Resources

Violence Against Women Act

While tremendous progress has been made since the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was first enacted, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking are still significant problems facing women, men, families, and communities. The new VAWA bill signed into law by President Obama March 7, 2013 will continue effective programs, make targeted expansions to address the needs of especially vulnerable populations, and help prevent violence in future generations.

• Fact Sheet: Key provisions in the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act
• Report: "1 is 2 Many: Twenty Years Fighting Violence Against Women and Girls"

Dating Violence Resources

Teens/Young Adults

• Understanding Teen Dating Violence: Fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control explaining what dating violence is; how dating violence affects health; who is at risk for dating violence; and how to prevent dating violence.
• Healthy Relationships: Information from GirlsHealth.gov on forming healthy relationships and working through problems in relationships.
• Relationship Safety: Questions and answers from GirlsHealth.gov to help understand how to spot an unhealthy relationship and what to do if you or a friend is in an unhealthy or abusive relationship.
• What is Rape?: Information from GirlsHealth.gov about what rape and sexual assault are, what you should know about date rape drugs, who you can call for help, and tips on how to protect yourself.
• Dating Violence Resources: Hotline numbers and a list of links to other resources from the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women.
• Sexual Assault Resources: Hotline numbers and a list of links to other resources from the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women.
• Sexual Assault Fact Sheet: Information from WomensHealth.gov on what sexual assault is, what to do if you’ve been sexually assaulted, where to go for help, how to lower your risk of sexual assault, and how to help someone who has been sexually assaulted.
• Not Alone: Not Alone is a website created by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. It combats sexual violence by providing resources for survivors of all identities, allies, advocates, and universities. Visitors can search for existing federal data, reports, documents, and resources regarding sexual violence. Students and advocates can locate federal services; learn about their legal rights; read about how to file a complaint; and track reports on university compliance. Universities and advocates can review federal guidance, learn more about relevant legislation, and examine promising practices on tracking and preventing campus violence.

Parents

• Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking Resources: Hotline numbers and links to other resources on each topic from the Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women.
• Break the Silence: Stop the Violence: Video from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in which parents talk with teens about developing healthy, respectful relationships before they start dating.

Schools

• Dating Matters: Understanding Teen Dating Violence Prevention: Free online course from VetoViolence.org available to educators and others working with teens. The 60 minute training video includes information on how to: understand teen dating violence and its consequences; identify factors that can place teens at risk for dating violence; and communicate with teens about the importance of healthy relationships;
• Higher Education Center for Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Violence Prevention: The Center helps campuses and communities address problems of alcohol, other drugs, and violence (including violence against women) by identifying effective strategies and programs based on prevention science.
• Campus Sexual Assault Guidance: Guidance from the Department of Education explaining that the requirements of Title IX cover sexual violence and reminds of their responsibilities to take immediate and effective steps to respond to sexual violence in accordance with the requirements of Title IX.
• Services, Training, Education and Policies to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking in Secondary Schools Grant Program (STEP): This discretionary grant program run through the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women supports middle and high schools to develop and implement effective training, services, prevention strategies, policies, and coordinated community responses for student victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
• Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights

   

Community

• Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women
• Violence Against Women (Office of Women’s Health)
• Outreach Posters: Outreach posters from the Department of Justice’s Office of Victims of Crime promote community awareness of victims’ rights, including posters on violence against women, stalking, and domestic abuse.
• Sexual Assault Response Team Toolkit: A collection of resources that service providers may use to formalize, expand on, or evaluate their interagency responses.

Latest Research

• CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): On December 14, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) 2010 Summary Report.  The findings show that, on average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States.  Over the course of a year, that equals more than 12 million women and men. Those numbers only tell part of the story –1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been raped in their lifetimes, the vast majority before the age of 25.These findings demonstrate that sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence are important and widespread public health problems in the United States.  The report underscores the heavy toll of this violence, particularly on women; the immediate impacts of victimization; and the lifelong health consequences of these forms of violence. 
• Shifting Boundaries: A Summary of Findings from a National Institute of Justice Experimental Evaluation of a Youth Dating Violence Prevention Program in New York City Middle Schools: The National Institute of Justice has released a study by Bruce Taylor, Ph.D., Nan D. Stein, Ed.D., Dan Woods, Ph.D., Elizabeth Mumford, Ph.D., which examines the impact of a dating violence prevention program for middle school students in a large urban school district.  Researchers concluded that a comprehensive school program was effective in reducing dating violence and sexual harassment.