For Advocacy Programs
Tools That Help You Explore Advocacy Practice
This page has tools for advocacy programs seeking to strengthen services for survivors of sexual violence. The tools below will help individual advocates explore their advocacy practice, and advocacy programs build their capacity to provide comprehensive sexual assault services. In addition to these tools, our staff provides specialized support and training for rural advocacy programs and folks with a transitional housing program. For more exploration, conversations, collaboration, brainstorming, or connection with peers reach out to our staff.
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Resources for Advocacy Programs
Click each category to explore the resources within.
Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse is complex and can affect survivors’ physical health, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, social relationships, and sense of safety well into adulthood. Far too many adult survivors of child sexual abuse suffer in silence, neglect, and isolation. The resources below will help your rural program navigate advocacy for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Available Resources
Tool 2: Help not Lead: The Advocate’s Role
Tool 1: Groundwork for Understanding Mental Health & Substance Use
Tool 3: Curiosity & Compassion: A Tool for Self-Reflection
Tool 4: Critical Curiosity: A Tool for Organizational Reflection
Tool 5: Connect and Listen: Tips for Advocacy in a Mental Health Crisis
Not Damaged, Not Broken: Exploring Mental Health & Substance Use with Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Tool 1: Groundwork for Healing
Tool 5: Connection and Community
Tool 3: Polishing our Practices and Procedures
Tool 2: A Space for Safety
Tool 4: Our Culture as an Investment
Tool 6: An Open Invitation
Advocacy Skills: Community Partnerships
Advocacy Skills: Community Based Healing Resources
Advocacy Skills: Working with Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Advocacy Skills: Developing Curiosity
Enhancing Knowledge: Organizational Reflection
Enhancing Knowledge: Organizational Support for Creative and Compassionate Advocacy
Survivor Support: My Healing Resources
Survivor Support: Working through Triggers
Enhancing Knowledge: Brief Introduction to Trauma and Triggers
Advocacy Skills: Grounding
Advocacy Skills: Choice Points
Survivor Support: Healthcare Guide for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Enhancing Knowledge: Letter from Formerly and Currently Incarcerated Survivors
Enhancing Knowledge: Further Reading and Resources
Enhancing Knowledge: Sexual Abuse and Youth Detention System
Advocacy Skills: Helping Adult Survivors Address Health Issues
Survivor Support: Grounding Exercises
Action, Engagement, Remembering: Services for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Herramienta 2: Ayudar, no liderar: el rol del intercesor
Herramienta 1: Trabajo preliminar para entender la salud mental y el consumo de sustancias
Herramienta 3: Curiosidad y compasión: una herramienta para la introspección
Herramienta 4: Curiosidad crítica: una herramienta para la reflexión organizacional
Herramienta 5: Conectar y escuchar: consejos para brindar intercesoría durante una crisis de salud mental
Ni dañados, ni destruidos: explorando la salud mental y el consumo de sustancias con sobrevivientes adultos de abuso sexual en la infancia
Pasen adelante: reimaginando a los refugios como un espacio de sanación para los adultos sobrevivientes de abuso sexual en la infancia
Herramienta 6: Invitación abierta
Herramienta 5: Conexiones y comunidad
Herramienta 4: Nuestra cultura como inversión
Herramienta 3: Perfeccionamiento de nuestras prácticas y procedimientos
Herramienta 2: Un espacio de seguridad
Herramienta 1: Los fundamentos para la sanación
Habilidades de intercesoría: Colaboraciones comunitarias
Habilidades de intercesoría: Recursos de sanación en la comunidad
Habilidades de intercesoría: Cómo trabajar con adultos sobrevivientes de abuso sexual en la infancia
Habilidades de intercesoría: Cómo desarrollar la curiosidad
Potenciación del conocimiento: Apoyo organizacional para una intercesoría creativa y compasiva
Potenciación del conocimiento: Reflexión organizacional
Apoyo para sobrevivientes: Cómo superar los detonantes
Potenciación del conocimiento: Una breve introducción al trauma y los detonantes
Habilidades de Intercesoría: Centrarse (Conectarse con el presente o Grounding)
Habilidades de intercesoría: Puntos de decisión
Apoyo para sobrevivientes: Guía sobre la atención médica para sobrevivientes adultos de abuso sexual en la infancia
Habilidades de intercesoría: Cómo ayudar a los sobrevivientes adultos a atender sus asuntos de salud
Potenciación del conocimiento: Cartas de sobrevivientes previa y actualmente recluidos
Potenciación del conocimiento: El abuso sexual y el sistema de detención de menores
Potenciación del conocimiento: Materiales de lectura y recursos
Acción, participación, recuerdos: servicios para sobrevivientes adultos de abuso sexual en la infancia
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Building Resilience: Conversations with and about Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Healing Services for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in Transitional Housing
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Grounding
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Triggers
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Dissociation Part 2
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Dissociation Part 1
Meeting The Needs of Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in Transitional Housing
Serving Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Partners in Healing: Supporting Friends & Family
Opening the Door: Services for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Advocacy Skills
Our ability to help survivors of sexual violence navigate their own personal journey of healing is dependent upon the knowledge we gather and the skills we practice. Sexual violence advocacy requires many intangible skills such as active listening, empathy, building rapport, empowerment, and collaboration. With the resources below you will be able to practice these advocacy skills in order to help survivors find their voices and reclaim their power.
