Report on September 2011 Sexual Violence Research Roundtable (PDF)
The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) convened a roundtable discussion on research on sexual violence on September 8 and 9, 2011. The roundtable brought together experts on sexual violence, representing fields including research and academia, victim advocacy, law enforcement, prosecution, the judiciary, and health care; as well as several survivors of sexual violence. Participants identified new and emerging priorities for research on the criminal justice system's response to sexual assault and generated ideas for bridging the gap between research and practice. A short summary (PDF) and full report (PDF) of the meeting are now available.

National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations (PDF) (September 2004)
Released in September of 2004 by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) this document provides details on the roles of responders to sexual assault as part of a coordinated community response.

National Training Standards for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examiners (PDF) (June 2006)
This companion to the National Protocol offers a framework for the specialized education of health care providers who wish to practice as sexual assault forensic examiners. The training standards include recommendations for training objectives and topics that will enable a sexual assault forensic examiner to implement effectively the guidelines and standards outlined by the protocol.

Sexual Violence in the United States: Summary of the Roundtable Proceedings (PDF) (October 2010)
In October 2010, OVW collaborated with the White House Council on Women and Girls and the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women to host a Roundtable on Sexual Violence in the United States. Participants represented a broad array of disciplines and also included survivors. The discussion focused on barriers to advancing the issue of sexual violence such as the lack of community engagement which stymies public discourse, the need for more effective training and the dearth of research in the field. The roundtable provided valuable information that is helping direct OVW’s efforts moving forward, and it serves as a starting point for future conversations with other stakeholders.

Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice (PDF) (2010)
Recognizing the need to promote effective issuance, service, and enforcement of protection orders, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, in partnership with the Office on Violence Against Women and the National Center on Protection Orders and Full Faith and Credit, created this streamlined guide. It is intended to provide a fundamental understanding of the values and practices necessary for a more effective civil protection order system.

Each year, many of the millions of women who are battered by their partners look to the civil protection order system as a way to stop the abuse. In the act of seeking protection, a victim is putting her trust and safety in the hands of numerous professionals: from the advocates and attorneys who explain the system and assist the victim in obtaining an order, to the judge who crafts an order appropriate to the victim's needs, to the law enforcement officers who serve and enforce the order, to the prosecutor who prosecutes violations. Along that complex chain, a victim can find that the promise of the civil protection order system is either kept or broken.