Resources for Advocates and Service Providers

• Advocacy Training and Resources
• Trauma-Informed Care
• Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Resources
• Culturally Specific Advocacy for Black/African American Communities
• Culturally Specific Advocacy for Native/Indigenous Communities
• Culturally Specific Advocacy for Asian/Asian-American and Pacific Islander Communities
• Culturally Specific Advocacy for Latinx/Latin@ Communities
• Culturally Specific Advocacy for Immigrant Communities
• Culturally Specific Advocacy for LGBTQIA2S+ Communities
• Culturally Specific Advocacy for Disabled, Deaf, and Hard-of-Hearing Communities
• Advocacy for Male Survivors of Sexual Violence:
  • Working with Male Survivors of Sexual Violence
  • Advocacy & Male-Identified Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
• Training and Technical Assistance Providers

Training and Technical Assistance Providers

• Black Women’s Blueprint
  • Emerging Youth Program
• Stop It Now!
  • Circles of Safety
  • Dear Stop It Now! Helpline – Live Webinar Series
  • On-Demand Training Videos
• Prevent Child Abuse New York
  • Building Resilient Communities
• Prevent Child Abuse Vermont
  • Child Sexual Abuse Prevention
  • Healthy Relationships Project
  • Safe Environments for Infants and Toddlers

Resources on Preventing and Responding to Child Sexual Abuse

• Black Women’s Blueprint – Protecting the Black Child: A Digital Guide to End Child Sexual Abuse (Report)
• Black Women’s Blueprint – Shifting the Burden, Ending Child Sexual Abuse in Black Diasporic Community (Private Facebook Group)
• Stop It Now! – Helpline
• Stop It Now! – Library of Resources
• Stop It Now! – Prevention Tools
• Prevent Child Abuse New York – Child Abuse Prevention Resources
• Prevent Child Abuse Vermont – Child Abuse Prevention Resources
• Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance – Prevention Activity Book
• Anne M. Nurse – Confronting Child Sexual Abuse: Knowledge to Action

• NYSCASA’s Sexual Violence Prevention Position Statement
• Sexual Violence Prevention in Simple Terms provides how-to guidance and reminders, integrating current approaches (for beginners and pros) in a guide created by NYSCASA, May 2013.
• Primary Prevention Explainer
• Primary Prevention Resources Compiled by NYSCASA
• School-Based Prevention Roadmap: Connecting the Route of CRT and Anti-Oppression (Created by the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence and the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence)
• Stop It Now!
• Prevent Child Abuse New York
• Prevent Child Abuse Vermont
• Enough Abuse Campaign

Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA)

The federal Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) established national standards to prevent and respond to sexual violence in prisons, jails, and detention centers. This includes ensuring that incarcerated survivors of sexual violence can access the same services as survivors who are not incarcerated. Click here to learn more about PREA.

New York State PREA Partnership

NYSCASA has a broad reach as a statewide coalition, and one of the areas that NYSCASA has taken a step forward in is implementing PREA standards through the New York State PREA Partnership. In New York, several Rape Crisis Centers have signed on to deliver services to incarcerated New Yorkers who have experienced sexual assault. Each Rape Crisis Center has multiple facilities that they take calls from and perform a variety of follow up services. NYSCASA enters the picture here by reimbursing the crisis centers for their PREA services, helping train and educate staff on what PREA is, and offering technical assistance to ensure advocates can deliver their expertise.

For more information about PREA in New York State, contact the NYSCASA PREA team by email: info@nyscasa.org

Resources:

• PREA Statewide Rape Crisis Hotline and PREA Centers
• PREA Outreach and Implementation in New York State
• Providing Rape Crisis Services to Incarcerated Survivors in New York Jails (webinar recording)

Resources from Just Detention International

Just Detention International is a health and human rights organization that seeks to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention.

