Abstract
This special issue documents accomplishments and challenges of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to improving our understanding of violence against women (VAW), the scientific study of VAW and societal responses to this violence. Over US$90 million from congressional appropriations and various collaborations over an 18-year period have changed what is known about violence against women and the responses to these crimes.
Key articles on the overall program and several VAW substantive areas—domestic violence, sexual violence, teen dating violence, and violence against American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) women—offer a picture of nearly two decades of research support and administration. The article that Angela Moore and I wrote is an effort to provide context, to document some of the history, discuss critical features of the VAW program, and set the stage for the subsequent articles. The piece that Bethany Backes and I authored discusses domestic violence, the crime that has been the central focus of NIJ’s VAW program in terms of funding support and number of studies. Bethany then discusses NIJ’s sexual violence research, a component of the VAW program that has not advanced nearly as quickly as the domestic violence research. Teen Dating Violence became more prominent in the 2005 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and NIJ responded accordingly. Carrie Mulford and Dara Blachman-Demner discuss this newer but well-organized and coordinated program area. Christine Crossland, Jane Palmer and Alison Brooks discuss another relatively new and a very complex program area required by the 2005 VAWA on AIAN women. This complex research has required a comprehensive planning process guided by a task force of various tribal representatives.
The ultimate goal of most of the NIJ research is that it will inform the policy and practice field. Thus, the special issue articles include information on this topic as well as perspectives from five practitioners who have worked with NIJ over the recent VAW years. A mix of practitioners were asked to provide critiques of the NIJ VAW program. They represent the following fields that address VAW: prevention, law enforcement, prosecution, judging, and advocacy.
I would like to thank everyone who made this issue possible: Angela Moore, my friend and colleague in this work since the initial VAWA; the NIJ staff who joined together in writing the articles; the practitioners who provided their views of NIJ’s VAW contributions; the external reviewers who provided very useful comments and recommendations that improved the articles; and my friends Claire Renzetti and Walter Dekeseredy. Claire enthusiastically encouraged this special issue and Walter provided a far too generous accounting of my contributions.