Available Resources
DESCODIFIQUEMOS LAS ZONAS GRISES: fuerza, fraude, coerción y violencia sexual (guía de trabajo)
Ni dañados, ni destruidos: explorando la salud mental y el consumo de sustancias con sobrevivientes adultos de abuso sexual en la infancia
Habilidades de intercesoría: Colaboraciones comunitarias
Habilidades de intercesoría: Recursos de sanación en la comunidad
Habilidades de intercesoría: Cómo trabajar con adultos sobrevivientes de abuso sexual en la infancia
Habilidades de intercesoría: Cómo desarrollar la curiosidad
Habilidades de Intercesoría: Centrarse (Conectarse con el presente o Grounding)
Habilidades de intercesoría: Puntos de decisión
Habilidades de intercesoría: Cómo ayudar a los sobrevivientes adultos a atender sus asuntos de salud
¡Esto importa! cómo definir la violencia sexual define los programas de intercesoría
¡Oído atento! la escucha activa como forma de intercesoría
Adiós al menú: cómo ampliar el alcance de la intercesoría
La cultura de la atención integral
Fortalecer nuestra práctica: Las diez fortalezas esenciales de los defensores de víctimas de violencia sexual en agencias de auxilio de servicio dual/múltiple
Unpacking the Grey Area: Force, Fraud, Coercion, and Sexual Violence Handout
Not Damaged, Not Broken: Exploring Mental Health & Substance Use with Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Rural Advocacy Through a Healing Lens
Come on In: Reimagining Shelter as a Healing Space for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Advocacy Skills: Community Partnerships
Advocacy Skills: Community Based Healing Resources
Advocacy Skills: Working with Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Advocacy Skills: Developing Curiosity
Advocacy Skills: Grounding
Advocacy Skills: Choice Points
Advocacy Skills: Helping Adult Survivors Address Health Issues
Healing the Body: Exploring Comprehensive Medical Advocacy
Listen Up! Active Listening as Advocacy
It Matters! How Defining Sexual Violence Defines Advocacy Programs
Throw Away the Menu: Broadening Advocacy
A Welcoming Introduction to Services
Tips for Active Listening
Creating Spaces of Healing: Exploring Housing Advocacy
Finding the Path Forward: Exploring Employment Advocacy
Building Cultures of Care: A Guide for Sexual Assault Services Programs
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Unpacking the Grey Area: Force, Fraud, Coercion, and Sexual Violence Webinar
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Grounding
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Triggers
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Dissociation Part 2
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Dissociation Part 1
Partners in Healing: Supporting Friends & Family
Anti-Racism is Fundamental to Sexual Assault Services
Advocating for Victims of Stalking
Advocacy One Step Further
Getting to Know the Whole Survivor: Orientation Strategies
Advocating for All Communities
Advocacy programs have a responsibility to prioritize sexual violence services for the most marginalized and oppressed survivors in rural communities. Learning about marginalized communities should not be seen as “extra” or an “add-on,” but instead essential to the mission of the program. The resources below will help your program learn more about providing services to specific marginalized communities present in your rural community. All of the resources here are cross-listed into other topics present in the toolkit.
Available Resources
Why Look At Census Data?