• Webinar recordings for new PREA advocates:
  • Mapping it Out: Providing Victim Services for Incarcerated Survivors: https://justdetention.org/webinar/mapping-it-out-providing-victim-services-for-incarcerated-survivors
  • Who’s in There? Demystifying Incarcerated Survivors of Sexual Assault: https://justdetention.org/webinar/whos-in-there-demystifying-incarcerated-survivors-of-sexual-assault
  • Help is on the Line: Providing Hotline Services for Incarcerated Survivors: https://justdetention.org/webinar/help-is-on-the-line-providing-hotline-services-for-incarcerated-survivors
• JDI Resource Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse Behind Bars 
• JDI Publications for Service Providers
• JDI Tools for Service Providers (including sample MOUs, intake forms, informed consent forms, etc.)
• JDI Training Modules
• JDI Upcoming and Archived Webinars
• Access for All: A Guide to Serving Incarcerated Survivors
• PREA Coordinated Response Protocol Template for Small Jails
• PREA: Working with Rape Crisis Centers (Guide for corrections staff)
• Checklist for preparing for a site visit tour
• Resource for advocates and clients: progressive muscle relaxation

Resources from Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action

Interrupting Criminalization: Research in Action is an initiative at the BCRW Social Justice Institute led by researchers Woods Ervin, Mariame Kaba, and Andrea J. Ritchie. The project aims to interrupt and end the growing criminalization and incarceration of women and LGBTQ people of color for criminalized acts related to public order, poverty, child welfare, drug use, survival and self-defense, including criminalization and incarceration of survivors of violence. Interrupting Criminalization recently published two resources that are especially relevant for advocates (or other professionals) who may encounter survivors of sexual violence by law enforcement agents.

The Missing Story of #MeToo: Sexual Violence by Law Enforcement Agents

This webinar, hosted in collaboration with NYSCASA, Interrupting Criminalization, and Seven Dancers Coalition, explore the following questions: What does sexual violence by police look like? Who do officers target? Most importantly, how can we put a stop to this systemic problem? How can sexual assault and anti-criminalization advocates join forces to create a comprehensive approach to this problem which places survivors at the center? Click here to access the webinar recording. Click here to access the transcript, presentation slides, and additional resources.

Shrouded in Silence—Police Sexual Violence: What We Know & What Can We Do About It?

This report, in conjunction with an accompanying curriculum for sexual assault service providers, is intended to contribute to breaking the silence around police sexual violence, to summarize what we know about sexual violence by law enforcement officers, and to offer concrete steps toward prevention of police sexual violence and increased safety, support, and opportunities for healing for survivors. For more information and a more detailed analysis of police sexual violence, see Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color (excerpts available at invisiblenomorebook.com). Click here to download the report.

Breaking the Silence: Supporting Survivors of Police Sexual Violence (Curriculum)

This is a curriculum for sexual assault service providers intended to accompany Interrupting Criminalization’s report Shrouded in Silence: Police Sexual Violence – What We Know and What We Can Do About It. Facilitators and participants are strongly encouraged to review the report before using any of the exercises in this curriculum. Click here to download the curriculum.

Resources from the National PREA Resource Center

Created in 2010, the National PREA Resource Center assists state, local, and tribal agencies in implementing PREA Standards and by supporting the Department of Justice (DOJ) PREA audit function.

• PREA Standards Overview
• Resource Library
• Upcoming Webinars
• PREA Academy
• National PREA Resource Center Mailing List
• Request Assistance
• Untangling the PREA Standards: Outside Reporting, Confidential Support, and Third-Party Reporting Fact Sheet

Resources from the Vera Institute of Justice

The Vera Institute of Justice is an independent nonprofit national research and policy organization working to secure equal justice, end mass incarceration, and strengthen families and communities across America. Two of the institute’s action areas, Bringing Dignity to Life Behind Bars and Reaching All Victims, may be particularly helpful for advocates working with criminalized and incarcerated survivors. See also the institute’s resources on sexual assault and incarcerated youth and adults.

Resources from Survived & Punished

Survived & Punished is a coalition of defense campaigns and grassroots groups committed to eradicating the criminalization of survivors of domestic and sexual violence and the culture of violence that contributes to it. The all-volunteer organization includes community organizers, survivor advocates, legal experts, and policy advocates including currently and formerly incarcerated survivors. Survived & Punished New York is the New York affiliate of Survived & Punished.

• Guide to Writing Letters to Incarcerated Survivors
• Advocacy Strategies for Anti-Violence Victim Advocates
• Safety Planning and Intimate Partner Violence: A Toolkit for Survivors and Supporters
• Mass Release Now: New York State’s Obligation to Deliver Reparations for Criminalized Survivors
• Defending Self-Defense: A Call to Action by Survived & Punished
• Clemency and Parole: A Guide by Survived & Punished NY

Survivors Justice Project

The Survivors Justice Project is a collective of advocates, lawyers, social workers, activists, researchers, and teachers working for decarcerateion through the New York Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA). The SJP works to identify incarcerated survivors potentially eligible for sentencing relief under the DVSJA, support survivors going through the DVSJA process, expand resources and support for criminalized survivors, educate attorneys and judges on the DVSJA and issues surrounding the criminalized survivors, and track implementation of the DVSJA and analyze lessons learned.

• Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act Resource Guide

Additional Resources

• How can my agency better respond to formerly incarcerated survivors? by Jacqueline Miller, founder of Healthy Actions Intervening Responsibly (H.A.I.R.)

Safety Planning

A safety plan is a personalized, practical plan that can help you navigate dangerous situations and consider ways to react when you or someone you know is in danger. Information about safety planning is often geared towards people experiencing sexual violence, intimate partner violence, or gender-based violence, but anyone can create a safety plan. Safety plans come in all shapes and sizes, and they should be unique to the survivor’s needs in the moment (loveisrespect.org).

Here are some resources we’ve found that may be helpful for you in creating a safety plan for you or victims/survivors you are supporting:

• Safety & Self Care Plan (Spring Up)
• Interactive Guide to Safety Planning (National Domestic Violence Hotline)
• Tips for When Staying Home Isn’t the Safest Plan (NYC Anti-Violence Project)
• Safety Planning Tips (New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
• Abolitionist Safety Planning and Intimate Partner Violence: A Toolkit for Survivors and Supporters (Community Justice Exchange)

Self-Care, Healing, and Resilience

Here are some resources NYSCASA has found useful for supporting survivors’ self-care, healing, and resilience.

Survivor’s Sanctuary

Created by the ‘me too’ Movement, Survivor’s Sanctuary is a self-guided healing platform intended to aid survivors in their healing journeys. You are invited to explore your healing through our three healing approaches MIND, BODY and INTEGRATIVE. You are invited to explore healing lessons from each approach in 5-minute, 15-minute and 25- minute suggested time increments. You choose your approach and you choose the experiences you want to engage in. No matter where you go on the site, you will find something that meets your unique needs as a survivor. Click here to access the Survivor’s Sanctuary.

A Toolkit for Survivors During COVID-19

Survivors of sexual assault are experiencing the deep impact of this moment in ways we could never have imagined. Those of us in abusive situations and those who are seeking therapy are struggling to get the support they need. Conditions that were already challenging are now exacerbated, and the needs of sexual assault survivors are being left out of the national dialogue in more ways than one. Click here to access A Toolkit for Survivors During COVID-19, created by the ‘me too.’ Movement.

Who Do I Tell? How Do I Tell? Toolkit

For individuals who have experienced or know someone who has experienced sexual assault, this toolkit provides question prompts and tips for deciding who to disclose to, and how. Click here to access the toolkit, created by the ‘me too.’ Movement.

Coping with Triggers

A “trigger” is a trauma reminder. It can be a feeling, a smell, a place, a topic, anything that engages our nervous system and prompts a survival response. It is a surprise emotion, a memory that our body holds, one that may feel like it comes out of nowhere. Click here to access the Coping with Triggers toolkit, created by the ‘me too.’ Movement.

Healing Justice Practice Spaces Toolkit

This “how-to” guide from Autumn Brown & Maryse Mitchell-Brody explains how to create an intentional healing justice practice space. The authors offer that a Healing Justice Practice Space (HJPS) is an all-gender, all-bodied, inclusive and accessible space for practicing and receiving healing that is built in partnership with social justice movement work and sites of political action. These spaces typically offer a wide variety of health and healing services, including (but not limited to) first aid, counseling and crisis support, mediation services, massage therapy, acupuncture, energy work, herbal therapy, divination, art therapy, nutritional counseling, and yoga. This thoughtful guide walks through the what, the who, and the how so that you might create your own HJPS within your community. Click here to access the toolkit, created by the ‘me too.’ Movement.

Books to Support Healing from Sexual Violence

Healing Honestly recently put together a list of books to support survivors’ healing from sexual violence. NYSCASA has sent some of these books to member rape crisis programs, including Love WITH Accountability: Digging Up the Roots of Child Sexual Abuse, Queering Sexual Violence: Radical Voices from Within the Anti-Violence Movement, and Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Check out the full book list here.

