Commemorating the Enduring Legacy of the Violence Against Women Act

On September 13th, we commemorated a significant milestone—the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This landmark, bipartisan legislation changed the way our nation views and responds to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Congress acknowledged these issues as critical threats to individual and public safety and, through VAWA, established important federal protections and dedicated federal grant resources to support survivors, strengthen coordinated community approaches, and improve efforts to hold offenders accountable.  VAWA resulted from the collective efforts, leadership, and commitment of survivors, advocates, and community leaders and built on legislative efforts at the local, state, and Tribal level to address these critical issues.

The day before the anniversary, the Office on Violence Against Women hosted a stakeholder summit, which brought together survivors, advocates, national and local leaders, as well as key federal partners and others, to share promising practices and discuss emerging issues in the field of ending gender-based violence. The summit provided a platform for a series of insightful panels that collectively explored the evolving, multifaceted landscape of preventing and addressing gender-based violence. These discussions emphasized the importance of comprehensive, inclusive, and survivor-centered approaches.

At the heart of these discussions was centering the powerful role of survivor voices and leadership, which shaped the development of VAWA and has continually shaped its expansion, fostering a broader and more inclusive response to survivors' diverse experiences and needs. Panelists underscored the importance of continuing to improve survivor-centered and trauma-informed approaches in the civil and criminal justice systems, as well as enhancing coordinated community responses by integrating a wide array of services and support that extend beyond the traditional frameworks, recognizing that these comprehensive, community-driven efforts are vital in addressing the complex and intersectional needs of survivors.

The summit also explored restorative practices initiatives and community violence intervention as additional pathways to supporting survivors and increasing access to justice, healing, and accountability. Another key focus was research, particularly community-based and participatory methods of research, ensuring that policies are not only effective but also grounded in the lived realities of those they are meant to support.

On September 13th, OVW 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 anniversary. The event, which was also broadcasted to over a thousand viewers, featured remarks from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin Mizer, and Jennifer Klein, the Director of the White House Gender Policy Council.

We were honored to have Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco join a panel alongside former Senate Judiciary staff who played pivotal roles in writing and supporting the passage of the original VAWA legislation three decades ago when they worked for then-Senator Biden, the lead author of the VAWA legislation in the Senate. Reflecting on her time as a recent college graduate working in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Deputy AG Monaco shared how she was tasked with reaching out to shelters to hear directly from advocates on the front lines and identifying survivors who could share their stories and provide firsthand insights into the challenges victims faced. The stories and information she helped compile became part of a groundbreaking Congressional report, “Violence Against Women: A Week in the Life of America,” issued in October 1992.  It painted a stark picture of the violence facing American women and was critical to VAWA’s eventual passage. It was also inspiring to hear how advocates and survivors partnered with congressional staff to testify and shape the groundbreaking legislation that became VAWA. Their collaboration and dedication were instrumental in bringing this law to life, just as it has been essential in each subsequent reauthorization of VAWA.

Other panel discussions in the Great Hall examined the coordinated federal response to gender-based violence, showcasing the work of various Department of Justice components. Notable examples of these efforts include the Attorney General’s announcement of 78 designated communities across 47 states, territories, and the District of Columbia, where U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and ATF Field Divisions will partner with local stakeholders to develop strategies to reduce intimate partner firearm violence and prioritize prosecutions of domestic violence offenders prohibited from possessing firearms. The Department also published the third edition of the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations (SAFE Protocol) for adults and adolescents, providing detailed guidelines for responding to the immediate needs of sexual assault patients.

Additionally, a subsequent panel highlighted the collaboration among federal agencies to address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.  We were joined by representatives from the Department of Labor, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the State Department, and discussed the work of each agency and collaborative efforts to end gender-based violence. Additionally, the White House released a fact sheet outlining the dedication of the Administration - through the work of multiple federal agencies - to ending gender-based violence and the concrete steps that they are making to advance these goals.

