Executive Summary

Funding

Organizational Structure

VAWOR Staff

Advisory Board

Site Usage

User Sessions

Hits

Top 25 Referrers

Top 25 Search Strings

Most Active Countries

Top Ten Documents

Site Development

Commissioned Documents

Individualized Technical Assistance

Number of Requests per Month

Types of Requests

Types of Technical Assistance

Identity of Requester

Future Initiatives

Increased site marketing for the VAWOR site

Online Learning Collaborative Project with the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community

Extension of VAWOR's Online Review System for Technical Assistance (TA) Providers

Executive Summary Violence Against Women Online Resources (VAWOR) is a web site that develops and disseminates state-of-the art resource materials for criminal justice professionals, state coalitions, tribal coalitions, and victim advocacy groups about effective interventions, services, and coordinated community responses to violence against women. It is a cooperative project between the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA) within the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota and the Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs, United States Department of Justice. The project, begun with OVW in 1997, was developed to ensure that VAWA funded products are widely available via the World Wide Web and thereby accessible to OVW grantees, sub-grantees, and the general public. Violence Against Women Online Resources offers over 275 full-text documents related to sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking from national and international organizations. Content includes reports, research summaries, curricula, presentations, manuals, and multi-media training tools. The site integrates stratified resources into one comprehensive, user-friendly site - www.vaw.umn.edu. Between October 1, 2003 to September 30, 2004, VAWOR added 15 new items to the site's Document Library. Since the site was launched in 1997, users have increasingly accessed VAWOR resources to meet their research and training needs, with site usage tripling in the past five years. Today, the site averages 1,371 user sessions per day, a 20% increase from the previous year. Site users primarily came from the United States; however, usage statistics reveal that VAWOR also has an international presence in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Italy, Germany, and many other countries. VAWOR also provides individualized technical assistance through its automated web form. More than 480 requests for information were sent to VAWOR staff between October 1, 2003 and September 30, 2004. A variety of people submitted requests for information. Victims, professionals, students, and concerned citizens were all represented in our requestor data. In the past year, the largest percentage (41%) of users requested technical assistance, such as research and networking, followed by requests for crisis support/advocacy (34%). This document highlights the activities and achievements of the Violence Against Women Online Resources website during the Federal fiscal year, October 1, 2003 through September 30, 2004. This report describes the project's funding, staffing structure, usage statistics, new content acquisitions during the report period, and upcoming initiatives planned for the 2005-2006 fiscal year. It also describes VAWOR's technical assistance activities and highlights the top search terms and referring websites that have directed users to VAWOR. Funding VAWOR is supported by grant number 2004-X2140-MN-WT awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Department of Justice. VAWOR'S primary purpose is to ensure that products developed with funds from the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) are made widely available via the World Wide Web and thereby accessible to OVW grantees, subgrantees, and the general public. Funding for the VAWOR project was recently renewed through 2006. This renewal includes funding for the continuing expansion of the online library and the development of two new areas: an online learning module to train criminal justice professionals and advocates on issues related to culturally competence practice in the African-American community, and an online peer review system that enables individuals and organizations to conduct online reviews of new resources and training materials under development by TA providers. Organizational Structure VAWOR Staff Violence Against Women Online Resources is maintained by approximately 4.0 FTE staff, which include a 20% time executive director, a full time program director, one 70% time server administrator, one half-time document development coordinator, and three graduate assistants who are partially supported by the VAWOR project. The following list is a breakdown of VAWOR staff and their responsibilities:

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The Executive Director of the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA), Jeffery Edleson, supervises the Director of Violence Against Women Online Resources.

•

Ann Kranz, VAWOR Program Director, manages the daily operations of the site, including project design, management, and staff supervision. She acts as the key liaison to the Office on Violence Against Women and the National Advisory Board.

•

Kevin Bullock, Internet Systems Designer and Administrator, is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the site's mail, web, and database servers. He performs security audits and updates, web programming and administration.

•

Jennifer Witt, Document Development Coordinator, oversees the VAWOR commissioned document process.

•

Xavier Schmitz, Graduate Assistant, works as a document development assistant on the VAWOR commissioned document project.

•

Yukiko Nakajima, Graduate Assistant, works as a coding specialist and supports the project by identifying and obtaining material for the site, coding content into XML, and entering and updating data into the site's databases.

