Program Brief
INTRODUCTION
Since the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was enacted as Title IV of
the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, groundbreaking
work has taken place in communities as victim advocates, police officers,
prosecutors, and judges forge relationships with each other to address
violence against women. VAWA has fundamentally changed the way that criminal
justice agencies, victim advocacy organizations, and service providers
within local communities address victim safety and offender accountability.
State sexual assault coalitions and state domestic violence coalitions
have played a critical role in the implementation of VAWA, serving as
a collective voice to end violence against women through collaboration
with federal, state, and local organizations. Statewide sexual assault
coalitions provide direct support to member rape crisis centers through
funding, training and technical assistance, public awareness, and public
policy advocacy. Statewide domestic violence coalitions provide comparable
support to member domestic violence shelters and service providers. In
some states and territories, these support services are provided through
one dual sexual assault and domestic violence coalition. In a few other
states, multiple state sexual assault and/or domestic violence coalitions
exist.
In the Violence Against Women Act of 2000, Public Law 106-386, Congress
authorized the Attorney General to award grants to state sexual assault
and domestic violence coalitions. The Grants to State Sexual Assault and
Domestic Violence Coalitions Program is intended to provide federal financial
assistance to state coalitions to support the coordination of state victim
services activities, and collaboration and coordination with federal,
state, and local entities engaged in violence against women activities.(1)
SCOPE OF PROGRAM
Grants to State Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Coalitions Program
funds may be used to:
- Coordinate state victim services activities; and
- Collaborate and coordinate with federal, state, and local entities
engaged in violence against women activities.
Grant funds may be used for, but are not limited to, the following activities
relating to the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act:
- Providing technical assistance to member agencies
- Expanding the technological capacity of coalitions and/or member programs
- Developing or enhancing appropriate standard of services for member
programs, including culturally appropriate services to underserved populations
- Conducting statewide, regional and/or community-based meetings or
workshops for victim advocates, survivors, legal service providers,
and criminal justice representatives
- Bringing local programs together to identify gaps in services and
to coordinate activities
- Increasing the representation of underserved populations in coordination
activities, including providing financial assistance to underserved
communities to participate in planning meetings, task forces, committees,
etc.
- Engaging in activities that promote coalition building at the local
and/or state level
- Coordinating federal, state and/or local law enforcement agencies
to develop or enhance strategies to address identified problems
- Engaging in advocacy efforts with community organizations to effect
policy and/or procedural change in order to improve the community’s
responses to domestic violence and sexual assault. For example, state
coalitions might work with law enforcement, prosecution, faith-based
and other community agencies to enhance their responses to victims of
domestic violence and sexual assault. (However, no federal funding made
available under this grant program may be used, directly or indirectly,
to support the enactment, repeal, modification, or adoption of any law,
regulation, or policy at any level of government without the express
prior written approval of OVW.)
PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY
State Sexual Assault Coalitions
- Awards will be made to each sexual assault coalition, as determined
by the Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention under the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
§ 280b et seq.).
State Domestic Violence Coalitions
- Awards will be made to each domestic violence coalition, as determined
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Family Violence
Prevention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. § 10410 et seq.).
Dual sexual assault and domestic violence coalitions that appear on both
of the above mentioned lists will receive the combined allocation for
the state.
Please see Domestic Violence Coalitions and Sexual Assault Coalitions for a list of eligible coalitions.
PROGRAM LIMITATIONS
Grant funds may not be used for certain activities. Prohibited activities
include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Engaging in lobbying-related activities, including the development
and/or distribution of materials and travel to a state or national meeting
for the sole purpose of lobbying (This prohibition pertains to federal,
state, local, and tribal lobbying.)
- Sub-contracting grant funds to member programs for the provision of
direct services
- Hiring a grant writer or paying any portion of staff salary for this
purpose
- Addressing child abuse outside the context of domestic violence and/or
sexual assault
For more information about the Grants to State Sexual Assault
and Domestic Violence Coalitions Program, please contact:
Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)
800 K Street, N.W., Suite 920
Washington, D.C. 20530
Phone: 202-307-6026
Fax: 202-307-3911
TTY: 202-307-2277
Website: www.usdoj.gov/ovw
NOTES
1. Although both women and men may
be victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, women are
the victims of the vast majority of these crimes. According to the Bureau
of Justice Statistics, more than 85% of violent victimizations by intimate
partners between 1993 and 1998 were perpetrated against women. Women are
between 13 and 14 times more likely than men to be raped or sexually assaulted;
for instance, in 1994, 93% of sexual assaults were perpetrated against
women. Four of five stalking victims are women. Data on male victimization
do not show that males experience comparable victimizations and injury
levels, do not account for women who act in self defense, and do not measure
financial control, intimidation, and isolation used by perpetrators of
domestic violence against women. For these reasons, this application kit
may refer to victims as women and perpetrators as men. However, applicants
who receive grants under this program must serve all victims regardless
of gender.
|