U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Victims of crime

Increasing Rigorous Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Gender-based Violence Victimization

March 2022

The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) and its re-authorizations mandated several research efforts that stimulated a dramatic enhancement to violence against women research supported by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). This legislation has supported federal, state, local, and private partners in implementing policies and programs and conducting research directly related to gender-based violence. However, questions remain about the effectiveness of those mandates. This brown bag will discuss the gaps and challenges to evaluating gender-based violence interventions.

Economic Justice for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

October 2022
Financial abuse is a common strategy used by those who abuse to gain power and control. The first panelist will discuss how intimate partner violence intersects with economic justice. In the second panelist's presentation, intimate partner violence shelter approaches and housing policies will be addressed. The final panelist will discuss the impact of COVID-19 on economic security and survivors’ experiences of economic hardship.

Defining and Studying Elder Abuse Polyvictimization

January 2023

NIJ Social Science Analyst Yunsoo Park shares her knowledge about elder abuse, a widespread issue in the U.S. and around the world, particularly polyvictimization — the experience of a range of different types of abuse and maltreatment. As much as 11% of community-residing older adults experienced some form of abuse or mistreatment in the past year. Yunsoo discusses risk factors, difficulties in defining and studying elder abuse polyvictimization, and strategies for intervention and prevention. Stacy Lee Reynolds, a Communications Assistant with NIJ, hosts.

Understanding, Preventing, and Responding to Human Trafficking

December 2022
Human trafficking is an issue without a simple solution, but research on this problem is helping victims and developing tools and information to help better understand, prevent, and respond to trafficking. NIJ Scientist Mary Carlton joins host Josh Mondoro, Communications Assistant at NIJ, for a discussion about this research.

What’s Possible with Rapid DNA Technology?

August 2022

NIJ scientist Tracey Johnson joins science writer Sarah Michaud in this episode. They discuss Rapid DNA technology, and Tracey explains the complexities of this technology – its pitfalls and its possibilities.

Reading and Resources from NIJ:

NIJ FY22 Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women

Closing Date
Grants.gov Deadline
Application JustGrants Deadline
With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects to support the development of objective and independent knowledge and validated tools to reduce violence against women (VAW) (including violence against elderly women and American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls), promote justice for victims of crime, and enhance criminal justice responses. For that reason, this solicitation seeks applications for grant funding...

NIJ FY22 Research and Evaluation of Services for Victims of Crime

Closing Date
Grants.gov Deadline
Application JustGrants Deadline

In collaboration with the Office for Victims of Crime, NIJ seeks applications for rigorous research and evaluation projects in three categories: 1) Evaluation of Programs that Provide Services for Victims of Crime; 2) Research on Supporting Victims of Community Violence; and 3) Financial Costs of Crime Victimization. As it concerns the second category, NIJ is especially interested in studies that examine strategies and practices to...

Booker and Beyond Analyzing Sentencing Reform and Exploring New Research Directions

January 2022

This webinar features a discussion of previously published research on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 Booker decision - which effectively transformed the United States Sentencing Guidelines from a mandatory, to an advisory, system. The presentation will address selected research findings from the last 15 years. Individual participants will briefly review their previous research findings with particular attention paid to the analytic methods used.