•

Sean Halloran, Graduate Assistant, works with project staff to provide administrative support, coordinate correspondence, and provides assistance related to online publishing and the development of the website. Sean also provides individualized technical assistance to site users who submit requests electronically through the site's automated web form.

Advisory Board In addition to its staff, VAWOR is supported by a 25-member National Advisory Board representing a diverse spectrum of criminal justice, social service, advocacy and academic professionals. The primary responsibilities of the board include setting topic priorities for the commissioned documents and reviewing new content for the site. The advisory board conducts bi-monthly reviews of new content and evaluates the quality of this material to determine its appropriateness for inclusion on the VAWOR site. To fulfill their duties, board members utilize an innovative online software tool developed by VAWOR staff. Board members log into the software via a website to access assigned content. Each board member uses the software to approve or reject the items and is given opportunities to comment or respond to others comments on the site. This approach creates a dynamic dialogue whereby reviewers respond to each other's comments and concerns about content. Once board members complete their reviews, votes are recorded and comments are automatically added to the review discussion board. Within two weeks of the end of the review period, a summary document detailing the review outcome is made available to both the advisory board and OVW. Since this software tool was developed by VAWOR two years ago, the National Advisory Board has reviewed 64 documents. Out of these 64 documents, 43 have been approved for publication on VAWOR. This process was accomplished entirely online without a single face-to-face meeting of any of the advisory board members, project staff or funder. VAWOR has found this web-based review process to be a cost-effective means to have content reviewed by diverse, peer-review teams from across the country. Online technology saves travel costs and personnel time, and creates convenience for reviewers. Because OVW has found this to be an effective tool in reviewing VAWOR's content, VAWOR will be hosting an online review of new product(s) developed by one other OVW Technical Assistance Providers in 05-06. Site Usage Over the past year VAWOR has made a software switch from WebTrends to Webalizer to analyze site usage. Each program has a slightly different methodology for computing the number of "user sessions" or "visits" to the site. As a result, our statistics from this year are slightly different from last year's, though the difference is not large. This is important to note, as it has a slight, though not significant, effect on the total reported number of users that visit VAWOR site each year. Violence Against Women Online Resources has experienced tremendous growth in site usage. The graph below illustrates the growth in the average number of user sessions per day over the past four years. Since 1999 the number of user sessions per day has increased 179 % from 491 sessions in 1999 to 1,371 sessions in 2004. This data provides insight about how many times per day users conduct a session on the site. A "user" is considered a unique person accessing the site. A user commits "hits" on the site when visiting various pages on the website. Therefore, one user may commit several hits during a single user session. However, because a single person can also perform multiple sessions in a given day, this table does not inform us about the number of unique people accessing the site per day. Multi-Year Glance at Average Daily User Sessions 1999-2004

The following charts and tables provide detailed information on the site usage for the 2003-2004 reporting period. The average number of user sessions and average number of hits per day are broken down by month. A "hit"can be thought of the number of times the entire site was accessed by users. Information on what countries most utilize the website are provided along with what documents are the most utilized. User Sessions The table below illustrates the number of user sessions per day. The average number of sessions per day during this reporting period ranged between 1,145 sessions per day in January 2004 to 1,674 sessions per day in April of 2004. On average, the site experienced approximately 1,371 user sessions per day between October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004, a 20% increase from the previous year when the average number of sessions per day was approximately 1,138. Average Number of User Sessions per Day October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Hits As illustrated in the chart below, the average number of hits per day ranged from 13,876 in December 2003 to 24,463 in July 2004. On average, the site received approximately 19,493 hits per day, an increase of 46% from the previous year. During the previous year, the average number of hits per day was 13,356. Average Number of Hits per Day October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Top 25 Referrers When individuals search for violence-related information on the World Wide Web, they often do so using a variety of online research tools. Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines are among many online search tools that can be used to find information on the web. Users can also locate our site through the websites of other large organizations such as the Department of Justice and NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. When users look for a particular search term using a website such as these, that website is called the "referring site". Below is a list of the top 25 online referrers that have pointed users to Violence Against Women Online Resources. Since VAWOR received a Google's AdWords grant last year, Google has become the number one search engine referring users to VAWOR, with nearly 126,000 users directed to the site though Google. Top 25 Referrers: October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Number of Users

