(Washington) In tears, American star Angelina Jolie on Wednesday called on Congress to urgently pass a new law against violence against women, a scourge that has become “normalized in our country”.
Posted at 6:07 p.m.
Surrounded by elected officials, the actress unveiled a text supposed to provide victims with medical and legal assistance as well as help children who have been exposed to this violence.
“The ugly truth is that domestic violence has become normalized in our country,” she blasted.
The 46-year-old actress accuses her ex-husband Brad Pitt of intentionally hitting their son Maddox, 15 at the time. The actor was cleared of these allegations.
“I think of the children who are terrified and suffering right now, and the many people for whom this law comes too late,” Angelina Jolie said with a lump in her throat, urging Congress to make this law a priority.
Since 1994, new amended versions of the Violence Against Women Act have been passed with bipartisan support. Joe Biden, then a senator, was the author of the first version of this text.
But a version adopted in the House in 2019 had been blocked in the Senate, where the Republicans, in the majority at the time, had prevented it from being put to a vote.
The text unveiled on Wednesday is supported by elected officials from both parties. The American president “applauded” the presentation of this new version on Wednesday.
“We can almost breathe a sigh of relief,” assured Republican elected official Joni Ernst, herself a victim of domestic violence in the past.