic violence offenders owning guns was not passed until 1996. (see also: PCADV).

I give you all of this background to share the story of how far we have come in the world of domestic violence. And yet, someone in a romantic relationship is abused by their partner/ spouse every 9 seconds. And on average, more than 3 women are murdered by their spouses each day. Which shows that we have not come far enough. Domestic violence is one of the most dangerous situations that someone can be in and it is the most dangerous call a police officer can be called to.

We are still living in a broken world and there are people getting hurt.

And so, Mr. President, Mr. Trump, how can you consider cutting funding to VAWA programs? These programs and resources are providing safe living spaces and the resources that these survivors need to get their lives back on track and start the healing process. If these programs and services are cut, there will people who literally die. There will be victims that will die because they could not see a way out. There will be people that die because they tried to leave their abuser and there was not a shelter that they could go to and receive the emergency housing and the information that they needed. There are going to be police officers that die because they were called to a domestic violence situation and were not properly trained in how to handle the situation.

These survivors — women and men — their lives are more important than any amount of money. These are real people who have real families and real feelings. They are facing real abuse and real terror right in their homes.

And so Mr. President, I ask you, how can you consider cutting funding to the VAWA programs? How can you tell me that these lives and heartbreaks are not important enough in 2017? You have a wife and you have a daughter. Imagine if they were in some kind of trouble that threatened their lives at the hands of another person? Please consider continuing to fund the VAWA programs. Consider the lives of the people, the people of America, who are in danger without these programs.