Referring Site

986,342

direct request-users went directly to www.vaw.umn.edu

125,961

www.google.com/search

86,296

search.yahoo.com/search

31,873

search.msn.com/results.aspx

25,603

web.ask.com/redir

23,810

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo

12,912

www.google.com/u/vaw

10,323

search.msn.com/pass/results.aspx

9,214

aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search

9,122

search.msn.com/spresults.aspx

8,688

search.msn.com/results.asp

8,097

google.ca/search

6,903

www.nowldef.org.htmk.njep/directexam/supportingmaterials.shtml

6,454

search.msn.com/pass/results.asp

6,349

www.mincava.umn.edu/library/articles

5,100

dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Crime/Types_of_Crime/Sex_Crimes/Rape/Marital_Rape/

4,545

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/links/onlineres_sexasslt.htm

3,403

google.com.au/search

3,318

web.ask.com/web

3,288

www.mincava.umn.edu/library/dv

3,087

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/communities.htm

2,348

google.co.uk/search

2,212

www.keywordmaster.de/index.html

2,210

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/whatsnew.htm

2,069

www.google.com/custom

Top 25 Search Strings Violence Against Women Online Resources documents the search terms or "strings" used to search VAWOR. By examining the search terms that are entered into the "search" feature on the homepage, VAWOR can examine the most commonly used terms that are searched for by site users. Tracking these search terms helps VAWOR staff identify priority topic areas. The following is a list of the top 25 search terms for the past year: Top 25 Search Strings: October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Number of Users

Search Terms

16,439

domestic violence

9,383

rape

8,840

violence against women

5,503

statutory rape

3,966

marital rape

2,704

clonapin

1,778

child custody

1,390

battered woman syndrone

1,248

www.vaw.umn.edu/library

1,242

battered women

1,054

stalking

919

sexual assault

868

stop violence against women

821

domestic violence against women

799

domestic violence laws

611

woman abuse

459

stalking laws

405

telazol

402

statutory rape laws

394

domestic violence organizations

386

statutory rape florida

350

violence against women act

337

anal rape

323

florida statutory rape

318

battered women's syndrome

Most Active Countries The chart below represents the top 10 most active countries in terms of total hits during the 2003-2004 reporting period. When looking at the chart it is important to keep in mind that this information is based on where the domain name of the visitor is registered and that the domain name may not always be an accurate identifier of the actual geographic location of the visitor. Top 10 Most Active Countries: October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Country

Total Hits per Year

United States

2,179,456

Canada

91,638

Australia

59,684

United Kingdom

51,458

Japan

23,940

Netherlands

12,768

Italy

11,602

Mexico

9,054

Germany

9,042

Top Ten Documents The following lists represent the top ten downloaded PDF documents and the top ten most accessed HTML documents on the site. Some of these documents are available in both PDF and HTML formats, while others are only available in one of these formats. Top Ten HTML Documents: October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Marital Rape (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/mrape/mrape.html) Raquel Kennedy Bergen, Ph.D. St. Joseph's University, Department of Sociology Publication Date: March 1999 Viewed 103,604 times

Handbook for Statutory Rape Issues (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/stateleg/stateleg.html) Noy S. Davis and Jennifer Twombly Publication Date: February 2000 Viewed 56,768 times

Child Custody and Visitation Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases: Legal Trends, Research Findings and Recommendations (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/custody/custody.html) Daniel G. Saunders, Ph.D. University of Michigan, School of Social Work Publication Date: August 1998 Revision Date: October 1998 Viewed 50,990 times

Problems Associated with Children's Witnessing of Domestic Violence (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/witness/witness.html) Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D. University of Minnesota, School of Social Work Publication Date: April 1997 Revision Date: April 1999 Viewed 31,272 times

Abuse and Women with Disabilities (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/disab/disab.html) Margaret A. Nosek, Ph.D. Carol A. Howland, M.P.H. Publication Date: February 1998 Revision Date: February 1998 Viewed 26,668 times

Stalking Laws and Implementation Practices: a National Review for Policymakers and Practitioners (Full Report) (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/ilj_stalk/iljfinalrpt.html) Neal Miller and Hugh Nugent Institute for Law and Justice Publication Date: January 2002 Viewed 21,508 times

