The actions of governmental bodies - their laws, practices, regulatory measures, and funding priorities - profoundly affect how women and their families experience life and freedom from domestic violence. In these pages we seek to provide a broad range of information and tools to assist in the critical thinking and critical action of individuals and their collective(s) working to end violence against women through public policy and systems change.

* For more information, the following online resources offer helpful policy search tools:

• State-by-State Statutory Summary Charts from the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence: Includes statutes from all 50 states regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence and trafficking.
• VictimLaw database from the National Center for Victims of Crime: Features more than 15,000 victims’ rights statues, tribal laws, constitutional amendments, court rules, administrative code provisions, attorney general opinions, and case summaries of related court decisions.