CAPACITAR: Healing Trauma, Empowering Wellness, A Multicultural Popular Education Approach to Transforming Trauma, Capacitar International
Maturing Your Services: Advocating for Survivors of Sexual Violence in Later Life, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Sexual Violence Against Farmworkers: A Guidebook for Social Service Providers, Victim Rights Law Center
Transgender Sexual Violence Survivors: A Self-Help Guide to Healing and Understanding, Forge
Culturally Relevant Services for Tribal Communities and Communities of Color
Building Meaningful Partnerships: Supporting Native Survivors in Rural Communities
Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Rural Sexual Violence Survivors
Cultivating Inclusive Practices: Working with Rural Immigrant and Refugee Communities
Eight Step Advocacy Plan for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Survivors of Sexual Assault
Serving Sexual Violence Survivors with Disabilities
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Youth as Our Leaders, Now & Future: Building Community Involvement in Rural Programs Part 2
Envisioning our Programs as Community Spaces: Building Community Involvement in Rural Programs Part 1
It’s My Prerogative: Consent and Healthy Sexuality for People with Disabilities, End Abuse of People with Disabilities
Nothing About Us Without Us: Centering the Movement Around Self-Advocates, End Abuse of People with Disabilities
One Size Does Not Fit All: Serving Culturally Diverse Survivors with Disabilities, End Abuse of People with Disabilities
Responding to Survivors with Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Overview for Sexual Assault Advocates, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Anti-Racism is Fundamental to Sexual Assault Services
Rural Resilience: Addressing Sexual Abuse in Later Life
Supporting Multilingual and Bicultural Rural Advocates Webinar
Serving Sexual Violence Survivors with Disabilities
From the Ground Up: Supporting Rural Multilingual Advocates
Serving Our Whole Community: Welcoming Male Survivors
Assessment & Evaluation
Evaluation is the backbone of strong sexual assault advocacy. Evaluation proves out success to employees, community leaders, and funders. It lets us measure what we are doing right and figure out how to do more of it. Most importantly, evaluation gives survivors and community members a voice in our empowerment-based agencies. We cannot know if services are working for survivors unless we ask. The resources below will help your rural program meaningfully assess where you are currently and where you want to go.
Available Resources
Picturing Your Program: Planning for Organizational Growth
Opening Our Doors: Building Strong Sexual Assault Services in Dual/Multi-Service Advocacy Agencies
Strengthening Our Practice: The Ten Essential Strengths of Sexual Violence Victim Advocates in Dual/Multi-Service Advocacy Agencies
Listening to Our Communities: Assessment Toolkit
Program Evaluation: Knowing is Half the Battle
Children & Youth
Youth who experience sexual violence deserve our advocacy services and support. Children and teens are resilient, creative, and capable of healing. The resources below will help you strengthen your advocacy skills when working with minors and help your program create strong advocacy services with children and youth in mind.
Available Resources
How do I Talk about the Violence I Experienced?, Victim Rights Law Center
Mandatory Reporting of Non-Accidental Injuries: A State-by-State Guide, Victim Rights Law Center
Ending Child Sexual Abuse: A Transformative Justice Handbook, Generation Five
Teen Suport Group Guide, Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs
Serving Teen Survivors: A Manual for Advocates, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Considering Family Reconnection and Reunification after Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Road Map for Advocates and Service Providers, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
The Advocate’s Guide: Working with Parents of Children Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Linking the Roads: Working with Youth Who Experience Homelessness & Sexual Violence, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Strategies for Becoming an Adult Ally, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
No Safe Place: Sexual Violence in the Juvenile Justice System, Just Detention International
Tip Sheet on Teen Survivors and Parents/Guardians
College-Aged but On the Streets: Young Adults Who Experience Homelessness and Sexual Violence
Working with Teen Survivors of Sexual Violence
Confidentiality
Confidentiality builds trust and provides the foundation for our relationship with survivors and our community. In rural communities confidentiality can be difficult to navigate, which makes it all the more important to survivors of sexual violence. The resources below will provide your program with the tools to create truly confidential sexual violence services.
