Helping men who have experienced sexual abuse in childhood.

This position paper on best practice reflects the views of the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, as approved in 2006.

The purpose of this document is to explain the need for Start by Believing and other victim-centered and trauma-informed approaches, based on the barriers sexual assault victims have long faced when they disclose to loved ones and when they report the crime or reach out for services. These problems have constituted large-scale failures, and therefore the efforts to fix them have also been on a national scale. We provide information on the research documenting these failures, and the movement to reform our systems to become victim-centered and trauma-informed.

This article offers a basic understanding of religion’s role in addressing domestic violence, as illustrated through three western religious traditions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

This guide provides an overview of a sexual violence survivor’s rights and remedies within the civil legal context. It identifies legal as well as safety and other practical considerations that should be considered when helping a sexual violence survivor.

This report presents findings from the evaluation of two Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) in the UK: One non-centre based support service and three comparison areas where there was no specialist provision for victims. The report provides a valuable insight into the process of attrition in reported rape cases in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) in the UK, with a specific focus on early withdrawal by complainants. The report provides recommendations for good practice which will be of interest to a range of professionals who have a role or an interest in reducing attrition in reported rape cases in the CJS.

This helpful guide provides a detailed overview of human trafficking, as well as how to assess and meet the needs of individual victims of trafficking. This guide also provides a thorough review of the legal options available for victims of trafficking, as well as the resources available to them.

The purpose of this guide is to help survivors understand the advantages and disadvantages of suing your perpetrator in civil court. The guide outlines the factors that may influence a decision to file a lawsuit, guides you through the attorney-selection process, and describes each step of a civil lawsuit.

This guidebook explains legal definitions of sexual assault and what constitutes consent. Common myths are discussed, and the relevant facts clarified. Sexual violence, the nature of trauma, and post-traumatic stress syndrome are described. Specific spiritual concerns such as virginity, pregnancy, and forgiveness are also discussed. Finally, a practical guide for providing assistance and crisis intervention is included.

The protocol will guide the clinical practice of conducting comprehensive assessments for patients experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) that prioritize the patient’s health and well-being. This protocol provides comprehensive guidance for patient care. It emphasizes delivering trauma-informed, patient-centered care across various health care settings and supports a gender-affirming approach to care. The protocol underscores the crucial role of accessible language and effective communication, and advocates for the use of interpretation and translation services to guarantee equitable access. It outlines protocols for screening IPV patients in all settings and emphasizes the provision of care in different age groups, from adolescents to older adults.

For an interactive version of this protocol, please visit SAFEta.org.

With successful medical forensic care as a goal, OVW released the National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations—Adults/Adolescents in 2004 and a second edition in 2013.1 It was evident during protocol development that the medical forensic care of adult and adolescent victims should be addressed separately from younger child victims, as considerable variations in approaches exist with these populations. OVW is pleased to now offer the National Protocol for Sexual Abuse Medical Forensic Examinations—Pediatric, which focuses on prepubescent children.

This protocol was designed as a guide for practitioners who respond to victims of sexual assault, including health care professionals, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, interpreters, advocates, and others. By combining cutting-edge response techniques with collaboration among service providers, we will greatly enhance our ability to treat and support victims as well as identify and prosecute sex offenders. This protocol lays the foundation for these efforts.

The purpose of this guide is to help survivors understand the advantages and disadvantages of suing your perpetrator in civil court. The guide outlines the factors that may influence a decision to file a lawsuit, guides you through the attorney-selection process, and describes each step of a civil lawsuit.

Documentation from a sexual assault medical forensic examination (SAMFE) will often note that no injury was found to the female genitalia or anus. However, the absence of anogenital injury does not mean that a sexual assault didn’t occur. Rates of sexual assault injury vary widely in published reports and may be impacted by a variety of issues, including the types of techniques used to assess the patient and the amount of time between the assault and the exam.

Provides comprehensive services to individuals and families, community education, and advocacy on systems and policy issues to Deaf and DeafBlind survivors.

Law firm that specializes in representing survivors of sexual abuse/assault.

AFN’s mission is to link research to practice through dissemination of scholarship, education and service to those affected by and responding to trauma.

When victims are unable to access a sexual assault medical forensic exam (SAFME), or they are not examined in a culturally relevant and appropriate manner, people who are victimized are not helped, perpetrators of sexually violent crimes are not prosecuted, and public safety is not improved.

Screening of physical evidence at the crime scene also has the capability to rapidly determine whether a criminal investigation is needed and provide law enforcement personnel with necessary information in a timely manner, which in many cases is crucial. To assist in the reduction of collected samples while increasing the overall quality of said evidence, it would beneficial for forensic science practitioners to have technology at their disposal that is not only portable, allowing the screening of potential evidence before collection, but also flexible in terms of chemical species and sample substrates that can be analyzed. This flexibility, in particular, would allow this technology to be robust towards the ingenuity of criminals and emerging threats.

The ADA requires that title II entities (State and local governments) and title III entities (businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public) communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities. The goal is to ensure that communication with people with these disabilities is equally effective as communication with people without disabilities. This publication is designed to help title II and title III entities (“covered entities”) understand how the rules for effective communication, including rules that went into effect on March 15, 2011, apply to them.

This publication provides guidance on the term “service animal” and the service animal provisions in the Department’s revised regulations which went into effect on March 15, 2011.

People with mobility, circulatory, respiratory, or neurological disabilities use many kinds of devices for mobility. Some use walkers, canes, crutches, or braces. Some use manual or power wheelchairs or electric scooters. In addition, advances in technology have given rise to new devices, such as Segways®, that some people with disabilities use as mobility devices, including many veterans injured while serving in the military. And more advanced devices will inevitably be invented, providing more mobility options for people with disabilities. This publication is designed to help title II entities (State and local governments) and title III entities (businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public) (together, “covered entities”) understand how the new rules for mobility devices apply to them. These rules went into effect on March 15, 2011.

Accurate, evidence-based beliefs about sexual and domestic violence and stalking in law enforcement create an environment in which exemplary investigations and full protection of victims occur. This 2-page fact sheet is designed to provide this accurate, evidence-based information.

This resource focuses on the crucial role of the health care provider in identifying and addressing intimate partner violence and reproductive
coercion.