The Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence was established by the National Defense Authorization Act. The task force focuses on preventing domestic violence in the military and making U.S. Department of Defense policies and practices more effective in providing victim safety. The task force highlights its history, a listing of upcoming events, and information on workgroups within the task force.

This initial report characterizes the collective thinking of 24 members who represent widely diverse viewpoints on dealing with domestic violence, but who also share a common desire to improve domestic violence prevention and intervention programs within the military. When completed, the result of our collective efforts should be military communities that are safer, more wholesome, and provide a quality of life for our men and women in uniform and their families that is free of fear. We are pleased to forward the initial report of the Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. In 2001, the Deputy Secretary of Defense stated that domestic violence will not be tolerated in the Department of Defense (DoD). Despite this posture, DoD's clinical database indicates that 8,223 incidents met criteria for domestic abuse in fiscal year 2009. However, because this database includes only cases reported to military clinical offices, it does not represent all cases. This report evaluated whether DoD is able to determine the effectiveness of its domestic abuse efforts. To conduct this review, the report reviewed legislative requirements and DoD guidance, analyzed domestic abuse data, and interviewed officials involved in domestic abuse prevention and treatment and persons eligible to receive services at five military bases. Illus.