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Washington

State Overview - State Summary - State Projects
Available Reports - Sample Data Collection Forms - Available Data - Links

State Overview

Domestic Violence Legislation:	Yes (RCW 26.50.010)
NIBRS Status:	Certified
Additional Data Elements	No
Law Enforcement DV System:	Incident-based
Service Provider DV System:	Summary
Service Provider SA System:	Summary

State Summary

The state statute defining does include dating relationships between same-sex partners. The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs collects summary data from law enforcement agencies in the state monthly, including a summary form on domestic violence incidents. The domestic violence data are maintained in a separate database. Thye state is NIBRS-certified and is implementing a domestic violence indicator for all Group A offenses and is adding Violation of No Contact Order as a Group A offense. Currently, 22 agencies are reporting incident-based data to the state.

The Office of Financial Management's Statistical Analysis Center uses law enforcement data for research reports, including the Criminal Justice Data Book, which also includes court and jail data. All publications, as well as the law enforcement data, are available on the Center Web site.

The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence collects data on domestic homicides and suicides from newspaper clippings. A subset of these cases are reviewed in-depth by local community panels, with standard forms being completed for each incident. Reports are published every other year and are available online. The Department of Social and Health Services collects aggregate data from domestic violence and shelter programs; these data are shared with the Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs does not collect any service provider data. These data are instead collected by the Office of Crime Victim Advocacy.

The Office of Crime Victim Advocacy, in collaboration with the Department of Social and Health Services, is developing the Washington InfoNet, a statewide client data system to replace the paper report forms currently used. Approximately 120 agencies will provide specific crime and victim information via the system. The Office uses the information to produce an annual client service summary report; data are also available upon request.

State Projects

Domestic Violence Indicator
The Washington State Criminal Justice Information Support is working toward the addition of a domestic violence indicator to its crime reporting system. The state is also working on adding the offense of Violation of No Contact/Protection Order to its NIBRS program.

Disability Advocacy Project
The Washington Coalition Against Domestic Violence develops training curricula, service protocols, and models for collaboration that will increase and enhance support and advocacy for people with disabilities who are victims of domestic violence.

Prison Rape Elimination
The Washington State Department of Corrections was awarded a grant and has subcontracted to the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs to create curricula and provide training in the areas of inmate orientation, staff training and investigations for both adult and juvenile facilities.

The Black People's Project
The Black People's Project, created by Communities Against Rape and Abuse, develops creative and radical ways to challenge rape culture as it connects to the experience of being black in America. This includes presentations, curricula, and peer education about the American slave trade and culture; lynching movements at the turn of the 20th century and in contemporary USA; sexual abuse, torture and continued assaults on the black body as "object" and subject of loathing; disproportionality; the Criminal Justice System: police brutality, the prison industrial complex, the death penalty; and economic justice.

The Disability Pride Project
The Disability Pride Project, created by Communities Against Rape and Abuse, generates radical action against violence and oppression within the disabilities community. The project challenges the oppressive stereotypes that surround this community and explores ways of resistance that are educational, creative, and political. The Disability Pride Project increases the community's capacity to support survivors of sexual violence and bolsters community efforts to promote safety, support and liberation in a manner that challenges rape and oppression. This goal is achieved by fostering education through critical dialogue, strengthening coalitions between people with disabilities and our allies, and by supporting community action that increases awareness of sexual violence, safety, and informed decision-making.

The Young People's Liberation Project
Communities Against Rape and Abuse's Young People's Liberation Project supports young people organizing for safety, support, and liberation. The agency works creatively and collectively to challenge rape, abuse, and oppression. This project is a resource for young people who want to create support for young survivors of rape and abuse, as well as young people who want to work to end all forms of violence and oppression through activism and community-organizing.

Beyond the Prison Industrial Complex
Communities Against Rape and Abuse organizes and is led by communities that are marginalized from the approach of strengthening the criminal justice system's response to sexual violence. The project works to create community-based systems of accountability and support in order to build healthy relationships and communities free of both interpersonal and state violence.

