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The U.S. government estimates one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. U.S. government statistics reveal one in six women will experience an attempted or completed rape at some time in her life. Approximately 500,000 women are estimated to be victims of some form of rape or sexual assault each year in the United States. Service providers and victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking living in rural jurisdictions face unique barriers to giving and receiving assistance. These include geographic isolation, economic structure, strong social and cultural pressures, and lack of available resources.
Program Overview
The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) currently administers 18 grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and subsequent legislation. These grant programs are designed to develop the nation’s capacity to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by strengthening services to victims and holding offenders accountable for their actions.
The Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (Rural Program) was established by Congress in 1994. The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA 2005) expanded the scope of the Rural Program to include sexual assault and stalking and modified the eligibility criteria as well as the statutory purpose areas under which projects must be implemented.
The primary purpose of the Rural Program is to enhance the safety of children, youth, and adults who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by supporting projects uniquely designed to address and prevent these crimes in rural jurisdictions.
The Rural Program encourages collaboration between victim advocates, law enforcement officers, pre-trial service personnel, prosecutors, judges and other court personnel, probation and parole officers, and faith- and/or community-based leaders to overcome the problems of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and ensure that victim safety is paramount in providing services to victims and their children.
The Rural Program is required to set aside no less than 25 to 40 percent of funds, depending on annual appropriations, for activities that meaningfully address sexual assault.
In Fiscal Year 2008, the Rural Program funded 59 projects, totaling more than $23 million. Since its inception, the Rural Program has funded 887 projects,
totaling more than $348.5 million, for grantees addressing violence against women in rural communities.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants are States, Indian tribes, local governments, and nonprofit, public, or private entities, including tribal nonprofit organizations and faith-based or community organizations.
For the purpose of the Rural Program, a rural area or community is defined as (a) any area or community, respectively, no part of which is within an area designated as a standard metropolitan statistical area by the Office of Management and Budget; or (b) any area or community, respectively, that is (i) within an area designated as a metropolitan statistical area or considered part of a metropolitan statistical area; and (ii) located in a rural census tract.
Technical Assistance Providers
Since 1995, OVW’s Technical Assistance Program has provided OVW grantees with the training, expertise, and problem-solving strategies they need to meet the challenges of addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. The following organizations have been identified and funded by OVW to provide training and resources to grantees on issues related to violence against women in rural areas:
Resources
For a complete list of OVW grant awards by state, visit the State by State section of OVW’s Web site.
If you have additional questions, contact the OVW Rural Unit at OVW.Rural@usdoj.gov or call OVW at (202) 307-6026.
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