1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Defining Domestic Violence Lisa N. Sacco Analyst in Illicit Drugs and Crime Policy March 27, 2019 In 2018, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) changed the expansive domestic violence (DV) definition that appeared on
2、 its website to the more narrow statutory definition used for grant programs. There is some confusion as to the meaning and implication of OVWs change. In the 116th Congress, legislation has been introduced that would amend the definition used in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant programst
3、he Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019 (H.R. 1585), if enacted, would amend and expand the definition of DV. Federal Definitions of DV The federal government defines DV in different ways and for different purposes. Under criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. 2261 defines a DV offender that fall
4、s under federal jurisdiction as: a person who travels in interstate or foreign commerce or enters or leaves Indian country or is present within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate a spouse, intimate partner, or
