About Campus Safety Interaction Program (CSIP)/VAW
Campus Safety Interaction Programs (CSIP)
The Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes against Women on Campus (Campus Program) is designed to encourage institutions of higher education to adopt comprehensive, coordinated responses to violent crimes against women on campuses, including sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence and dating violence. Working in partnership with community-based nonprofit victim advocacy organizations and local criminal justice or civil legal agencies, campuses must adopt protocols and policies that treat violence against women as a serious offense and develop victim services and programs in which victim safety, offender accountability and the prevention of such crimes are central.
Many campuses are beginning to address violent crimes against women by developing campus-based responses that include campus victim services, campus law enforcement, health services, housing authorities, campus administration, student organizations and disciplinary boards. To be effective, these responses must be linked to local criminal justice agencies and service providers, including local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors’ offices, courts, and nonprofit, nongovernmental victim advocacy and victim services agencies. This coordinated community response is intended to enhance victim safety and hold offenders accountable.
Institutions of higher education must develop services and programs tailored to meet the specific needs of victims of sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence,and dating violence on campuses. In addition, colleges and universities must address the underlying causes of violence against women on campuses by instituting prevention programs that seek to change the attitudes and beliefs that permit, and often encourage, such behavior. Through their policies, protocols and actions, colleges and universities can demonstrate to every student that violence against women in any form will not be tolerated and sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence and dating violence are crimes with serious legal consequences.
These programs include the following goals:
- To provide personnel, training, technical assistance, data collection and other equipment with respect to the increased apprehension, investigation and adjudication of persons committing violent crimes against women on campus
- To train campus administrators, campus security personnel and personnel serving on campus disciplinary or judicial boards to more effectively identify and respond to violent crimes against women on campus, including sexual assault
- To implement and operate education programs for the prevention of violent crimes against women
- To develop, enlarge or strengthen support services programs, including medical or psychological counseling, for victims of sexual offense crimes
- To create, disseminate or otherwise provide assistance and information about victims’ options on and off campus to bring disciplinary or other legal action, including assistance to victims in immigration matters;
- To develop and implement more effective campus policies, protocols, orders and services specifically devoted to prevent, identify and respond to violent crimes against women on campus, including sexual assault
- To develop, enlarge or strengthen victim services programs for the campus and to improve delivery of victim services on campus;
- To support improved coordination among campus administrators, campus security personnel and local law enforcement to reduce violent crimes against women on campus.
About the Office on Violence against Women
Since its inception in 1995, the Violence Against Women Office, now the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has handled the department’s legal and policy issues regarding violence against women, coordinated departmental efforts, provided national and international leadership, received international visitors interested in learning about the federal government’s role in addressing violence against women, and responded to requests for information regarding violence against women. The office works closely with components of the Office of Justice Programs, the Office of Legal Policy, the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, the Immigration and Naturalization Office, the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, US Attorneys’ Offices, and state, tribal and local jurisdictions to implement the mandates of the Violence against Women Act of 1994 and subsequent legislation.
Under the violence against women grant programs administered by the Department of Justice, the office has awarded more than $1 billion in grant funds, making over 1,250 discretionary grants and more than 350 STOP (Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors) formula grants to the states and territories. These grant programs help state, tribal, and local governments and community-based agencies train personnel, establish specialized domestic violence and sexual assault units, assist victims of violence, and hold perpetrators accountable. More than 6,500 STOP subgrants have supported community partnerships among police, prosecutors, victim advocates, and others to address violence against women.
Office on Violence Against Women
810 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531
(202) 307-6026 phone
(202) 307-3911 fax
(202) 307-2277 TTY