The federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was enacted 30 years ago this month. It is aimed at tackling domestic violence and sexual assault while providing supportive services to survivors.
On the anniversary, the Department of Justice announced more than $690 million in grants for programs and services addressing gender-based violence.
This week, the National Institute of Justice’s national research conference in Pittsburgh commemorated VAWA’s anniversary with a discussion exploring research NIJ has pursued over three decades in an effort to
understand and end gender-based violence.
The number of reported violent incidents aimed at women has dropped sharply since the law was passed, from more than 4.4 million in 1994 to 1.9 million in 2023, estimates the National Crime Victimization Survey. The rate of what is classified as intimate partner violence also has dropped, from 9.8 per 1,000 population in 1994 to 2.2 per 1,000 population in 2023.
However, most crime categories have declined at similar rates, and it is not clear how much influence the federal law may have had on the trend.
Since VAWA was enacted, NIJ has invested more than $155 million in research on violence against women. Roughly 41% of the funding concerned domestic violence research, while the rest has been aimed at issues such as sexual assault, human trafficking, teen violence, and elder abuse. Much of the research has been conducted in collaboration with DOJ's Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) and the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC).
At this week's conference, OVC Director Kris Rose described a study of jurisdictions with high numbers of untested rape kits. Once tested, some kits helped identify serial rapists. Rose said the fact that kits hadn’t been sent to labs before cases went cold was “a national disgrace” and that research showed the need to develop best practices aimed at ensuring important evidence is tested so there is no delay in processing sexual violence cases.
Senior NIJ science advisor Angela Moore said that, “when you address one issue, you realize who is still being left out.” Indeed, people of color are more likely to be victims of gender-based violence. Panelists said that is why partnerships between the federal government and community organizations can provide new insights that reflect how marginalized people are experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other forms of gender-based violence.
It's important that work is “culturally specific” to communities, said Karma Cottman, CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community. Ujima has received NIJ funding for its work providing training and technical assistance to organizations serving gender-based violence survivors in marginalized communities, particularly communities of color.
OVW published a report detailing the impact of billions of dollars of VAWA grant funds over the past 30 years in supporting survivors, ensuring offenders face justice, and ultimately preventing gender-based
violence altogether.
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