Grounding and Self-Soothing Techniques

There are a great number of tools and resources to assist survivors with grounding and self-soothing as they move through their healing journey. Here are some resources recommended by NYSCASA staff:

• 10 Grounding Skills to Help Cope with Flashbacks Related to Trauma
• Grounding Techniques & Self Soothing for Emotional Regulation
• Guided Meditation for PTSD
• Mind-Body Practices for Post-Traumatic Stress
• What Is Tapping and How Can I Start Using It to Reduce Stress?
• Guided Resonant Breathing: Coherent Breathing with Dr Richard Brown & Patricia Gerbarg MD
• How Progressive Muscle Relaxation Can Help People with PTSD

Resources for Victim/Survivor Advocates

• Medical Advocacy (From NYSCASA’s Training for New Advocates)
• New York State Sexual Assault Victim Bill of Rights
• Sexual Assault Forensic Exams: An introduction for survivors
• What Is a Sexual Assault Forensic Exam? (RAINN)
• Webinar: The Role of Advocates within the Forensic Exam Process (NYSCASA & St. Peter’s Crime Victims Center)
• SAFE Designated Hospitals in New York (NYS Department of Health)
• Healing the Body: Exploring Comprehensive Medical Advocacy (Resource Sharing Project)

Resources for Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners

• New York State Sexual Assault Victim Bill of Rights
• SAFE Protocols in New York
• National Protocols for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations – Adults/Adolescents
• National Protocols for Sexual Abuse Medical Forensic Examinations – Pediatric
• SAFE Protocol: Trans-Specific Annotation (FORGE)
• SANE Education Guidelines (International Association of Forensic Nurses)
• Competencies Needed by Health Professionals for Addressing Exposure to Violence and Abuse in Patient Care (Academy on Violence and Abuse)
• Evaluation and Management of the Sexually Assaulted or Sexually Abused Patient (American College of Emergency Physicians)
• Preserving Survivor Choice: Forensic Compliance & LGBTQ+ Survivors of Sexual Violence (North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault)
• HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) and Follow-Up Care for Survivors of Sexual Assault (NYS Department of Health)
• Webinar: The Medical Provider Forensic Rape Examination Reimbursement Program (NYSCASA & NYS Office of Victim Services)
• Forensic Rape Examination (FRE) Direct Reimbursement Program (NYS Office of Victim Services)
• Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examination: A Virtual Practicum (End Violence Against Women International)
• Forms: Medical Assessment and Consent
• Forms: SANE Program Administration
• Forms: SARTs & Child Advocacy Centers

Training and Technical Assistance

• International Association of Forensic Nurses
• SAFEta.org: Technical Assistance for Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners
• Online SANE Training (International Association of Forensic Nurses)
• Upcoming Webinars (SAFEta.org)
• Archived Webinars (SAFEta.org)

As an organization that works on behalf of gender-based violence victims/survivors and those that serve them throughout New York State, the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NYSCASA) affirms that all people deserve access to safe, legal, and accessible sexual and reproductive healthcare. This position is rooted in our commitment to protecting our basic human rights to bodily autonomy, informed choice, and person-centered care.

While the Supreme Court has decided to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion continues to be legal nationwide, including in New York State, where Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed a comprehensive legislative package protecting abortion care patients and providers. However, 13 states will immediately ban access to safe abortions, and more than half could severely restrict access. To be clear, this will not end abortion. It will end safe and legal abortions, which puts the lives of pregnant people at risk.

Laws that deny access to abortion care constitute state-sanctioned reproductive abuse. These laws prevent people from governing what happens to their own bodies, without the threat of violence, external influence, or coercion. These laws disproportionately harm survivors, LGBTQIA2S communities, Black and Brown communities, disabled communities, and all who live along these intersections. We are committed to cultivating a world without violence, in which abortion care is safe, legal, and within reach.

As we collectively respond to the Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, we wanted to share some resources with messaging guidance that you and your organizations may find helpful:

• Building Alliances: Guidance for Sexual Violence Organizations Engaging in Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Advocacy (Guidance from the National Partnership for Women & Families and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence)
• Speaking Your Values, Building Connections: Affirming Shared, Positive Values for Abortion Care (Guidance from the National Women’s Law Center)
• Reducing Pushback, Avoiding Stigma, Helpful Approaches (1-pager from National Women’s Law Center)
• Talking About Abortion? Values-Based Messages Put You on Solid Ground (1-pager from National Women’s Law Center)
• Values Messaging: Reproductive Freedom & Choice for Sexual & Domestic Violence Survivors (resource from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance)

Survivors in your community may contact you or your organization to request assistance with seeking abortion care. Here are some resources to have readily available:

Abortion Finder (www.abortionfinder.org) is a free and confidential tool that helps abortion care seekers locate an abortion provider.

