Justice Department Commemorates 30th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act

Today, the Justice Department hosted hundreds of survivors, advocates, victim services professionals, community leaders, government officials, and partners from the criminal and civil justice systems in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Building to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The event, which featured remarks from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer and was broadcast live on the Department's website, included a series of panel discussions focused on the impact of VAWA in addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in the last 30 years.

During the event, Attorney General Garland announced the designation of an initial set of 78 communities across 47 states, territories, and the District of Columbia for designation under Section 1103 of the VAWA Reauthorization Act of 2022. The Justice Department - through its U.S. Attorneys' Offices and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Field Divisions - will partner with each designated jurisdiction to develop a plan to reduce intimate partner firearm violence and to prioritize prosecutions of domestic violence offenders prohibited under 18 U.S. Code Section 922(g) from owning firearms. The Justice Department anticipates additional jurisdictions to be designated as U.S. Attorneys' Offices continue coordination with their local stakeholders. This effort will build on the $690 million in grant funding under VAWA programs that the Department announced earlier this week.

"Three decades ago, VAWA transformed our national response to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking," said Attorney General Garland. "Its enactment sent a message: gender-based and intimate-partner violence is not just a private matter, not just a local matter, but a national crisis - one that our country was no longer willing to tolerate. As we take stock of the progress that VAWA has advanced, the Department of Justice remains committed to using every tool at our disposal to end these forms of violence and support survivors."

First enacted in 1994, VAWA was the first comprehensive federal law focused on preventing and addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. When it was first passed, VAWA initially focused on providing resources and training to improve the responses and policies of law enforcement, prosecutors, and courts, as well as support victim services to address crimes historically treated as private matters. As Congress subsequently reauthorized VAWA, it enhanced its policies and expanded grant funding streams in 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2022. OVW has issued more than $11 billion in funding authorized by VAWA in its lifetime

As part of its observance of VAWA's anniversary, the Department released this week a series of resources designed to bolster the coordinated community response to effectively responding to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The resources include updated guidance to support health care providers and other professionals, including criminal justice practitioners and victim advocates, when responding to the immediate needs of sexual assault patients.

The Department's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) published the third edition of the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations (SAFE Protocol) for adults and adolescents. The protocol provides detailed guidelines for responding to the immediate needs of sexual assault patients. The protocol was authorized by VAWA's 2000 reauthorization and first published in 2004. The protocol has the same emphasis and values as the previous versions, but it is updated to reflect current technology, science, and standards of practice. For this revision, OVW solicited input from experts in relevant disciplines, including physicians, forensic nurses, prosecutors, law enforcement, victim advocates, civil attorneys, forensic scientists, and experts in culturally specific and underserved populations.

"As a young staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee thirty years ago, I was privileged to play a small part in the passage of the original Violence Against Women Act, which profoundly changed how our country protects survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. "Today, with the largest funding level ever, VAWA's programs are providing more access to services for survivors, more resources to help law enforcement respond, and more capacity to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers. On this milestone anniversary, the legacy of the Violence Against Women Act lives in the courage, stories, and voices of victims and survivors who made the original law possible. And it's in the future work by all of us to shape a safer world for women everywhere."

OVW also published a new report, Answering the Call: Thirty Years of the Violence Against Women Act, that chronicles the impact of VAWA grant funding. It uses research findings, numbers, archival material, and grantees' and survivors' own words to present snapshots of the ways VAWA transforms communities' efforts to support survivors, hold offenders accountable, and work collaboratively to end domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

"Thanks to VAWA and its expansion over the last 30 years, we've pursued additional pathways to justice, acknowledging that access to justice looks different for each survivor," said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Mizer. "I'm proud to say that this year OVW launched three new grant solicitations to implement the new restorative practices pilot program included in the 2022 VAWA reauthorization, including funding for pilot sites, national training and technical assistance, and a robust evaluation program. OVW will be awarding more than $29 million to support restorative practice programs that will expand access to justice for survivors."

In addition to the OVW resources released today, the Department joined the Departments of Agriculture, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Housing and Urban Development to issue an interagency statement that affirms VAWA's housing protections for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking as well as other individuals, such as those who assist survivors.

"A coordinated community response is just as important at the federal level as it is within a community," said OVW Director Rosie Hidalgo. "Too often, an individual facing violence feels forced to remain at home with their abuser because they don't have anywhere else to go. By providing housing security, we can help support survivors and give them a pathway to safety. We're grateful to our federal partners as we work together toward our common goal of ending gender-based violence and providing safety, security, and justice."

OVW provides leadership in developing the nation's capacity to reduce violence through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act and subsequent legislation. Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies, and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. In addition to overseeing federal grant programs, OVW undertakes initiatives in response to special needs identified by communities facing acute challenges. Learn more at www.justice.gov/ovw.

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