[12] Stuart created Utah's first mobile crisis team; trained police officers would arrive at crime scenes to counsel victims and offer resources.

[12] The 2002 authorization bill for the United States Department of Justice elevated the position to a presidential appointment requiring confirmation by the Senate.

[5][6][14][15][16] The Director also serves in that role internationally, with Native American tribes in the country, and within other offices of the United States Federal Government.

[5][6][14][15] The Director reports to the Attorney General and is responsible for the legal and policy provisions that are implemented under the Violence Against Women Act.

[37] According to the non-profit Break the Cycle, the community focus of many of these grants has made the legislation influential in improving services, advocacy, and responses by criminal justice across the country.

According to the non-profit organization Break the Cycle, the community focus of many of these grants has made the legislation influential in improving services, advocacy, and responses by criminal justice across the country.

A study from the Journal of Marriage and Family stated that the "VAWA does not specifically target funds to areas that are in the greatest need-communities with the most intimate partner violence.

[64][65] The CDC offers that 13.8% of males have reported abuse,[66] but supporting organizations of the Violence Against Women Act, such as the NNEDV, posit that that number has actually increased up to 37%.

[72] However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, partners in homosexual relationships say that they have encountered similar or greater levels of domestic violence in their lifetime than their straight counterparts.

"[76] Furthermore, in Time Magazine the author concluded that "mandatory arrest laws remove the preferences of abused women from a process that can leave them financially strapped and worried that the state will take custody of their children.

[77] These policies encouraged law enforcement to make arrests and move forward with domestic violence cases without the cooperation of victims.

Previously, under the Obama administration, OVW had recognized "forms of emotional, economic, or psychological abuse" within the definition of domestic violence, according to Natalie Nanasi of the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

According to Nanasi, the restrictive definitions inhibit OVW from pursuing broader policies to solve the problems of domestic violence and sexual assault.