# Office on Violence Against Women *United States Department of Justice office administering federal grants and policy under the Violence Against Women Act* The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is a component of the [[United States Department of Justice]]. The Department lists the office as its Violence Against Women Act page.[^1] OVW was established after Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994. Congress reauthorized the Act in 2005, 2013 and 2022.[^2] The office's director answers to the Attorney General and is responsible for carrying out the Act's legal and policy provisions.[^3] The statute charges the office with responding to and reducing violence against women in settings that include college campuses and homes. It also charges the office with administering justice and strengthening services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.[^2] The documented output of that mandate is grant money. According to the cited Wikipedia revision, OVW awarded $450,000,000 in grants in fiscal year 2017 and more than $6 billion since its inception.[^2] The awards fund partnerships among federal, state, tribal and local authorities, as well as services to victims. One example is the Sexual Assault Services Program, which assists victims of sexual assault and affected family members.[^2] These figures are stated as of that revision; no Department of Justice page in the record carries them.[^2] The project's catalogue lists two Department of Justice pages for the office. The first is catalogued as "Violence Against Women Act — DOJ Office on Violence Against Women".[^1] The second is the office's home page, catalogued as "2023 Policy Review and Guidance".[^4] The record assembled for this entry contains no Minnesota-specific grant awards, enforcement actions, findings or instruments, and nothing below describes Minnesota grantees.[^4] ## Organization A director leads the office. Beneath the director is a principal deputy director, to whom the deputy director for tribal affairs reports. The third and lowest tier comprises Training and Technical Assistance, Program Development and Evaluation, and Demonstration/Special Projects.[^3] The Department of Justice authorization bill of 2002 converted the directorship into a post filled by presidential appointment with Senate confirmation.[^3] The director acts as the office's liaison to federal, state, tribal and international governments on domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.[^3] The director reports to the Attorney General and holds final authority over the grants, cooperative agreements and contracts the office issues.[^3] ### Director Bonnie Campbell, previously Iowa Attorney General, was named the office's first director in March 1995.[^3] Diane Stuart took the post in October 2001.[^3] She had worked with domestic violence victims since 1989 and had served since 1996 as Coordinator for Domestic Violence to Utah [[governor]] Mike Leavitt.[^3] In Utah she set up the state's first mobile crisis team, in which trained police officers went to crime scenes to counsel victims and offer resources.[^3] Bea Hanson served as acting director and principal deputy director until her resignation in January 2017.[^2] Deputy Director Nadine M. Neufville then became acting director.[^2] ## Grant programs OVW runs about 24 grant programs.[^5] Twenty are funded by discretionary grants, whose use and context the office determines. Four are funded by formula grants, which must be distributed as the legislation prescribes to applicants who meet set qualifications.[^5] Activities once funded by grant programs that are no longer authorized are now supported through the Consolidated Youth Program.[^5] The Senate bill that enacted VAWA did more than fund these programs. It created the National Domestic Violence Hotline and funded training for police and for the judicial system.[^5] It also reassessed existing law on prosecuting domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, and provided for new laws to close jurisdictional gaps.[^5] The non-profit Break the Cycle credits the community focus of many of these grants with making the Act influential in improving services, advocacy and criminal-justice responses nationwide.[^5] ## Funding criticisms Criticism of the office has centred on two questions: how its programs are implemented, and whether they have reduced domestic violence.[^6] A study in the *Journal of Marriage and Family* stated that VAWA "does not specifically target funds to areas that are in the greatest need".[^6] The study found that, because organizations must apply for VAWA funding, the process favours existing organizations over the communities with the most intimate partner violence.[^6] The cited Wikipedia revision states that the office has taken this criticism under consideration and is seeking new strategies. No OVW statement to that effect is in the record.[^6] Other critics contend that VAWA directs too few resources to men who experience domestic violence. They also contend that the office portrays women as the only victims of these crimes and men solely as perpetrators.[^6] The CDC figure cited is that 13.8% of males have reported abuse. Supporting organizations of the Act, such as the NNEDV, put the figure at up to 37%.[^6] ## Challenges ### Mandatory arrest laws The 1994 Act established mandatory arrest policies. These encouraged police to make arrests and to proceed with domestic violence cases without the victim's cooperation.[^7] When Congress reviewed and reauthorized the Act in 2000, it replaced "encourage mandatory arrest" policies with "encourage arrest" policies grounded in probable cause. The cited summary describes the mandatory provisions as removed that year.[^7] As Congress prepared the 2013 reauthorization, a *Time* article argued three points: that domestic violence remains under-reported, that some critics believe mandatory arrest policies have worsened the problem, and that such laws remove abused women's preferences from the process.[^7] The cited summary states that the article's account of the arrest provisions is contrary to the 2000 change.[^7] ### Definition of violence In April 2018 OVW revised the definitions it applies to domestic violence and sexual assault.[^7] Natalie Nanasi of the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law describes the change as follows.[^7] Under the Obama administration, the office had counted "forms of emotional, economic, or psychological abuse" as domestic violence. Under the Trump administration, only physical harm prosecutable as a misdemeanor or felony qualifies.[^7] The office's earlier definition of sexual assault had likewise been broader, covering any sexual contact that occurred without explicit consent.[^7] ## Notes [^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, *About the Office* (undated; catalogued as "Violence Against Women Act — DOJ Office on Violence Against Women", claim S-5322) — establishes the office as the DOJ component for the Violence Against Women Act. https://www.justice.gov/ovw/about-office [^2]: Wikipedia, *Office on Violence Against Women*, lead section (revision 1368534473, retrieved 2026-10-26) — creation after VAWA 1994, the 2005/2013/2022 renewals, the statutory mandate, FY2017 and cumulative grant totals, and the 2017 acting directors; secondary source, cited where no primary page in the record carries the fact. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_on_Violence_Against_Women [^3]: Wikipedia, *Office on Violence Against Women*, "Organization" and "Director" sections (revision 1368534473, retrieved 2026-10-26) — the office's structure, the 2002 elevation of the directorship, the director's duties, and the Campbell and Stuart appointments; secondary source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_on_Violence_Against_Women [^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Office on Violence Against Women* (home page, undated; catalogued as "Office on Violence Against Women — 2023 Policy Review and Guidance", claim S-7760) — the office's home page. https://www.justice.gov/ovw/ [^5]: Wikipedia, *Office on Violence Against Women*, "Grant programs" section (revision 1368534473, retrieved 2026-10-26) — the number and type of grant programs, the Consolidated Youth Program, the provisions of the enacting Senate bill, and Break the Cycle's assessment; secondary source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_on_Violence_Against_Women [^6]: Wikipedia, *Office on Violence Against Women*, "Funding criticisms" section (revision 1368534473, retrieved 2026-10-26) — the *Journal of Marriage and Family* study, criticism on male victims, and the CDC and NNEDV figures; secondary source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_on_Violence_Against_Women [^7]: Wikipedia, *Office on Violence Against Women*, "Challenges" section (revision 1368534473, retrieved 2026-10-26) — the 1994 mandatory arrest policies, the 2000 change, the 2013 *Time* article, and the April 2018 definition change; secondary source. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_on_Violence_Against_Women