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The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322), improved our country's response to violence against women, including domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. VAWA and its recent reauthorization, the Violence Against Women Act of 2000, have transformed criminal and civil justice system efforts to address these serious crimes, bringing communities together to move forward to end violence against women. Police officers, prosecutors, victim advocates, and members of the judiciary are collaborating to leverage the coercive power of the criminal justice system to enhance victim safety and hold offenders accountable. To help support these initiatives, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), has provided tools and resources to implement coordinated community responses to violence against women and to fund basic research to expand understanding of stalking and domestic violence. This report to Congress is part of an ongoing commitment to share information about strategies that show promise in the field and about the development of laws addressing stalking. It is produced in response to Subtitle F of VAWA, which directs the U.S. Attorney General to submit a report on these issues. Our knowledge about domestic violence and stalking continues to grow as a result of innovative community-based strategies across the country. OJP is committed to addressing these problems aggressively on several fronts by providing resources to communities, supporting research to help understand and develop more effective responses to stalking, and increasing public awareness of these crimes, their consequences, and the resources available for victims. OJP's Violence Against Women Office is supporting the newly established National Resource Center on Stalking, which will collect information about promising antistalking practices and assist communities in adapting these to their needs. The National Institute of Justice continues to conduct research on effective strategies to combat violence against women, including domestic violence and stalking. State and Federal legislatures continue to pass legislation to hold stalkers accountable. Since enactment of State antistalking laws, the number of stalking cases reported to law enforcement has increased substantially. Similarly, Federal prosecutors are enforcing the Federal antistalking statute by bringing charges against stalkers in appropriate cases. These statutes and related prosecutions communicate the message that stalking is criminal and will not be tolerated.
