vawa has unquestionably improved the national response to domestic and sexual violence since vawa passed in 1994, states have passed more than 660 laws to combat domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. the rate of nonfatal intimate partner violence against women have decreased by 63%. remarkably the number of individuals killed by an intimate partner has decreased by 24% for women and 48% for men. my written testimony details the impact of vawa grants including transitional housing grants, legal assistance to victims grants, grants to encourage arrest and enforce protection orders. they have created systems in which adults and children can find paths to safer peace-filled lives but in my 15 years i've had a firsthand view of vawa and i would like to highlight three vawa programs. through the stop grants program vawa has helped to educate an entire generation of law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges about violence against women. stop grants help state local and tribal governments to strengthen effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies and to develop and stren