Critique of the "Battered Women's Syndrome" Model (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/bws/bws.html) Mary Ann Dutton, Ph.D. The George Washington University Publication Date: September 1996 Revision Date: January 1997 Reviewed 21,334 times

Poverty, Welfare and Battered Women: What does the research tell us? (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/welfare/welfare.html) Elanor Lyon, Ph.D Publication Date: December 1997 Revision Date: January 1998 Viewed 16, 710 times

Substance Abuse and Woman Abuse by Male Partners (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/substanc/substanc.html) Larry W. Bennet, Ph.D Jane Addams School of Social Work Publication Date: September 1997 Viewed 15,792 times

10.

Annual Report on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Domestic Violence (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/glbtdv/glbtdv.html) The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) Publication Date: October, 1998, www.avp.org Viewed 15,552 times

Top Ten PDF Documents: October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Handbook for Statutory Rape Issues (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/stateleg/stateleg.pdf) Noy S. Davis and Jennifer Twombly Publication Date: February 2000 Viewed 33,434 times

Marital Rape (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/mrape/mrape.pdf) Raquel Kennedy Bergen, Ph.D. St. Joseph's University, Department of Sociology Publication Date: March 1999 Viewed 12,890 times

Managing Adult Sex Offenders in the Community: NIJ Research in Brief (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/managing/managing.pdf) Jeremy Travis, Director National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice Publication Date: January 1997 Viewed 8,246 times

A Review of Standards for Batterer Intervention Programs (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/standard/standard.pdf) Juliet Austin, M.A., Researcher Jurgen Dankwort, Ph.D Kwantlen University College, British Columbia, Canada Publication Date: September 1997 Revision Date: August 1998 Viewed 5,862 times

Evidence Collection and Care of the Sexual Assault Survivor: The SANE-SART Response (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/commissioned/2forensicevidence/2forensicevidence.pdf) Linda E. Ledray, RN, Ph.D., LP, FAAN, an author commissioned by VAWOR Publication Date: August 2001 Viewed 5, 616 times

Child Custody and Visitation Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases: Legal Trends, Research Findings and Recommendations (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/custody/custody.pdf) Daniel G. Saunders, Ph.D. University of Michigan, School of Social Work Publication Date: August 1998 Revision Date: October 1998 Viewed 5,386 times

Sex Offenses and Offenders: An Analysis of Date on Rape and Sexual Assault (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/sexoff/sexoff.pdf) Lawrence A. Greenfeld, Statistician, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice Publication Date: February 1997, NCJ -163392 (revised 2/7/1997) Viewed 5,100 times

An Advocates Guide to Full Faith and Credit for Orders of Protection: Assisting Victims of Domestic Violence (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/ffc/pcadv/pcadv.pdf) Full Faith and Credit Project, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence Publication Date: Not Available Viewed 4,822 times

Problems Associated with Children's Witnessing of Domestic Violence (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/witness/witness.pdf) Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D. University of Minnesota, School of Social Work Publication Date: April 1997 Revision Date: April 1999 Viewed 4,688 times

10.

Critique of the "Battered Women's Syndrome" Model (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/documents/vawnet/bws/bws.pdf) Mary Ann Dutton, Ph.D. The George Washington University Publication Date: September 1996 Revision Date: January 1997 Reviewed 4,490 times

Site Development Violence Against Women Online Resources provides over 275 full-text documents related to sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. Each year, staff members solicit content for the site from national and international organizations. These documents are then reviewed by the National Advisory Board using VAWOR's online review tool. Documents that are approved through the online review mechanism are added to the VAWOR Document Library, which offers papers, reports, research findings, curricula, presentations, training manuals, and multi-media resources related to violence against women. Between October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004, VAWOR's National Advisory Board considered 39 documents using the online review process; 15 of these new documents were added to the site. The documents, all of which were previously published elsewhere, are listed below:

Family Violence Nursing Curriculum Added: 08/04/2004 Authors: Marlene Jezierski, Maura Lynch, Margaret Dexheimer Pharris, Judi Sateren Description: While nurses must be able to respond skillfully to victims of all types of violence, responding to victims of family violence requires sensitivity rooted in understanding how it differs from other types of violence. The content of this curriculum, which grew out of the 1999 American Association of Colleges of Nursing competencies, was developed in response to those findings to provide Minnesota nursing faculty essential curricular information to develop student competence in preventing, assessing, and responding to family violence across the lifespan.