Available Resources
Jurisdiction-Specific Guides: Privacy Laws Impacting Survivors, Victim Rights Law Center
Tips: Protecting Survivor Privacy in Rural Areas, Victim Rights Law Center
A Privacy Toolkit for Coordinated Community Response Teams, Victim Rights Law Center
Privacy Chart Mandatory Reporting Tool, Victim Rights Law Center
FAQ about U.S Federal Laws & Confidentiality for Survivors, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Listening to Survivors- Essential Steps for the Intake Process
Healing
Sexual violence deeply affects so many areas of our lives: health, spirituality, emotions, sexuality, and relationships. These are areas of hurt and areas where we can focus our healing services. Advocacy is about helping survivors find their path to healing from trauma and that goal can only be achieved by supporting the whole person. The resources below will help your program envision healing services for survivors of sexual violence.
Available Resources
Not Damaged, Not Broken: Exploring Mental Health & Substance Use with Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Rural Advocacy Through a Healing Lens
Tool 1: Groundwork for Healing
Come on In: Reimagining Shelter as a Healing Space for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Survivor Support: My Healing Resources
Survivor Support: Working through Triggers
Survivor Support: Grounding Exercises
Throw Away the Menu: Broadening Advocacy
How Does Cultural Appropriation Affect Rural Sexual Assault Services?
Holistic Healing Services for Survivors
Helplines
Our rural helpline services allow sexual violence survivors, their family and friends, and professionals 24-hour access to connection, information, and supportive services. Helpline services, more than any other service, give sexual violence survivors unencumbered access to trauma informed support in rural communities. The resources below will help your programs structure helpline services for survivors of sexual violence.
Available Resources
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Housing Advocacy
Home is supposed to mean safety, security, and comfort. But for many survivors of sexual violence, home can be a triggering space fraught with memories of violence and trauma. The resources below will help your rural program use housing advocacy to create spaces of healing and comfort for survivors of sexual violence.
Available Resources
Sexual Assault Survivors’ Access to Services under the Office on Violence Against Women Transitional Housing Grant Program
Come on In: Reimagining Shelter as a Healing Space for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Meeting Sexual Violence Survivor Needs in Transitional Housing
Housing, Homelessness, and Sexual Violence Annotated Bibliography
Toolkit on Enhancing Services for Survivors of Sexual Violence in Transitional Housing
Sexual Violence Survivors’ Transitional Housing Access Initiative
Creating Spaces of Healing: Exploring Housing Advocacy
College-Aged but On the Streets: Young Adults Who Experience Homelessness and Sexual Violence
Strong Foundation for Healing: Shelter and Sexual Violence
Acceso de las personas sobrevivientes de agresión sexual a los servicios del Programa de Subvenciones de Viviendas de Transición de la Oficina sobre la Violencia contra la Mujer
Satisfaciendo las necesidades de lxs sobrevivientxs de la violencia sexual en viviendas de transición
Kit de herramientas sobre el mejoramiento de los servicios para sobrevivientxs de violencia sexual en viviendas de transición
Iniciativa de acceso a viviendas de transición para lxs sobrevivientxs de la violencia sexual
En edad universitaria, durmiendo en las calles: adultos jóvenes sin hogar que han sufrido violencia sexual
Bases fuertes para la sanación: refugios y la violencia sexual
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Sexual Assault Survivors’ Access to Services Under the OVW Transitional Housing Grant
Building Resilience: Conversations with and about Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Healing Services for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in Transitional Housing
Exploring the Housing Needs of Survivors of Sexual Violence
Meeting The Needs of Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in Transitional Housing
Orientation to Sexual Violence Survivors’ Transitional Housing Access Initiative
Holistic Healing for Sexual Violence Survivors in Transitional Housing
Serving Survivors of Human Trafficking in Transitional Housing
Serving Survivors of Sexual Violence in Transitional Housing
Connecting Homeless Survivors of Sexual Assault to HUD’s Continuum of Care and Emergency Solutions Grant Program
Meeting the Needs of Sexual Violence Survivors in Shelter
Acceso a los servicios de viviendas de transición de OVW para sobrevivientes de agresión sexual
Servicios de sanación en la vivienda de transición para sobrevivientes adultos de abuso sexual en la infancia
Satisfacer las necesidades de vivienda de transición para las personas adultas sobrevivientes de abuso sexual infantil
Sanación holística para lxs sobrevivientxs de violencia sexual en viviendas de transición
Trabajando con lxs sobrevivientxs de la trata de personas en la vivienda de transición
Medical Advocacy
Sexual violence has profound and long-term impacts on the physical health of survivors. Comprehensive medical advocacy extends beyond the immediate medical needs of survivors after sexual violence and into long-term health needs. The resources below will help your program envision medical advocacy that can meet all of the healthcare needs of survivors of sexual violence.
