title: Mounting and sustaining the Violence Against Women Research and Evaluation Program at the National Institute of Justice.
abstract: The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) mandated a number of research efforts that stimulated a dramatic enhancement to violence against women research supported by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). This article documents and provides a perspective on key components in the history, development, and accomplishments of the Violence Against Women (VAW) research and evaluation program of NIJ. The article is comprised of four key parts: (a) progress of the research program and how leadership, planning, and collaboration were the catalysts in instituting the program; (b) significant research issues confronted and managed, including measurement, evaluation rigor, and gender symmetry; (c) critical conflicts in the field, such as calls for greater attention to sexual assault and violence against minorities as well as resistance to research on perpetrators and male victims; and (d) possible research directions for the future and a concluding comment.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Justice, Bethesda, MD, USA. bernieauchter@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Auchter
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D000047:Academies and Institutes; D019548:Crime Victims; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011902:Rape; D012106:Research; D012935:Social Justice; D013179:Spouse Abuse; D016387:Women's Health
keywords: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); violence against women (VAW) research