Citation

Rorie M, Backes B, Chahel J. Natl. Inst. Justice J. 2014; (274): 25-33.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Victims need careful and often intensive services to help address their physical, emotional and financial suffering. To that end, the federal government funds a variety of programs that provide victims with transitional housing, legal aid, counseling, job training and other assistance. But in recent years, funding for these programs has declined. For example, in 2013, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) -- which covers not only victims' services but also research, batterer interventions and criminal justice capacity building -- received $388 million, down from $412.5 million in 2012. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, shrinking budgets have caused service providers to close victims' shelters, reduce programming hours and cut program staff.3

Given the strain on funding, it is critical that the programs that do receive money effectively increase safety, increase victims' knowledge of and confidence in legal options, and help them recover from victimization. Yet few programs to date have been evaluated using rigorous research designs and systematic study. Fewer than half of 18 seminal studies on IPV victims' services employed a randomized controlled trial (RCT), generally thought to be the strongest method for establishing whether a program is effective.4 As we move forward, more efforts should be made to use rigorous research methods like RCTs when evaluating victims' services programs.

Language: en