Available Resources
Survivor Support: Healthcare Guide for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Advocacy Skills: Helping Adult Survivors Address Health Issues
TA Bulletin: Engaging Your Rural Healthcare Provider, International Association of Forensic Nurses
SANE 365, International Association of Forensic Nurses
Sexual Violence and HIV: A Technical Assistance Guide for Victim Service Providers, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
SANE Program Development and Operation Guide, International Association of Forensic Nurses
SANE Program Succession Planning Worksheet, International Association of Forensic Nurses
Healing the Body: Exploring Comprehensive Medical Advocacy
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Organizational Management
Dual/multi-service advocacy programs are in a unique position to provide excellent rural sexual assault resources when offered effective strategies in organizational structure, staff training, and community partnerships that successfully balance programmatic needs and meet the unique needs of sexual violence survivors. The resources below will help you create an organizational structure and culture to best serve survivors of sexual violence.
Available Resources
Not Damaged, Not Broken: Exploring Mental Health & Substance Use with Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Rural Advocacy Through a Healing Lens
Enhancing Knowledge: Organizational Reflection
Enhancing Knowledge: Organizational Support for Creative and Compassionate Advocacy
ReShape Newsletter: Supervision Tools (July 2019)
SADI Lessons
It Matters! How Defining Sexual Violence Defines Advocacy Programs
Throw Away the Menu: Broadening Advocacy
Listening to Survivors- Essential Steps for the Intake Process
Board of Directors Toolkit for Nonprofit Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Organizations
Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative: Final Report
Building Cultures of Care: A Guide for Sexual Assault Services Programs
Remote Supervision in Rural Dual/Multi-Service Advocacy Agencies
Board Diversity: Resources on Diversifying Your Board of Directors
Opening Our Doors: Building Strong Sexual Assault Services in Dual/Multi-Service Advocacy Agencies
Community Donations for Sexual Violence Survivors
Core Services and Characteristics of Rape Crisis Centers
Ni dañados, ni destruidos: explorando la salud mental y el consumo de sustancias con sobrevivientes adultos de abuso sexual en la infancia
Potenciación del conocimiento: Apoyo organizacional para una intercesoría creativa y compasiva
Potenciación del conocimiento: Reflexión organizacional
Lecciones para los programas locales
¡Esto importa! cómo definir la violencia sexual define los programas de intercesoría
Cómo escuchar a los sobrevivientes – pasos esenciales para el proceso de entrevista inicial
Adiós al menú: cómo ampliar el alcance de la intercesoría
La supervisión a larga distancia
La cultura de la atención integral
Abriendo nuestras puertas: Desarrollo de servicios sólidos para la asistencia a víctimas de agresión sexual en agencias de servicios de auxilio y servicio duales/múltiples
Donativos de la comunidad para los sobrevivientes de violencia sexual
Servicios principales y características de los centros de atención de crisis por violación
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Youth as Our Leaders, Now & Future: Building Community Involvement in Rural Programs Part 2
Envisioning our Programs as Community Spaces: Building Community Involvement in Rural Programs Part 1
Rural Sustainability Part 2: Prioritizing Services
Rural Sustainability Part 1: Orientation & Training
Change Starts Within- Strengthening Services Through Supervision
Anti-Racism is Fundamental to Sexual Assault Services
Serving the Whole Community
Rural SADI Lessons: Part 1
Rural SADI Lessons: Part 2
Opening the Door: Services for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Board Development 101: Understanding the Roles and Responsibilities of Your Board of Directors
Remote Supervision in Dual/Multi-Service Advocacy Agencies
Comprehensive Sexual Assault Services within a Rural Context
Empowering Your Board to Lead: Understanding the Roles and Responsibilities of Your Board of Directors (Series)
Outreach
The purpose of outreach is to inform our community of the many services we have available to support the long and short term needs of sexual violence survivors and their support systems. Outreach to our rural communities is how we let survivors know that our services exist and welcome them to join us to explore their healing. The resources below will help you create a strong outreach plan for your rural community.
