The research and evaluation (R & E) initiative is authorized by 34 USC 12291(B)(7), which permits OVW to set aside up to three percent of available funds from most OVW programs to conduct…

The research and evaluation (R & E) initiative is authorized by 34 USC 12291(B)(7), which permits OVW to set aside up to three percent of available funds from most OVW programs to conduct evaluations of promising practices for combatting domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and to research problems emerging in the field. By generating more knowledge about strategies for serving victims and holding offenders accountable, communities that benefit from violence against women act (VAWA) funding will be better equipped to align their work with practices that are known to be effective, and they will be more capable of building empirical knowledge on the efficacy of new and promising ways of making communities safer and more just. Given that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face substantial barriers to reporting victimization and obtaining justice, this study will research and evaluate approaches for ensuring language access in response to gender-based violence among people with IDD. Interdisciplinary and community based research teams will conduct a systematic review of existing literature, a review of a trauma-informed communication tool that uses augmentative and alternative communication, an analysis of law enforcement and victim services policies, and semi-structured interviews and focus groups with people from the IDD community, survivors with IDD, and criminal justice and victim services practitioners. The CO-production of knowledge by survivors with IDD and the IDD community will be used to create a roadmap of tools and policies to increase language access for survivors and will generate a greater understanding of how to ensure survivors with IDD have equitable access when seeking services or reporting victimization. Findings have the potential to significantly contribute to knowledge, policy, and practice about responding to survivors with IDD, as well as alleviating language access barriers for this population.