The Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program (Campus Program) encourages institutions of higher education to develop and strengthen effective security and investigation strategies to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus, develop and strengthen victim services in cases involving such crimes on campus, and develop and strengthen prevention education and awareness programs.
Program requirements include creating a Coordinated Community Response (CCR) including partnerships with external law enforcement agencies and community victim service providers, and internal departments such as student affairs, campus security, campus-based victim service providers, campus housing, and campus disciplinary board members.
In FY 2023, funds under the Campus Program may be used for one or more of the following purposes:
- To provide personnel, training, technical assistance, data collection, and other equipment with respect to the increased apprehension, investigation, and adjudication of persons committing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus.
- To develop, strengthen, and implement campus policies, protocols, and services that more effectively identify and respond to the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, including the use of technology to commit these crimes, and to train campus administrators, campus security personnel, and all participants in the resolution process, including personnel from the Title IX coordinator's office, student conduct office, and campus disciplinary or judicial boards on such policies, protocols, and services that promote a prompt, fair, and impartial investigation.
- To provide prevention and education programming about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including technological abuse and reproductive and sexual coercion, that is age-appropriate, culturally relevant, ongoing, delivered in multiple venues on campus, accessible, promotes respectful nonviolent behavior as a social norm, and engages men and boys. Such programming should be developed in partnership or collaboratively with experts in intimate partner and sexual violence prevention and intervention.
- To develop, enlarge, or strengthen victim services programs and population specific services on the campuses of the institutions involved, including programs providing legal, medical, or psychological counseling, for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and to improve delivery of victim assistance on campus. To the extent practicable, such an institution shall collaborate with any victim service providers in the community in which the institution is located. If appropriate victim services programs are not available in the community or are not accessible to students, the institution shall, to the extent practicable, provide a victim services program on campus or create a victim services program in collaboration with a community-based organization. The institution shall use not less than 20 percent of the funds made available through the grant for a victim services program provided in accordance with this paragraph, regardless of whether the services are provided by the institution or in coordination with community victim service providers.
- 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, install, or expand data collection and communication systems, including computerized systems, linking campus security to the local law enforcement for the purpose of identifying and tracking arrests, protection orders, violations of protection orders, prosecutions, and convictions with respect to the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus.
- To provide capital improvements (including improved lighting and communications facilities but not including the construction of buildings) on campuses to address the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
- To support improved coordination among campus administrators, campus security personnel, and local law enforcement to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus.
- To develop or adapt, provide, and disseminate developmental, culturally appropriate, and linguistically accessible print or electronic materials to address both prevention and intervention in domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking.
- To develop or adapt and disseminate population specific strategies and projects for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking from underserved populations on campus.
- To train campus health centers and appropriate campus faculty, such as academic advisors or professionals who deal with students on a daily basis, on how to recognize and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, including training health providers on how to provide universal education to all members of the campus community on the impacts of violence on health and unhealthy relationships and how providers can support ongoing outreach efforts.
- To train campus personnel in how to use a victim-centered, trauma-informed interview technique, which means asking questions of a student or a campus employee who is reported to be a victim of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking, in a manner that is focused on the experience of the reported victim, that does not judge or blame the reported victim for the alleged crime, and that is informed by evidence-based research on trauma response. To the extent practicable, campus personnel shall allow the reported victim to participate in a recorded interview and to receive a copy of the recorded interview.
- To develop and implement restorative practices.
In FY 2023, OVW is interested in supporting the priority areas:
- Advance racial equity as an essential component of ending sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
- To qualify for this priority area, the institution must be designated as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institution; Native American-serving non-tribal institution; Predominantly Black Institution; Alaska Native Serving Institution; Native Hawaiian-serving Institution; Historically Black College or University (HBCU); Tribal College or University(TCU); or Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).
- Improve outreach, services, civil and criminal justice responses, prevention, and support for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking from underserved communities, particularly LGBTQ and immigrant communities.
- Applicants seeking to address this priority must propose to develop or enhance prevention and intervention strategies targeting underserved populations.
Please note programmatic changes in FY 2023:
- Removes the consortium applicant type.
- Increases the award amount for individual applicants from $300,000 to $400,000.
- Increases the indirect cost rate maximum from 10% to 20%.
- Increases the required technical assistance allocation to $60,000 to support travel costs for the mandatory technical assistance trainings.
- Revises the application criteria requested in the project narrative sections: Purpose of the Application, What Will Be Done, Who Will Implement; and in the Memoranda of Understanding.
2020 funded projects may be viewed at: https://www.justice.gov/ovw/awards/fy-2020-ovw-grant-awards-program#Campus
2021 funded projects may be viewed at: https://www.justice.gov/ovw/awards/fy-2021-ovw-grant-awards-program#Campus
$10,688,200 was awarded to 36 recipients in 2022. Funded projects can be viewed at: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1537486/download