Available Resources
Building Meaningful Partnerships: Supporting Native Survivors in Rural Communities
Rural Outreach
Rural Communications Resources
Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Rural Sexual Violence Survivors
Cultivating Inclusive Practices: Working with Rural Immigrant and Refugee Communities
Eight Step Advocacy Plan for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Survivors of Sexual Assault
Serving Sexual Violence Survivors with Disabilities
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Youth as Our Leaders, Now & Future: Building Community Involvement in Rural Programs Part 2
Envisioning our Programs as Community Spaces: Building Community Involvement in Rural Programs Part 1
Serving the Whole Community
Surviving & Thriving: Supporting Teens After Sexual Abuse
Serving Sexual Violence Survivors with Disabilities
Expanding Community Involvement in Rural Communities
PREA
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) calls on corrections officials to take concrete steps to detect, prevent, and respond to sexual abuse and harassment inside detention facilities. While the PREA standards don’t apply to advocacy programs, only corrections agencies, advocacy programs have a responsibility to serve the entire community, jails and prisons included. The resources below will help your program learn more about PREA and how to provide advocacy to survivors who are incarcerated.
Available resources
Enhancing Knowledge: Letter from Formerly and Currently Incarcerated Survivors
Enhancing Knowledge: Sexual Abuse and Youth Detention System
Justice for Victims Behind Bars: Improving the Response to Cases of Sexual Abuse in Confinement, Aequitas
Hope Behind Bars: An Advocate’s Guide to Helping Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Detention, Just Detention International
Targets for Abuse: Transgender Inmates and Prisoner Rape, Just Detention International
Words of Hope: Starting a Correspondence Advocacy Program for Incarcerated Survivors, Texas Association Against Sexual Assault
No Safe Place: Sexual Violence in the Juvenile Justice System, Just Detention International
Shedding Light on the System: A Corrections Primer for Victim Advocates
Mapping It Out: A Tool to Get Started on Providing Victim Services for Incarcerated Survivors
Rural
Addressing sexual violence in rural communities comes with its own specific set of strengths and challenges which are distinctly different than urban communities. The resources below are some of our favorite resources that specifically address the realities of working in rural communities.
Available Resources
Unpacking the Grey Area: Force, Fraud, Coercion, and Sexual Violence Handout
Unspoken Crimes: Sexual Assault in Rural America, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Rural Resources Collection, National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Stopping the Stigma: Changing Public Perceptions of Sexual Assault in Rural Communities, California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Support Groups
Support groups offer a powerful and unique form of healing for survivors of sexual violence. Hearing other survivors speak and receiving peer level support provides a different form of healing than therapy or advocacy can provide. The resources below will help your program create sexual assault specific support groups for rural survivors in your area.
Available Resources
The Power of Social Connection: Developing and Coordinating Sustainable Support Group Programs for Survivors of Sexual Violence, North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Peer Support Guide, Male Survivor
How to Start and Facilitate a Support Group for Victims of Stalking, Stalking Resource Center
Getting Safe and Sober: Real Tools You Can Use, Alaska Network to End Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Circle of Hope, Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs
Latin@ Support Group Guide, Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs
Parent Support Group Guide, Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs
IPSV Support Group Guide: A Guide to Psychoeducational Support Groups for Survivors of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence, Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs
Teen Suport Group Guide, Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs
Supporting Staff
The strength of advocates comes from being emotionally healthy and well-supported. When individual advocates and their organizations are healthy, we can bring our best self to the work every day. As we build our sexual assault services, it is imperative to have a plan that is both proactive and responsive to vicarious trauma experienced by those doing direct service. Healthy leadership also recognizes the unique isolation felt by multilingual advocates and staff of color working in rural areas. The resources below will help your programs create policies and practices to support staff.
