This article analyzes how three major world religions – Christianity, Judaism, and Islam – present both roadblocks and resources for female victims of sexual and domestic violence.

This Special Collection offers information regarding the experiences and needs of individuals who are Deaf or hard of hearing and have experienced abuse. The purpose of this collection is to: 1) increase victim advocates’ knowledge and understanding of Deaf culture, 2) provide resources to assist helping professionals in direct service work with Deaf individuals, and 3) highlight best practices for addressing domestic and sexual violence in the Deaf community.

Amendments to the Code of Virginia (See §§ 19.2-165.1, 19.2-368.3, and 19.2-368.11:1) effective July 1, 2008, make significant changes to laws describing the provision of, and payment for, forensic examinations in sexual assault cases. These changes bring Virginia into compliance with federal law. This document is intended to address some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the statutory changes and their implementation.

This document provides guidance for compassionate and effective care for adult and post-pubertal adolescent sexual assault patients. It does not represent the only medically or legally acceptable response to any sexual assault patient or establish a legal or medical standard of care, and deviation from this document does not necessarily represent a breach of a standard of care. The ultimate judgment regarding a healthcare provider’s recommendation on a course of action for a patient must be made by the clinician in light of all the circumstances presented.

A national network of survivors willing to stand up and speak out about sexual violence.

Four trans and nonbinary survivors of sexual abuse/assault share their stories of resilience and healing. This is a recording of the Live Premiere event on April 10, 2022.

This Strategies article is Part I of a two-part series addressing two types of victim privacy laws – confidentiality and privilege. Part I provides an overview of confidentiality laws in order to assist prosecutors in effectively balancing offender accountability with the safety needs and expectations of victims during criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Part II provides prosecutors with a greater understanding of legal privileges that exist in the following relationships: qualified community advocate/client, clergy/penitent, psychiatrist/patient, physician/patient, spousal, and attorney/client. This Strategies issue will also include common scenarios in which these privileges may be challenged and suggest strategies for prosecutors to protect privileged communications where the victim’s privacy interests outweigh the need for the sought information.

This report provides data describing how sexual assault reports that were not previously indicted were initially processed through the system from the Reporting Phase, to the Investigative Phase, and the Prosecution Phase. We then track what is currently happening with these cases as part of the Cuyahoga County Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Pilot Research Project.

This resource provides 15 concrete suggestions on how faith leaders can respond to domestic and sexual violence.

This statement from the Catholic Church provides information on domestic violence and the Church’s Response.

This training bulletin was written to respond to the question of whether victims should be allowed to sleep before conducting a medical forensic examination or detailed law enforcement interview. Several concrete suggestions are offered to help meet the needs of victims when they are intoxicated and/or want to sleep.

The Urban Institute, George Mason University, and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center collaborated to learn about the payment policies and practices that have been set up to address this requirement.

Published in June 2015, this brief essay explains basic brain responses to being attacked, including sexually. It also has links to key scientific review articles on the brain bases and evolutionary origins of commonly misunderstood effects of the fear circuitry taking over: impairment of the prefrontal cortex, survival reflexes (e.g., freezing, tonic immobility) and ineffective habit behaviors.

This brief essay, written with David Lisak, explains how fear and trauma, including in the midst of a sexual assault, shape how memories are encoded, and thus how we should expect the memories to be later, when the victim is trying to recall what happened with investigators, school administrators, family and friends. Understanding these basics can be very helpful to everyone involved, including by decreasing victims’ shame and self-doubt about fragmentary and incomplete memories.

Testing all sexual assault kits, regardless of the ability to prosecute, will increase law enforcement’s ability to respond to victims, prevent future victimizations, and bring justice to victims.

This summary report begins with a brief overview of elder abuse and abuse in later life. Subsequent sections describe seven key guiding principles as well as minimum guidelines and practice strategies for advocates to consider in their work with older survivors.

In addition to written content, this document also includes supplemental video resources.

This Service Provider tool kit is a companion to the “Guide for Journalists.” It includes some basic information about the media, and provides a foundation for reshaping the public discussion on sexual assault. We hope that this resource will encourage relationships between local media and sexual assault programs. This resource will prepare you to be responsive while proposing strategies for approaching local media outlets.

The national attention on campus sexual assault has sparked conversations across the country about the needs of sexual assault survivors aged 18-24 who attend college. However, many people aged 18-24 do not attend college, but women in that age group still experience the highest rate of sexual assault than any other age group (Sinozich & Langton 2014). College enrollment is at the lowest it has been since 2003 (Norris, 2014), so a significant number of people from the age group most at risk for sexual violence do not benefit from the increased attention on campus sexual assault.

A desire to speak out is important, but preparation is key. Survivors of rape and abuse can talk about the issue of gender-related violence with unique authority. And for many who have lived through such violence, the act of sharing their stories can be transformative, and even healing. And yet. Speaking publicly about an issue that the world is still largely unwilling to confront can be a harrowing and even retraumatizing experience. At CounterQuo, we believe that the best way to embark on a media journey that you will not regret is to think through the challenges you may encounter before you come forward. That’s what “Your Voice, Your Choice” is all about.