Task Force Report on Care for Victims of Sexual Assault Added: 08/04/2004 Author: US Department of Defense Description: This report presents the findings of a 90-day review of all sexual assault policies and programs among the Services and Department of Defense. The report identifies 35 key findings relevant to current sexual assault policies and proposes nine broad recommendations for immediate, near-term and long-term corrective action. It recommends changes to increase prevention, promote reporting, enhance the quality and support provided to victims, especially within combat, and improve accountability for offender actions.

Medical Provider's Guide to Managing the Care of Domestic Violence Patients within a Cultural Context Added: 05/24/2004 Author: Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence, New York Description: Office to Combat Domestic Violence and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene developed a training and reference guide for healthcare providers as part of a campaign to reduce cultural, linguistic and systemic barriers preventing domestic violence victims, particularly immigrant women and women of color, from reporting abuse to their healthcare providers.

Collaborating for Woman and Child Safety Added: 05/24/2004 Author: Annelies K. Hagemeister, PhD, MSW Description: This training curriculum, designed for multidisciplinary teams, is intended to enhance practice and policy when domestic violence and child maltreatment co-occur.

Family Team Conferences in Domestic Violence Cases: Guidelines for Practice (2nd Edition) Added: 05/24/2004 Author: Lucy Salcido Carter, M.A., J.D. Description: These guidelines lay out steps to decide whether a family with a history of domestic violence is a good candidate for a Family Team Conference, and to prepare and conduct a conference that results in the best possible child welfare decision and safety for all. Case scenarios offer examples of different circumstances involving domestic violence and describe how an FTC, if planned and structured properly, can safely address case goals.

It's in Our Hands: Stop Violence Against Women Added: 05/24/2004 Author: Amnesty International Description: This report investigates causes, forms, and remedies of violence against women, and highlights the responsibility of the state, community and individuals for taking action to end it.

Not a Minute More: Ending Violence Against Women Added: 05/24/2004 Author: United Nations Development Fund for Women Description: This report highlights many of the achievements towards the empowerment of women and indicates what must be done to build on them. It provides examples of practices as well as efforts that did not meet the goals set out for them - and explores why. It looks at the challenges ahead and asks what the most fruitful next steps might be.

Building Comprehensive Solutions to Domestic Violence: Outreach to Underserved Communities Added: 03/18/2004 Author: Sujata Warrier Description: This curriculum is designed to help domestic violence programs reach out to underserved communities in order to address the issues of diversity and of the limited access to quality services for battered women from those communities. Its appendices include handouts and worksheets for participants and overheads and readings for trainers. It is structured as a two-day training and is designed for a program rather than individuals.

Child Welfare Practices for Cases with Domestic Violence Added: 03/18/2004 Author: Oregon Department of Human Services Description: This is the third edition of Child Welfare Practice for Cases with Domestic Violence, developed as part of an overall effort to increase the safety of adults and children through collaboration of domestic violence services and child protective services.

10.

Community Survey Project: Factors That Influence Disclosure of Domestic Abuse to Providers Added: 03/18/2004 Author: Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence Description: The Whatcom County Domestic Violence Comprehensive Plan, completed by the Bellingham-Whatcom County Commission Against Domestic Violence in June 2000, identified the need for increased knowledge about experiences of victims and survivors of domestic violence, as they interface with Whatcom County community and health care providers. To find out more about how victims experience the prospect of disclosing domestic violence to providers, the commission surveyed 1081 women in the county.

11.

Forging New Collaborations Between Domestic Violence Programs, Child Welfare Services and Communities of Color Added: 12/19/2003 Author: Nita Carter Description: This report summarizes the dialogues from the Women of Color Network (WOCN) focus groups on domestic violence and child welfare. Over one hundred (100) domestic violence and sexual assault activists of color participated in these focus groups. The report includes a set of recommendations and highlights from their conversations regarding issues and barriers for battered women with children from communities of color.

12.