Available Resources
Tool 4: Our Culture as an Investment
Enhancing Knowledge: Organizational Reflection
Enhancing Knowledge: Organizational Support for Creative and Compassionate Advocacy
ReShape Newsletter: Supervision Tools (July 2019)
Building Cultures of Care: A Guide for Sexual Assault Services Programs
Supporting Multilingual and Bicultural Rural Advocates
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Change Starts Within: Strengthening Services through Supervision
Supporting Multilingual and Bicultural Rural Advocates Webinar
From the Ground Up: Supporting Rural Multilingual Advocates
Empowering Ourselves: Incorporating Self-Care into Our Everyday Interactions
We Are the Victims We Serve: Supporting Advocates Who are Survivors
Trauma-Informed Services
Trauma informed services are services created to support the healing and growth of survivors while avoiding re-traumatization. Trauma informed services provide a framework for understanding the impact of trauma on survivors, communities, and those that serve them and ensures that our services are responsive to the needs of sexual violence survivors. The resources below will help your program understand what trauma informed services look like so you can re-envision services for survivors of sexual violence.
Available Resources
Not Damaged, Not Broken: Exploring Mental Health & Substance Use with Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Rural Advocacy Through a Healing Lens
Tool 1: Groundwork for Healing
Tool 3: Polishing our Practices and Procedures
Tool 2: A Space for Safety
Come on In: Reimagining Shelter as a Healing Space for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Enhancing Knowledge: Brief Introduction to Trauma and Triggers
Enhancing Knowledge: Further Reading and Resources
Trauma-Informed Care
Throw Away the Menu: Broadening Advocacy
Listening to Survivors- Essential Steps for the Intake Process
A Welcoming Introduction to Services
Building Cultures of Care: A Guide for Sexual Assault Services Programs
Building Comprehensive Services for Survivors of Sexual Violence
Potenciación del conocimiento: Una breve introducción al trauma y los detonantes
Potenciación del conocimiento: Materiales de lectura y recursos
Cómo escuchar a los sobrevivientes – pasos esenciales para el proceso de entrevista inicial
La cultura de la atención integral
Servicios integrales para los sobrevivientes de violencia sexual
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Exploring the Areas of Hurt and Healing
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Grounding
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Triggers
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Dissociation Part 2
Understanding Dissociation and Sexual Violence: Dissociation Part 1
Change Starts Within- Strengthening Services Through Supervision
Partners in Healing: Supporting Friends & Family
More than a Buzzword: Trauma Informed Services in a Rural Community
Meeting the Needs of Sexual Violence Survivors in Shelter
Getting to Know the Whole Survivor: Orientation Strategies
Volunteer Programs
Volunteers are an important part of the work we do with survivors. With the help of volunteers we are able to provide services to our entire community, prevent burnout and reduce vicarious trauma, and increase our fundraising efforts. A sustainable and strong sexual violence advocacy program is difficult to maintain without a thriving volunteer program. The resources below will help your program create your own volunteer program in your rural community.
Available Resources
Recorded Calls & Webinars
Building Resilience: Enhancing Rural Advocacy for Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Survivors of child sexual abuse exist, often silently, in every community in our country. And yet there is a real lack of resources focused on the needs of adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Building Resilience was created to expand advocates understanding of the needs of adult survivors of child sexual and to help advocates create services to meet those needs. Children grow up to be adults, and those adults deserve resources and community partners that can address healing in every sphere of their life.
Contributing partners to the project include the Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition, North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Just Detention International, Activating Change, rural sexual assault advocates, and many adult survivors of child sexual abuse.
The Building Resilience team has created the resources on this page for rural advocacy programs and, when indicated, resources specifically for survivors of child sexual abuse.
Recorded Webinars
Below you can find recordings of recent webinars.
Exploring the Areas of Hurt and Healing
This training is an introduction to understanding the fundamentals of healing and healing-centered services. During…
Unpacking the Grey Area: Force, Fraud, Coercion, and Sexual Violence Webinar
Those not involved in anti-violence work often have a different perception of what qualifies as…
OVW 과도기적주거 보조금에따른 성폭력 생존자의 서비스접근성 – 웨비나
4월 2024 참석자들은 성폭행 생존자를 위한 OVW 과도기적 주거의 3가지 최소 자격 기준을 나열하고, 성폭행…
Sexual Assault Survivors’ Access to Services Under the OVW Transitional Housing Grant
10 April 2024. In this webinar, attendees will learn to list the 3 minimum eligibility…
Acceso a los servicios de viviendas de transición de OVW para sobrevivientes de agresión sexual
10 abril 2024. Las personas que asistan aprenderán a enumerar los tres criterios mínimos de…
Youth as Our Leaders, Now & Future: Building Community Involvement in Rural Programs Part 2
In part one of the series, we focused on how to shift our perspective on…