The Violence Against Women and Family Violence Research Portfolio aims to create objective and independent knowledge and validated tools to help reduce or eliminate various forms of violence and their associated trauma. The portfolio also seeks to promote justice for crime victims and improve responses from the criminal justice system.
NIJ’s Violence Against Women and Family Violence Research Portfolio covers a wide range of topics, including domestic and family violence, intimate partner homicide and violence, rape, sex trafficking, sexual assault, stalking, and teen dating violence (also known as adolescent relationship abuse), along with associated criminal justice system responses, procedures, and policies. This program addresses various public safety issues and challenges in criminal justice, such as the availability of legal and victim support services, the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs, and the long-term impacts of these crimes. The program’s key objectives are to estimate the scope of the problem; identify correlates, causes, and consequences; evaluate promising prevention and intervention programs; compile and disseminate research findings; and promote and facilitate collaboration, coordination, and cooperation among various disciplines.
Under this portfolio, NIJ-funded studies include longitudinal research, surveys, instrumentation, measurement, and scale validation; advanced statistical modeling; secondary data analysis; applied policy analysis; and researcher–practitioner partnerships. In addition to funding original research, NIJ encourages replication of seminal studies in the field. The program also promotes multidisciplinary research teams to leverage the complementary strengths of various methodologies, methods, and areas of subject matter expertise. The portfolio prioritizes high-quality evaluation research that assesses programs or interventions aimed at improving the responses of law enforcement, prosecutors, and the judiciary to crimes covered by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Additionally, the portfolio includes evaluations of initiatives and practices that enhance victim engagement with the criminal justice system and ensure accountability for persons who commit crimes.
This research portfolio aims to generate reliable evidence about effective measures that improve criminal justice outcomes, promote justice for victims of crime, and increase the number of rigorously tested interventions. This work is guided by research and informed by input from stakeholders, partners, survivors, and practitioners within the criminal justice system. These efforts have informed the development of strategies and practices to reduce violence and better serve victims of crime. Additionally, the portfolio has influenced federal, state, and local legislation, including the reauthorizations of VAWA.
Research Priority 1: Justice system engagement for individuals who have been victimized. Advance knowledge and understanding and identify and evaluate engagement strategies and criminal justice system responses.
| Number | Question |
|---|---|
| Research Question 1.1 | What barriers prevent VAWA victims from engaging with justice systems? Which factors facilitate greater victim willingness to report crimes, participate in justice system processes, or engage with victim services? How do specific VAWA interventions address or reduce identified barriers to victim engagement with the justice system? |
| Research Question 1.2 | To what extent are VAWA services and resources accessible to victims? How responsive are justice system personnel (courts, law enforcement, prosecutors, victim service, or victim-witness staff) to VAWA victims' needs and preferences? Which outreach strategies are most effective with VAWA victims? |
| Research Question 1.3 | How effective are platforms and apps designed to help VAWA victims or witnesses report crimes and find assistance/resources? How acceptable and effective are digital or remote justice interventions for enhancing victim comfort and safety? |
Research Priority 2: Accountability for persons who offend. Advance knowledge and understanding and identify and evaluate accountability strategies, programs, and practices.
| Number | Question |
|---|---|
| Research Question 2.1 | How effective are intimate partner violence intervention programs at holding offenders accountable for their actions? What practices are most strongly associated with improved offender accountability? |
| Research Question 2.2 | What specific elements of perpetrator programs contribute to enhanced victim/survivor well-being? Are there unintended negative consequences for victims/survivors of the intervention/program? |
| Research Question 2.3 | How cost-effective are VAWA accountability and victim/survivor safety-focused interventions compared to alternative or traditional approaches? Are VAWA interventions scalable, and what resources are necessary for successful replication? |
Priority 3: VAWA case processing. Advance knowledge and understanding and identify and evaluate criminal justice system processes and responses.
| Number | Question |
|---|---|
| Research Question 3.1 | How does law enforcement workload affect VAWA case outcomes (e.g., arrests, charges, prosecutions, sentencing)? What investigative practices are most effective in building cases that lead to successful prosecution? |
| Research Question 3.2 | How effective are specialized prosecution units or approaches in achieving favorable case outcomes? What practices or strategies correlate with higher rates of successful prosecution (e.g., convictions, appropriate sentencing, temporary and permanent protective orders) in VAWA-related cases? |
| Research Question 3.3 | What interventions or policies most effectively reduce attrition rates in VAWA-related crime cases? What professional training or capacity-building areas are most promising in enhancing justice system responses to VAWA-related offenses? |
Priority 4: Intimate partner homicide and other forms of violent death. Advance knowledge and understanding and identify and evaluate prevention and intervention strategies, and criminal justice system responses.
| Number | Question |
|---|---|
| Research Question 4.1 | How effectively does law enforcement use risk assessment tools to identify and intervene in potentially lethal intimate partner violence cases? What evidence-based risk assessment practices or tools effectively predict or prevent escalation from intimate partner violence to intimate partner homicide within criminal justice contexts? |
| Research Question 4.2 | How do prosecutorial practices and decision-making in intimate partner homicide cases affect outcomes (e.g., conviction rates, sentencing severity)? How effectively do criminal justice agencies (law enforcement, prosecution, victim advocacy) engage with surviving family members during case processing? |
| Research Question 4.3 | How do existing criminal justice policies (federal, state, tribal, local) affect the processing and outcomes of intimate partner homicide cases? What policy gaps exist in current criminal justice responses, and how can these gaps be addressed through legislative reform? |
Priority 5: VAWA legislative or procedural reforms. Advance knowledge and understanding and evaluate whether they improve justice outcomes.
| Number | Question |
|---|---|
| Research Question 5.1 | To what extent have legislative reforms aimed at addressing violence against women been implemented as intended at the local level? What barriers or facilitators exist for the effective implementation of legal reforms? Have legislative reforms resulted in intended outcomes, such as increased rates of reporting, arrest, prosecution, and conviction in cases of violence against women? |
| Research Question 5.2 | Has the introduction of reforms led to changes in-case attrition rates at various stages (reporting, investigation, prosecution, sentencing)? Have there been measurable changes in recidivism rates for perpetrators following the introduction of specific legal reforms? |
| Research Question 5.3 | Have resources dedicated to violence against women in the justice system increased, decreased, or shifted focus after legislative reforms? How do the outcomes of legal reforms in violence against women cases compare to outcomes in jurisdictions with no such reforms? |
Reports -
- A Descriptive Analysis of Missing and Murdered Native Women and Children in Nebraska, Barriers to Reporting and Investigation, and Recommendations for Improving Access to Justice
- Assessing an Innovative Response to Intimate Partner Violence Related Strangulation, Final Report and Outcome Evaluation
- The Impact of Brain Injury Services in Domestic Violence Cases: A Randomized Control Trial
Datasets -
- Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: An Analysis of Crime Reported to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, 2008 (ICPSR 32601)
- Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women and Men: 2010 Findings from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) (ICPSR 36140)
- The National Survey of Teen Relationships and Intimate Violence (STRiV), [United States], 2013-2020 (ICPSR 36499)
Use the links below to find additional information and resources related to violence against women and family violence.