The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced the awards of more than $690 million in grant funding administered by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). 

This funding will support services and justice responses for victims and survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking across all U.S. states and territories and in many Tribal nations.

The funding was announced as part of the Justice Department’s commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was the first comprehensive federal law focused on preventing and addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

“Thirty years ago, VAWA transformed our national response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today, officers, prosecutors, judges, families, and society at large understand what should have always been clear: these crimes cannot be cast aside as somehow distinct or private. Instead, we recognize that they are among the most serious crimes that our society faces and that we must continue to improve access to justice, safety, and services for survivors.”

“I was privileged to work on the passage of the original Violence Against Women Act thirty years ago — landmark legislation that transformed how our nation responds to domestic violence and sexual assault,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Our country’s progress to prevent gender-based violence is not finished, but we have come a long way since 1994 thanks to the hard work of survivors, advocates, and members of law enforcement — including the women and men of the Justice Department — who work every day to hold perpetrators accountable and protect survivors. The grants we’re announcing today reaffirm our commitment to building safe communities for all, free from violence and fear.”

“Thanks to the changes in VAWA over the last 30 years, we've explored additional pathways to justice, acknowledging that justice looks different for each survivor,” Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said. “The right to live free from violence is fundamental, and our policies and resources must continue to evolve to protect this right fully. I commend OVW’s efforts to implement VAWA 2022’s expanded resources, including new funding to support and strengthen restorative practice programs addressing gender-based violence as well as to prevent and prosecute cybercrimes such as cyberstalking and the non-consensual distribution of intimate images.”

VAWA was first enacted in 1994 as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. It initially focused on providing resources and training to improve the responses and policies of law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts, to support victim services, and to address crimes historically treated as private matters. Recognizing that domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking require a coordinated community response that extends beyond the justice system, Congress subsequently reauthorized VAWA, enhancing its policies and expanding grant funding streams, in 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2022.

Each reauthorization of VAWA has broadened the law and expanded available resources, reflecting an evolving understanding of these crimes and underscoring the need for comprehensive, holistic approaches to improve victims’ access to justice, safety, and supportive services while also improving offender accountability. 

Funding announced last week includes:

• STOP (Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program: Grants totaling over $171 million will be distributed to all 50 states and six U.S. territories to support a coordinated community response among law enforcement, prosecution, courts, victim services organizations, and other community services to address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The STOP program was one of VAWA’s first grant programs and was authorized in the original enactment in 1994.

• Sexual Assault Services Formula Program: Grants totaling over $52 million will be awarded in each state and territory to assist them in supporting rape crisis centers and nonprofit organizations, as well as Tribal programs that assist survivors of sexual assault.

• Transitional Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Program: Grants totaling over $40 million will support programs that provide six to 24 months of transitional housing support for survivors who are homeless or in need of transitional housing and other housing assistance as a result of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking.

• Grants to Improve the Criminal Justice Response (ICJR) Program: Grants totaling over $24 million will assist communities in improving their criminal justice response while seeking safety and autonomy for survivors. ICJR grantees are encouraged to develop, implement, or enhance a coordinated community response to bring together effective partners from the local government, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices and courts, nonprofit organizations, and population-specific organizations to address these crimes. This year for the first time, OVW is also awarding more than $14 million through a related initiative, the Enhancing Investigation and Prosecution of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Initiative, to support effective policing and prosecution strategies by promoting and evaluating effective trauma-informed policing and prosecution responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

• State and Territory Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions Program: Grants totaling over $19 million will support the critical work of state and territory domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions, which includes coordinating victim services and collaborating with federal, state, and local entities.

• Indian Tribal Governments Program: Grants totaling over $45 million will support the development and enhancement of effective strategies by Tribal governments to address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in Tribal communities consistent with Tribal law and custom. Additionally, $7.5 million is awarded under the newly established Grants to Indian Tribal Governments Program: Strengthening Tribal Advocacy Responses Track to support Tribes who have not previously accessed the Tribal Government funding and seek additional support for capacity building.

In addition, funding for new grant programs that were launched this year, made possible by VAWA’s 2022 reauthorization and expansion includes:

• Demonstration Program on Trauma-Informed, Victim-Centered Training for Law Enforcement (Abby Honold Program): Grants totaling $3 million will support the development and evaluation of enhanced, trauma-informed training for law enforcement to improve the response to victims. This new grant program, recently authorized through the 2022 VAWA Reauthorization, was championed by a former college student whose own experience as a survivor of sexual assault led her to want to improve the law enforcement response.

• National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals: New funding totaling $2.8 million will support the establishment of a national resource center to provide information, training, and technical assistance to improve the capacity of individuals, organizations, governmental entities, and communities to prevent, enforce, and prosecute cybercrimes against individuals. This includes addressing technology-facilitated abuse, such as the non-consensual distribution of intimate images, and cyber-stalking, among others.

• Local Law Enforcement Grants for Enforcement of Cybercrimes Program: Grants totaling $5.5 million will be distributed through this new grant program to support communities in preventing, enforcing, and prosecuting cybercrimes against individuals and providing training for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, victim services providers, and judicial personnel to address such crimes. 

• Restorative Practices Pilot Sites Program: Grants totaling over $15 million will be provided through this new grant program authorized by the 2022 Reauthorization of VAWA to support, strengthen, and expand existing restorative practice programs that address domestic violence,  sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking through a trauma-informed and survivor-centered approach. Additionally, OVW will award $8 million to fund research and evaluation of restorative practices in collaboration with the pilot sites. Earlier this year, OVW awarded grants to three entities to serve as national training and technical assistance providers and to work with the pilot sites.

• Healing and Response Teams: For the first time, OVW is providing more than $2 million through its Healing and Response Teams Special Initiative to support the development of practices using a Tribal-based model of care to respond to Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons cases related to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and sex trafficking. This initiative is in response to recommendations made by the Not Invisible Act Commission.