Take a walk around the block and cool off." Before domestic violence became a national priority in the 1970s and '80s, this was the typical law-enforcement response to men who beat their wives or girlfriends. A woman would get attacked by her partner, neighbors would call the police, and the cops would arrive and leave without making an arrest. Domestic violence was viewed as a private matter. Thanks in large part to the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, which was reauthorized by Congress in late February and signed by President Obama on March 7, much has changed. The law has allocated millions of dollars to train police and beef up state responses to intimate-partner violence. Arrests and prosecutions are much more common now.
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