Grants to Tribal Governments | Tribal Coalitions | Tribal Sexual Assault Services | Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction | Publications
The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) currently administers 21 grant programs designed to develop the nation's capacity to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by strengthening services to victims and holding offenders accountable for their actions. Tribal entities are generally eligible to apply for any OVW grant program where a comparable non-tribal entity is eligible. In addition, four of OVW's programs are targeted to Native American populations and tribes. These are described below.
Grants to Tribal Governments
The Grants to Indian Tribal Governments Program (Tribal Governments Program), authorized in Title IX of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA 2005), is designed to enhance the ability of tribes to respond to violent crimes against Indian women, enhance victim safety, and develop education and prevention strategies.
- The Tribal Governments Program provides funding to tribes to develop and enhance effective governmental strategies to curtail violent crimes against and increase the safety of Indian women consistent with tribal law and custom; increase tribal capacity to respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and stalking crimes against Indian women; strengthen tribal justice interventions; enhance services to Indian women victims; work in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies directed towards these crimes; provide programs for supervised visitation and safe visitation exchange of children; provide transitional housing for victims; provide legal assistance for victims; provide services to address the needs of youth victims; develop and promote legislation and policies that enhance best practices for responding to these crimes against Indian women; develop, strengthen, and implement policies, protocols, and training for law enforcement regarding cases of missing or murdered Indians; and compile and annually report data to the Attorney General related to missing or murdered Indians.
- Program funds can be used for strategic planning, staffing, victim services, children and youth services, criminal justice interventions, training and travel, prevention, equipment and supplies, cultural and traditional practices, and programming for underserved populations.
- Eligible applicants are limited to federally-recognized Indian Tribal Governments, Tribal Designees, and Tribal Consortium.
- In 2020, the Tribal Governments Program gave out 55 awards to American Indian tribes, Alaska Native villages, and other tribal designees, totaling over $39 million.
- The solicitation to apply for this program can be found on OVW’s website here: https://www.justice.gov/ovw/open-solicitations. Members of the public can also sign up for notifications on that website, and grant announcements are posted on OVW’s Twitter Page at OVW (@OVWJustice)/Twitter.
- This program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. §10452.
CONTACT
For additional information about OVW’s Tribal Governments Program, please contact OVW.TribalAffairs@usdoj.gov or (202)-307-6026.
Tribal Coalitions Program
The Tribal Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalitions Grant Program (Tribal Coalitions Program) builds the capacity of survivors, advocates, Indian women's organizations, and victim service providers to form nonprofit, nongovernmental tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions to end violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. Tribal Coalitions Program grants are used to: increase awareness of domestic violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking against American Indian and Alaska Native women; enhance the response to violence against women at the tribal, federal, and state levels; and identify and provide technical assistance to coalition membership and tribal communities to enhance access to essential services.
Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program
The Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program enhances the ability of tribes to respond to violent crimes against Indian women, enhance victim safety, and develop education and prevention strategies. Eligible applicants are federally-recognized tribes or an organization that is acting as the authorized designee of a federally-recognized Indian tribe.
Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction Program
The Grants to Tribal Governments to Exercise Special Domestic Violence Jurisdiction Program assists Indian tribes in planning, implementing, and exercising "special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction" to hold accountable non-Indians who commit crimes of domestic violence or dating violence or violate certain protection orders in Indian country. Eligible applicants are Indian tribal governments that have jurisdiction over Indian country.
Publications
Native Men's Gathering: Turning Experiences into Actions, July 2018 (PDF) is a summary of a Roundtable discussion among American Indian and Alaska Native men who are involved in efforts to end domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.
Native Men's Gathering: Experiences that Shape Behaviors and Beliefs about Violence Against Women, January 2017 (PDF) is a summary of a Roundtable discussion among American Indian and Alaska Native men who are involved in efforts to end domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.
Alaska Native Listening Session Summary Report, October 2016 (PDF) Every year, the U.S. Department of Justice conducts government-to-government consultations with American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. In 2015, the Alaska Native tribes and villages invited the Department to come to Alaska for a formal listening session to hear about the special challenges Alaska Native tribes face. This report documents the testimony from the Alaska listening session.