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Promising Practices Initiative

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Significant advances in our country’s responses to violence against women have occurred since the passage of the landmark federal Violence Against Women Act of 1994. Unfortunately, many practitioners working to address violence against women do not have ready access to information about successful approaches that could enhance their efforts. The Promising Practices Initiative is leading a national effort for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women to identify and share promising practices that have been developed since 1994 to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Within the United States, a variety of systems and programs address violence against women. These range from grassroots service providers to the criminal justice system to the health care industry. Survivors who access these systems have diverse experiences and backgrounds. The Promising Practices Initiative seeks to identify an array of effective practices that these service providers could use to respond to survivors’ individual needs.

Vera staff are working closely with practitioners, policymakers, and other experts in the field on this initiative. We are reviewing literature and other materials, conducting interviews, and convening panels of experts to identify interventions that work. Project staff conduct additional interviews and site visits to gather detailed information about each practice that has been identified.

Why we need this work

Ultimately, the Promising Practices Initiative will create a collection of on-line and print materials about these approaches. Vera staff will tailor the information to match the needs and realities of specific practitioners – advocates, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and others – so they can adapt and adopt particular approaches to enhance the effectiveness of their work with survivors and others impacted by violence against women.

For more information, contact project director Catherine Carroll.