• The National Network of Abortion Funds (www.abortionfunds.org/need-abortion) is a tool that connects abortion care seekers with organizations that can support their financial and logistical needs. In New York State, such organizations include:
• New York Abortion Access Fund
• Indigenous Women Rising
• National Abortion Federation Hotline
• The Brigid Alliance
• Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP)

See below for resources about reproductive justice, reproductive freedom, and reproductive coercion:

• What Is Reproductive Justice? (SisterSong)
• Reproductive and Sexual Coercion: A Toolkit for Sexual & Domestic Violence Advocates (Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance)
• Guides created by the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance:
  • Part 1: What is Reproductive Justice? 
  • Part 2: How Does Reproductive Justice Intersect with Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence? 
  • Part 3: How Can We Build and Foster Reproductive Justice within Sexual and Domestic Violence Agencies?
• Post-Roe America: Why Advancing Reproductive Justice is Essential in Our Work (Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance)
• Supporting Reproductive Freedom for Survivors During a Global Pandemic (Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance)
• Let’s Talk About Sex(ual) Coercion (Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance)
• Abortion Decriminalization Is Part of the Larger Struggle Against Policing and Criminalization: How Our Movements Can Organize in Solidarity With Each Other (Interrupting Criminalization)
• When Rape Results in Pregnancy: The Intersection of Rape and Abortion Law (Victim Rights Law Center)
• Reproductive Justice: A Reading List (Black Women Radicals)

Legal Requirements on Language Access

There are several federal regulations regarding disability and language access that rape crisis programs
must follow.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits
discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools,
transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as Title VI regulations prohibit discrimination based on
national origin, and Executive Order 13166 (“Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited
English Proficiency”) says that people with limited English proficiency must have meaningful access to
federally conducted and federally funded programs and activities.

Resources on legal requirements regarding access:

• Overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act
• 5 Ways to Make Sexual Assault Services More Accessible Using Technology
• Ensuring Language Access to Immigrant Victims of Sexual Assault

Language Justice

Language justice refers to ensuring everyone has the right to communicate in the language in which we
feel most comfortable. With planning and support, rape crisis programs can create spaces where people
can communicate in the language they are most fluent.

• How to Build Language Justice
• Webinar Recording: Language Justice

Not everyone who speaks two or more languages can interpret or translate correctly; specialized
training enhances and develops these skills, and advocates should not be expected to work as
interpreters or translators. Rape crisis programs should work with interpreters and translators to ensure
they can most effectively support survivors.

• Translation: Comprehensive written translation involves analyzing all the written components that go with a
  program or event and producing each document fully in both languages. These might include flyers and
  publicity materials, PowerPoint slides, handouts, training materials— absolutely any written texts that
  will accompany a meeting or event.
• Consecutive interpretation: A person speaks and then pauses to allow for the interpreter to repeat what has been said in the other signed or spoken language. The major advantage of consecutive interpretation is that everyone can hear the speaker’s voice, inflection, and emotion, even if they cannot understand both languages. Another advantage is that everyone gets to hear everything that’s being said, in both languages. The main disadvantage to consecutive interpretation is time: everything takes twice as long, because it must be said twice once in each language. Further, consecutive interpretation is an inherent interruption to the flow of conversation, as space needs to be left for the interpreter to interpret each comment or question before the dialogue can move forward.
• Simultaneous interpretation: Using special audio equipment (transmitter, microphone, radios, and earphones) that allow interpreters to interpret what speakers are saying as they are talking, a person speaks while the interpreter follows along simultaneously in another language, speaking quietly into a microphone attached to a transmitter that broadcasts to anyone carrying a radio and wearing headphones. In the case of American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation, the interpreter repeats what speakers say by signing in ASL. The advantages of simultaneous interpretation are extremely significant: everyone experiences the entire conversation in real time, with no interruption to the flow of conversation, and people are able to communicate with one another directly even if they don’t share a common language.