Recruitment and Retention in Intimate Partner Violence Research Added: 12/19/2003 Author: Mary Ann Dutton, Amy Holtzworth-Munroe, Ernest Jouriles, Renee McDonald, Satya Krishnan, Judith McFarlane, and Cris Sullivan Description: This report focuses on methods of recruitment and retention in intimate partner violence research with particular attention to attrition in batterer treatment programs and retention in longitudinal studies. Case studies highlighting recruitment and retention methods in five different intimate partner violence research programs are described by their respective investigators. A set of guidelines is offered for recruitment and retention in intimate partner violence research, which is intended to help guide the field by offering suggestions that can lead to successful recruitment and retention efforts in a way that maintains the safety of participants and researchers alike.

13.

The Military Response to Victims of Domestic Violence: Tools for Civilian Advocates Added: 12/19/2003 Author: Judith E. Beals Description: This handbook is designed for civilian advocates working with military victims of domestic violence - both active duty victims and partners of active duty service members-to help advocates respond to the uniquely challenging needs of this population of survivors.

14.

The Role of Restorative Justice in the Battered Women's Movement Added: 12/19/2003 Author: Loretta Frederick and Kristine C. Lizdas Description: This article provides a comparison of the principles and practices of the restorative justice and battered women's movements. It provides an analysis and critique of each movement's response to domestic violence, and proposes an interpretation of what is effective, redemptive and liberating about the practices of each. Ultimately the paper provides suggested directions for future work within both fields.

15.

World Report on Violence and Health Added: 12/19/2003 Author: World Health Organization Description: This report examines the types of violence that are present worldwide and which constitute the bulk of the health burden imposed by violence. Topics include violence as a global health problem, youth violence, child abuse and neglect, intimate partner violence, elder abuse, sexual violence, self-directed violence, collective violence and recommendations for action.

Commissioned Documents Violence Against Women Online Resources also commissions authors to develop original documents that are published exclusively on VAWOR. These short, user-friendly, research manuscripts address topics where a lack of information exists. These documents have become a valuable resource to those working in the criminal justice and violence against women fields. Below is a listing of the eight documents, along with the document's author and a short synopsis of each, that are currently being commissioned by VAWOR under our 03-05 cooperative agreement with United States Department of Justice.

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Violence Against Women with Disabilities: Perpetrators as Caregivers By Beverly Frantz This paper addresses the definitional ambiguity regarding the terms disability, caretaker/care provider/caregiver, and intimate partner, and reviews the prevalence of violence directed towards persons with disabilities, environmental factors that affect caregiver abuse, and archetypes of abusive caregivers.

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Stalking and Technology By Cindy Southworth The explosion of technology use across the population is providing stalkers with numerous and sophisticated tools. This paper focuses on abusers' use of technology in intimate partner stalking and how advocates can address safety risks with survivors. It presents new stalking methods, safety planning information, and action steps for local advocates working to end violence against women.

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Dual Arrest and Probation: Implications for Women By Sherry Frohman and Connie Neal This paper looks at the need for probation officers to understand: 1) The tactics that abusers use to engage the criminal justice system in their abuse of women, 2) The significant number of women who are convicted of crimes who are victims of domestic violence, 3) The context and reasons why women who are abused plead guilty to domestic violence crimes, and 4) The critical need to implement a probation supervision response that actively supports the safety of all women who are convicted of crimes.

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Co-Parenting with a Perpetrator of Domestic Violence By Peter Jaffe and Claire Crooks This article identifies central themes in the research that underline the challenges that abused women face as mothers. In addition, the implications for providing effective service to these women in the community and the justice system are discussed. Seven central themes are highlighted regarding the intersection between woman abuse and parenting. Specific implications and recommendations for community and court service providers are offered.

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Expert Witnesses in Sexual Assault Cases By Kim Lonsway This paper summarizes the existing knowledge on the use of expert witnesses in cases involving sexual assault. The focus is primarily on expert testimony that is provided for the prosecution in a criminal case discussing the general dynamics of sexual assault and common reactions of victims. This paper reviews current research and experts in the field to insure that expert testimony is used in a responsible way.

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Domestic Violence and Police Officers: Officers as Victims and Perpetrators By Diane Wetendorf This article examines how abusive officers in intimate relationships can use police authority, police training, and police culture to bolster power and control over their victims. In addition, this article discusses how professional credibility and training uniquely position officers who batter to explain, defend, and summon institutional support and assistance from the very systems to which victims are theoretically supposed to turn to for protection.

