Home Office Research Study 290. First published 2005

In 1998 the Home Office announced the Crime Reduction Programme (CRP), which aimed

to develop and implement an integrated approach to reducing crime and making

communities safer. As part of this programme the Violence Against Women Initiative (VAWI)

was launched in July 2000, and specifically aimed to find out which approaches and

practices were effective in supporting victims and tackling domestic violence, rape and

sexual assault. Thirty-four multi-agency victim focused pilot projects were funded and aimed

to develop and implement a range of interventions for various population groups in a

number of different settings and contexts. The projects were originally funded until the end

of March 2002; however, 24 of these projects had their funding, and in some cases their

evaluations extended until the end of March 2003. A further 24 'Round 2' projects were

funded in March 2001; however these were provided with money purely for services and

were not evaluated by the Home Office.