When working with an interpreter, the advocate must ensure the following:

• The interpreter is proficient and has the ability to communicate accurately in both English and
  the other language.
• The interpreter has knowledge, in both languages, of specialized terms.
• The interpreter understands rules regarding confidentiality and impartiality.
• The interpreter adheres to their role as interpreter, not as an advisor or counselor.
• The interpreter should have completed specialized training about ethics and potential complications of interpreting.

Additional Resources

• Tip Sheet: Developing a Language Access Plan for Your Agency
• Tip Sheet: Considerations When Using Interpreters with Victims with Limited English Proficiency
• Tip Sheet: Working with Interpreters
• Tip Sheet: How to Address Problems with Interpretation
• Webinar Recording: Working with Interpreters
• Resource: Language Link Interpretation
• Resource: American Translators Association Directory of Translators and Interpreters
• Resource: Directory of Language Services Companies in New York

Technology Safety: Exploring Technology in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Assault, and Violence Against Women

The National Network to End Domestic Violence created Technology Safety to develop and share resources and best practices for advocates and survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and violence against women. Here are some useful toolkits and resources:

• Technology Safety & Privacy: A Toolkit for Survivors
• Seeking Help Online: Considerations for Survivors (y en Español)
• Legal Systems Toolkit: Understanding & Investigating Technology Misuse
• Judicial Toolkit: Resources on Technology Abuse for Judges and Judicial Officers
• App Safety Center
• Vaccine Registries and Survivor Privacy
• Contact Tracing & Privacy: A Guide for Survivors
• Tech Abuse in the Pandemic & Beyond: Reflections from the Field, 2021

Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Toolkit

Created by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, the SART Toolkit is designed to support SARTs in all aspects of their work, including practical tips for effective teamwork, ideas for expansion, tools for identifying what is most important in each community, best practices, and connections to technical assistance providers to guide development and improvement. Examples and resources are shared throughout to help you deepen your knowledge and skill in the practice of SART work. Click here to access the SART Toolkit.

National SART Discussion Group

The National SART Discussion Group promotes ongoing dialogue and information sharing among community and professional organizations/agencies that respond to sexual violence. Click here to learn more about the SART Discussion Group and how to join.

Additional Resources

• Sexual Assault Response Team Development: A Guide for Victim Service Providers (National Sexual Violence Resource Center)
• Best Practices in the Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault: Guidance for CCR/SART Response Protocols (North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault and North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
• A Ten-Factor Framework for Sexual Assault Response Team Effectiveness (Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault)
• Sexual Assault Response Teams & Systems Change (Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault)
• Webinar: A Sexual Assault Response Team Approach to Victim-Centered Care (SAFEta.org)

COLLECTIVE POWER: A Practical Blueprint for Sexual Assault Programs to Create Community Partnerships and Collaborations

A new resource from ValorUS (formerly the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault) offers a nonprescriptive roadmap to how we can build collaborative relationships with community partners within and outside the anti-sexual violence movement. It identifies best practices, models, and resources for creating, encouraging, and preserving community collaborations both in conventional and innovative ways, hence strengthening the capacity of our sexual assault programs and bridging the gaps with other social service organizations and institutions. The resource is available in English and in Spanish.

Listening to Our Communities: Assessment Toolkit

This toolkit focuses on key tools and skills for conducting community assessments in order to strengthen services for sexual assault survivors. It is written specifically for multi-service programs, but will be useful for most victim service programs. Access the Listening to Our Communities Toolkit.

Creating the Opportunity for Good Conversation: Webinar Recording

This workshop was presented and recorded on May 20, 2021, for participants of NYSCASA’s Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative (SADI). This workshop will provide participants the opportunity to explore how to create opportunities for conversations within their organizations and with community members to inform organizational priorities. In this remote workshop facilitated by Sally J. Laskey, participants explore different information gathering approaches that create open conversations and build community connections. Participants review key elements for success by exploring goals for collecting information, how information will be used, and different methods for collecting information. Along the way, participants consider relationship building, cultural humility, ethics, and the resources and capacity needed to cultivate meaningful conversations and set the stage for stronger partnerships.