This included an interagency initiative in which the Department of Justice, along with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Departments of Agriculture, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, issued an interagency statement highlighting critical VAWA housing protections for survivors.

What was most moving was hearing directly from survivors, who shared insights from their own experiences as victims navigating complex systems to seek safety, justice, and healing. They also provided their recommendations as leaders dedicated to improving protections and support for others. Their voices serve as a poignant reminder of why we do this work, highlighting the importance of survivor leadership in our ongoing efforts to advance healing, justice, and meaningful change. It is survivor leadership that has brought us this far, from the days before VAWA’s passage, when domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking were often dismissed as "private matters"—often kept in the shadows and deemed beyond the reach of federal legislation. VAWA’s passage and each subsequent reauthorization have helped us advance our nation’s commitment to prevent and address gender-based violence. We have made significant progress toward our collective goals of ending gender-based violence and recognizing that everyone has the fundamental right to live free from violence. Nonetheless, we also acknowledge that we have further to go until this is a reality.

Since OVW's establishment in 1995 as part of VAWA, we have worked tirelessly to fulfill the promise of this landmark legislation. Over the years, OVW has administered over $11 billion in funding to support survivors and advance our nation’s mission. This year alone, we administered over 40 grant programs and initiatives. In fact, we added 14 new grant programs in Fiscal Year 2024, including the Restorative Practices Pilot Program, which opens up additional pathways for survivors seeking healing and justice; funding for a new National Resource Center on Cybercrimes Against Individuals as well as a new grant program to train law enforcement and victim service providers to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence; the Abby Honold Program, which supports trauma-informed, victim-centered training for law enforcement professionals; and funding to establish Healing and Response Teams 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. 

On September 12, the Justice Department issued a press release outlining over $690 million in funding from OVW in Fiscal Year 2024—the highest amount in our history and an increase of over 35% since 2021—to sustain and expand these critical efforts. While funding is vital, the true impact of these programs is seen in the lives saved, survivors supported, and communities made safer.

We showcased the impact of VAWA  over the past three decades in our new report, Answering the Call: Thirty Years of the Violence Against Women Act, which uses research, statistics, archival material, and the voices of grantees and survivors to detail the profound effect of VAWA grant funding over the years, and how, with each subsequent reauthorization of VAWA- 2000, 2005, 2013, and, most recently, in 2022 – we made progress toward enhancing comprehensive services and support for survivors. This includes expanding grant programs and strengthening legal protections and civil remedies for all survivors, including addressing compounding barriers that can undermine access to safety, services, and justice because of their race, ethnicity, immigration status, age, disability, primary language, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic status, as well as those living in rural areas, among other factors.  This report brings to life the human stories behind the data, illustrating the ripple effect VAWA has had across the nation and Tribal communities. It serves as a reminder that VAWA is more than just legislation—it’s a lifeline that empowers communities to respond when survivors need it most.

September was truly a special opportunity to come together to reflect on the progress made over the past three decades due to the unwavering commitment and collective efforts of so many and to renew our commitment as we move forward. As we move into October and prepare to observe Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), we are reminded that our work is far from over. This year's DVAM theme is "Heal, Hold & Center." During DVAM and beyond, we must work together to embrace the many ways to support survivors in healing from violence, commit to holding space for survivor leadership, and center those most marginalized in all our efforts to end gender-based violence by using a strengths-based approach that seeks to build the capacity in all communities to prevent and address gender-based violence. It is also an opportunity to ensure we are supporting advocates and those on the front lines every day, to center their own healing and well-being so that we can continue to advance these goals together.

We must continue supporting one another, strengthen a coordinated community response at every level, and push forward with the same energy and dedication, ensuring that survivors and communities have the support they need and that we remain relentless in advancing our nation’s commitment to end domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, and other connected forms of gender-based violence. It is only together that we can build a world that affirms the dignity, rights, and humanity of every individual, a world where gender-based violence is not tolerated, and a world where healing and justice are accessible to all.