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Domestic Violence Prevention Strategies in the LGBT Community By Janice Ristock in consultation with Norma Timbang This forthcoming paper will cover the research on what is known about domestic violence in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities and will discuss ways to work effectively on prevention strategies within these communities.

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Ensuring Economic Autonomy for Battered Women By Lynnie Meyer and Cathe Dykstra This paper provides an introduction to strategies for integration of economic services into domestic violence programming and reviews the current approaches in practice at The Center for Women and Families in Louisville, Kentucky, which encompasses several initiatives that focus on employment, economic literacy, savings opportunities promoting asset ownership, and linkage to a network of community resources to provide free-tax preparation and financial empowerment education.

Individualized Technical Assistance Violence Against Women Online Resources provides individualized technical assistance to site users who submit requests electronically through the site's automated web form. Steps are taken to protect the user's safety and to ensure that the user understands the type of service VAWOR provides. Users are educated about the technical assistance VAWOR provides and are encouraged to use the resources listed if they are in need of emergency or direct service. They are also educated about Internet safety and privacy and are given questions to think about before proceeding with the web form. In the past year VAWOR received 480 information requests from people in search of technical assistance, crisis support, advocacy, and other types of information. The graph below illustrates a steady decrease in information requests over the past three years. In 2001, 696 requests were processed by VAWOR, in 2002 the number of requests received dropped 6% to 655, and in 2003 VAWOR experienced a 30% decrease in information requests. The decline in information requests was generally viewed as a positive indicator that users were able to successfully navigate the site and readily obtain information. However, in the past year, VAWOR experienced a slight (4.8%) increase in requests. This small increase was anticipated, given the large increase in site usage over the past year. Responding to information requests continues to be a key component of VAWOR's commitment to provide technical assistance. Multi-Year Glance at Information Requests 1999-2004

The following charts show detailed information about the 480 information requests received this reporting period from October 1, 2003 through September 30, 2004. Data is recorded on each information request received and the charts below provide information regarding the number of requests per month, type of requests, topic of technical assistance and the identity of the requestor. Number of Requests per Month The average number of information requests received on a monthly basis in this reporting period was 40. The chart below illustrates the range in the frequency of requests. The fewest requests for information in one month were 25 in September 2004 and the most requests received in a month were 65 in October 2003. Number of Information Requests per Month October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Types of Requests VAWOR identifies the type of request received as either a (1) solicitation/ad, (2) technical assistance, (3) crisis support, (4) other/or (5) undisclosed. These five categories are defined by VAWOR as:

Solicitation/Ad: Advertisements, chain letters, press releases, mass (listserv) messages, and announcements.

Technical Assistance: Request for information/resources such as article permission, article information, site navigation, grants/funding, organizational information, action alerts, events/training, and other inquiries regarding locating services/information to related to violence against women.

Crisis Support/Advocacy: Request for information about supportive/emergency resources for victim/survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking.

Other: Requests that do not adequately meet the definition of 1-3 as stated above.

Undisclosed: Email that does not clearly state a specific request and does not adequately meet the definition of 1-4 stated above.

As the pie chart below depicts, the majority (41%) of requests were identified as technical assistance in this past year. Requests for crisis support/advocacy, typically sent by primary and secondary victims, represented 34% of the requests received. Type of Request Received

Types of Technical Assistance The category Technical Assistance is further broken down into descriptive types of technical assistance. VAWOR defines these types as:

Training: Requests that indicate/reflect interest in locating training, training manuals, creating training manuals/opportunities, or other activities that are associated with training related to violence against women.

Research: Requests that are looking for research material, statistics, data, charts, stories, photos, etc. that are to be used for the purposes of publications, research papers, journals, briefs, articles, presentations, seminars, etc.

Networking: Requests that indicate interest in becoming connected with other people/organizations with similar interests related to violence against women.

Article Information: Requests that indicate they are looking for a particular author of a document, publishing company, organizational publications, additional materials or other inquiries related to articles/documents.

Other: Requests that do not adequately meet the definition of 1-4.

As seen in this chart, the majority (65%) of requests for technical assistance are regarding research. Type of Technical Assistance October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Identity of Requester For each email request that is received, VAWOR gleans demographic information about the requestor.

