The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was designed to improve the criminal justice responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking and to increase the availability of services for victims of these crimes. The Office of Crime Victim Services (OCVS) administers two VAWA formula grants from the US Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women: the
STOP (Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grant and the
Sexual Assault Service Formula Program (SASP).
The
STOP VAWA formula grants are awarded to states and territories to develop and strengthen the criminal justice system's response to gender based violence and to support and enhance services for survivors. To learn more about Wisconsin's VAWA STOP grant, please see our
2022-2025 Implementation Plan.
The
SASP formula grants are awarded to states and territories to help support rape crisis centers and other nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations that provide core services, direct intervention, and related assistance to survivors of sexual assault. SASP funds were designed to supplement other funding sources directed at addressing sexual assault in Wisconsin.
The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was created to implement the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation. OVW provides financial and technical assistance to communities to help them create programs, policies, and practices to end sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. In 2002, OVW became a permanent part of the Department of Justice with a Director who is appointed by the President and confirmed by
the Senate.