Available Reports

General Crime

Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. (Annual). Crime in Washington.
Gardner, E. (2009). Perceptions of neighborhood crime: 2008. Washington State Office of Financial Management.
Gardner, E. (2007). Perceptions of neighborhood crime: 2006. Washington State Office of Financial Management.
Mounts, T. N. (2006). Prison and jail usage in Washington State. Washington State Office of Financial Management.
Gardner, E. (2005). Perceptions of neighborhood crime: 2004. Washington State Office of Financial Management.
Gardner, E. (2005). Perceptions of neighborhood crime: 2004. Washington State Office of Financial Management.

Domestic Violence

Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. (Biannual). Fatality review report.
National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2008). Domestic violence counts 07: Executive summary for Washington.
National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2007). Domestic violence counts: Executive summary for Washington.
Bauer, N. S., Herrenkohl, T. I., Lozano, P., Rivara, F. P., Hill, K. G., and Hawkins, J. D. (2006). Childhood bullying involvement and exposure to intimate partner violence. Pediatrics, 118, (2), 235-242.
Starr, K., Hobart, M., and Fawcett, J. (2004). Every life lost is a call for change: Findings and recommendations from the Washington State Domestic Violence Fatality Review. Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Spence, D. L. (2003). Everett, Washington, arrest policies project: A process evaluation. NCJ 201870. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
Hobart, M. (2002). Tell the world what happened to me: Findings and recommendations from the Washington State Domestic Violence Fatality Review. Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Holt, V. L., Kernic, M. A., Lumley, T., Wolf, M. E., and Rivara, F. P. (2002). Civil Protection Orders and risk of subsequent police-reported violence. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(5), 589-594.
Hobart, M. (2000). Honoring their lives, learning from their deaths: Findings and recommendations from the Washington State Domestic Violence Fatality Review. Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Hobart, M. (1999). Homicide at home: Washington State's Domestic Violence Fatality Review Project. Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Sexual Assault

Davis, R., Guthrie, P., Ross, T., O'Sullivan, C. (2006). Reducing sexual revictimization: A field test with an urban sample. NCJ 216002. US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.

Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2006). Sexual harassment. Research and Advocacy Digest, 8, (2).
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2005). Sexual assault and substance abuse. Research and Advocacy Digest, 8, (1).
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2005). Sexual assault and the body. Research and Advocacy Digest, 7, (2).
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2004). Homeless, runaway and throwaway youth: Sexual victimization and the consequences of life on the streets. Research and Advocacy Digest, 7, (1).
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2004). Vicarious trauma and its impact on advocates, therapists and friends. Research and Advocacy Digest, 6, (2).
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2004). Sexual assault revictimization. Research and Advocacy Digest, 6, (3).
Guy, L. (2003). Sexual assault service delivery implications for people with disabilities. Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs.
Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress. (2003). Annual report.
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2003). Creating accessible sexual assault services for people with disabilities.
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2003). Disabilities and sexual violence. Research and Advocacy Digest, 5, (3).
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2003). Same-sex sexual violence. Research and Advocacy Digest, 6, (1).
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2003). Supporting people with disabilities: Advocacy strategies for legal advocates.
Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs. (2003). Understanding sexual violence using a public health model. Research and Advocacy Digest, 5, (2).
Berliner, L., Fine, D., and Moore, D. (2001). Sexual assault experiences and perceptions of community response to sexual assault: A survey of Washington state women. Washington State Office of Community Development's Office of Crime Victim Advocacy.

Sample Data Collection Forms

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs provides this monthly summary reporting form for law enforcement, including a page for domestic violence incidents:

Law Enforcement Forms for UCR Reporting

The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence collects incident-based information for the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Project using these forms:

The Office of Crime Victims Advocacy provides these sample incident-based intake forms:

The Office of Crime Victims Advocacy used these surveys to gather information on the experiences of crime victims and service practitioners:

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries collects information from victims applying for compensation using this form:

Application for Benefits

Available Data