Concerned Citizen: Requestor does not identify as a primary or secondary victim. Is interested in helping/volunteering/gathering information to work towards ending violence against women.

Social Service Professional: Advocates, social workers, day care personnel, counselors.

Criminal Justice Professional: Police officers and other members of a police department, judges, attorneys, probation officers, juvenile and adult court administrators, corrections officers, legal advocates.

Health Care Professional: Nurses, doctors, paramedics, mental health professionals, health care aides, and therapists.

Student: Requestor identifies being a student and/or requesting materials for the purpose of a school paper/project/presentation.

Other: Requestor does not adequately meet the definition of the above stated categories (1-7). Including teachers, media and other professions that do not fit into the categories noted above.

Undisclosed: The identity of the requestor cannot be determined.

As illustrated by the graph below a variety of people utilized VAWOR technical assistance. The largest category of requestors (28%) is comprised of primary victims (those who experience violence), followed by those consumers who did not disclose their identity (22%), students (12%), and social services professionals (11%). Identity of Requestor October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Future Initiatives Violence Against Women Online Resources strives to maintain its position as one of the foremost online resources about intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking. In the coming year, VAWOR will continue to expand its document library, commission authors to write research summaries exclusively for VAWOR, respond to online technical assistance requests, and will begin new areas of development including an expanded site marketing campaign, the development of an online learning module to train criminal justice professionals on issues related to culturally competent practice in the African-American community, and the moderation of online peer reviews of new products under development by other Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Technical Assistance (TA) providers. Increased site marketing for the VAWOR site A variety of methods are currently in use to market the VAWOR website. VAWOR was awarded a Google AdWords grant to increase marketing of the site through the use of free advertising though targeted, online advertising on Google.com. In the coming year, VAWOR intends to continue its marketing efforts by conducting market research with a sample of OVW TA providers and grantees in order to determine their awareness and usage of VAWOR. Additionally, VAWOR will develop a marketing plan to increase site usage by OVW constituents who are minimal users of. As part of this plan, VAWOR expects to prepare and present a VAWOR demonstration at 3-4 large conferences or meetings attended by TA providers and grantees. Online Learning Collaborative Project with the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community In the coming year, VAWOR will work in collaboration with the Institute on Domestic Violence Programs in the African-American Community (IDVAAC) to begin the development of an online learning module to train criminal justice professionals and advocates on issues related to culturally competent practice in African American communities. The primary audience of this training will be OVW grantees. VAWOR will use existing training materials developed by IDVAAC to design the interactive online learning module. Extension of VAWOR's Online Review System for Technical Assistance (TA) Providers Over the last two years, VAWOR has developed and implemented a one-of-a-kind online review system that allows professionals from across the country to review new documents from their computer. This web-based review process has been found to be a cost effective means review content by diverse, peer-review teams from across the country. The use of online technology saves travel costs, personnel time, and creates convenience for reviewers. Because VAWOR has found this to be an effective tool in reviewing site content, VAWOR will expand the usage of this tool by hosting online reviews of new products developed by other OVW TA providers. VAWOR staff will work with OVW staff to select a TA provider to be the first outside organization to conduct an online peer review using VAWOR technology. VAWOR technical staff will reconfigure the existing site software to accommodate multiple organizations. VAWOR will work with the selected TA provider's staff to assemble the appropriate review team, add their data into the database, train reviewers to use the system, and moderate the process. Once complete, VAWOR staff will work collaboratively with the TA provider's staff to draft review outcomes and evaluate the process. If successful, VAWOR staff will continue to extend this service to other TA providers and OVW grantees in the future. This document was not developed by Violence Against Women Online Resources. The document's author or sponsoring organization granted VAWOR permission for placement on this site. Points of view in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.This web site is a cooperative project of Office on Violence Against Women (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/) and Minnesota Center Against Violence & Abuse (http://www.mincava.umn.edu/) at the University of Minnesota (http://www.umn.edu/) and is supported by grant number 98-WT-VX-K001 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.Additional information about this site can be obtained by reading Email us for more information and assistance (http://www.vaw.umn.edu/mail/infoassist.shtml).© Copyright 1998-2005 Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse ( MINCAVA )File Last Modified on: Tue Feb 1 10:20:12 2005