United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2006-11-13 monographic deposited born digital 54 p. GA 1.13:GAO-07-148R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-148R P0b002ee1803a58ec f:d07148r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-148R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-148R GAO-07-148R Crime prevention Crime victims Data collection Data integrity Domestic violence Program evaluation Rape Reporting requirements Sex crimes Sexual abuse Surveys Domestic abuse Correspondence A63264 In hearings conducted between 1990 and 1994, Congress noted that violence against women was a problem of national scope and that the majority of crimes associated with domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking were perpetrated against women. These hearings culminated in the enactment of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994 to address these issues on a national level. VAWA established grant programs within the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) for state, local, and Indian tribal governments and communities. These grants have various purposes, such as providing services to victims and training for law enforcement officers and prosecutors. The 2006 reauthorization of VAWA expanded existing grant programs and added new programs addressing, among other things, young victims, the housing and economic needs of victims, and the health care system's response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Although criminal justice, health, and domestic violence experts believe that valid and reliable estimates have the potential to be of use to policy makers, service providers, and researchers, there are concerns that current crime statistics do not provide a full assessment of the problem. The Violence Against Women and DOJ Reauthorization Act of 2005, enacted January 5, 2006, requires GAO to conduct a study and report on data indicating the prevalence of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking among men, women, youth, and children, as well as services available to these victims. We developed two objectives to respond to this mandate: (1) To what extent do national data collection efforts report prevalence of men, women, youth, and children who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking, and (2) What support services (e.g., counseling, medical, legal, etc.) are available to victims of these categories of crime and what are the number and characteristics of victims receiving these services by type of service. This report addresses the first objective. Our work on the second objective is ongoing. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-148R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-148R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-148R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-148R.pdf GAO-07-148R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-07-148R Correspondence GAO-07-148R; Prevalence of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, and Stalking; Crime prevention Crime victims Data collection Data integrity Domestic violence Program evaluation Rape Reporting requirements Sex crimes Sexual abuse Surveys Domestic abuse Volume 108 Page 1796 108 Stat. 1796 Volume 119 Page 2960 119 Stat. 2960