As we observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month this April, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) reiterates its commitment to working with law enforcement agencies and communities to support survivors of sexual assault and to hold offenders accountable. Everyone has the right to live their life free of the burden and threat of sexual assault.

Sexual assault cases are among the most difficult crimes to investigate, and they encompass a range of offenses devastating to survivors, families, and communities. Not only must survivors cope with the physical and emotional aftermath of an intimate crime, but many also face the societal stigma and gender bias that perpetuate victim-blaming.

Police are aware that sexual assaults are severely underreported compared to other crimes. According to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, two-thirds of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported to law enforcement. All too often, survivors who report sexual assault encounter a criminal justice system that lacks empathy or a trauma-informed response. This leads to many survivors feeling revictimized by the process of filing a report, going through invasive medical examinations, and being questioned repeatedly by officers and detectives.

To increase trust and reporting rates, many law enforcement agencies strive to improve their response to survivors and become vital partners in the effort to eliminate sexual assault and other gender-based crime. Agencies are seeking training opportunities and support because they know that an empathetic and trauma-informed law enforcement response in the first moments of a survivor’s attempt to get help can have a positive impact on the survivor’s ability to participate in the investigative process and can contribute to the survivor’s healing and recovery.

For this reason, last year, the Department of Justice issued Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias in Law Enforcement Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence—a resource for law enforcement agencies to help prevent gender bias and other biases from compromising their investigations of crimes involving sexual assault. The updated guidance provides practical examples and a set of basic principles that, when integrated into policies, trainings, and practices, will help agencies increase public trust and confidence in the hopes of increasing reporting rates. This guidance was released last year, but Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an ideal opportunity for agencies to review and consider it again.

“The guidance reaffirms our commitment to expanding access to justice for all survivors, who deserve respect, compassion, and self-determination,” said OVW Acting Director Allison Randall. “Eliminating gender bias in policing is a key piece in ending gender-based violence, and can have a real, immediate impact on the safety of survivors, their loved ones and, indeed, their entire communities.”

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) developed a list of resources to help law enforcement implement the principles in the guidance, including publications from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI), and the Department of Justice. Also, OVW’s sexual assault webpage provides resources that can further support law enforcement agencies and community partners.

In addition to those resources, OVW administers 19 discretionary and formula funding programs that address domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

OVW grant opportunities that support law enforcement include the following:

• STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program: Helps local communities develop and strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat violent crimes against women and to develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving violent crimes against women. Each state and territory must allocate 25 percent of funding for law enforcement, 25 percent for prosecutors, 30 percent for victim services (of which at least 10 percent must be distributed to culturally specific community-based organizations), 5 percent to state and local courts, and 15 percent for discretionary distribution.
• Improving the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking Program: Encourages state, local, and tribal governments, and state, local, and tribal courts, to treat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as serious violations of criminal law requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire criminal justice system.
• Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program: Helps institutions of higher education collaborate with local law enforcement and victim advocacy organizations develop programs targeted to their communities.

OVW expects to release solicitations for these programs this spring. You can see open solicitations on the OVW website or sign up for email alerts when new funding opportunities are released.

We encourage all agencies to participate in Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Throughout April, you can show support for survivors and further violence prevention efforts by visiting sexual assault service providers and advocates in your district. Other simple ideas include participating in a discussion panel or convening a roundtable with local, state, and tribal partners to strengthen collaborative efforts to end sexual assault.

Law enforcement agencies are vital partners in the effort to address, respond to, and eliminate sexual assault and other gender-based crimes. OVW looks forward to working alongside law enforcement agencies to support and uplift your work in addressing sexual assault not only during the month of April but year-round.

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