• Webinar recording
• Presentation slides
• Resource list

• Prevention Evaluation Toolkit: Created by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, this toolkit offers guidance on evaluation within the context of primary prevention. This toolkit will equip you as prevention workers at the local and state levels with the knowledge and skills necessary to make strategic decisions about evaluation.
• Evaluation Toolkit: Created by the Resource Sharing Project, this evaluation toolkit combines a philosophical approach to evaluation with options and links to deeper learning about a wide variety of evaluation tools. This approach balances room to adapt tools and approaches to our specific communities while also encouraging us to expand relationships with the programs, partners, and communities that inform and rely on our work.
• Evaluation approaches
  • Empowerment Evaluation
  • Utilization Focused Evaluation
  • Transformative Mixed Methods Evaluation
  • Actionable Evaluation
  • Activity-Based Evaluation
  • Participatory Evaluation
  • Developmental Evaluation
  • Principles Focused Evaluation
• Webinar recording: Culturally Relevant Evaluation of Sexual Violence Prevention Initiatives

The Art and Science of Learning with Adults: A Guide for Educating Survivor-Centered and Survivor-Serving Organizations and Institutions

Futures Without Violence recently published “The Art and Science of Learning with Adults,” a guide for adult learning facilitators, particularly those who work in survivor-centered and/or survivor-serving institutions and organizations, to help them bridge brain science, adult learning theory and best practices for developing and implementing learning experiences both face to face and online. Access the toolkit here: www.adultlearningtoolkit.wpcomstaging.com

Meeting Facilitation Resources from AORTA

Inefficient and ineffective meetings can leave people feeling drained, exhausted or discouraged, rather than inspired and energized. Good meetings help build strong, effective organizations and successful projects. Even organizations with great meeting process inadvertently perpetuate barriers to full member participation and access to democratic process. This happens through group dynamics of power, privilege and oppression that often marginalize women, people of color, queer, trans and gender non-conforming folks, people with disabilities and those with limited access to the cultural cues and financial resources that come with class privilege.

Whether or not you tend to act as facilitator at meetings you attend, building your facilitation skills will help you make your meetings better, more inclusive, and more fully democratic! Click the links below to access resources developed by the Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA).

• Facilitation in Motion
• Tips for Naming, Intervening, and Addressing Systemic Power

Click here to learn about principles and practices rooted in restorative justice.

Click here to learn more about principles and practices rooted in transformative justice and community accountability.

Peer Support Calls for BIPOC in NYS Victim Services

NYS-based advocates and other victim services staff/volunteers who identify as Black, Indigenous, or as People of Color (BIPOC), are invited to participate in NYSCASA’s upcoming peer support calls for BIPOC at victim services programs.

Self-Care For Advocates

Self-Care For Advocates is an organization by advocates for advocates. Self-Care For Advocates works at every level of the spectrum of prevention to promote self-care and to prevent advocate trauma.

First formed in 2014, Self-Care For Advocates began as a small (but plucky), volunteer-run Facebook group dedicated to promoting self-care, sharing resources, and creating a community of support among helping professionals. Now, just over 7 years later, the Self-Care For Advocates group has grown into a worldwide movement with thousands of participating helping professionals in over 63 countries around the world. In 2020, Self-Care For Advocates took the first step in formalizing as a nonprofit organization and began growing our programs and services.

• What is advocate trauma?
• SCFA Resources Library
• Self-Care For Advocates Facebook Group
• Advocacy Empowerment Network Facebook Group

RAFT: Resilience for Advocates through Foundational Training

RAFT, or “Resilience for Advocates through Foundational Training,” provides support and resources for sexual and domestic violence advocates who are navigating compassion fatigue and burnout. Please feel free to distribute to your colleagues & networks!

Our favorite RAFT resources include:

• 3 Ways to Ask for Help
• 5 Ways to Practice Consent in Everyday Life
• Caring for the Caregivers: A Self-Empathy Meditation
• Body Scan Meditation
• VOICE: Victim Services Occupation, Information, Compensation, and Experiences Survey Report

Learn more about RAFT and access more resources at www.raftcares.org

Additional Resources

• Tools for Transformation: Becoming Accessible, Culturally Responsive, and Trauma-Informed Organizations: An Organizational Reflection Toolkit, created by the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental Health
• A Practical Guide for Creating Trauma-Informed Disability, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Organizations, created by Disability Rights Wisconsin, Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault
• Leaders’ Guide to Creating a Culture of Care: How to Support Your Caregiving Workforce During Crises and Beyond, created by the TIME’S UP Foundation and TendLab
• The Social, Emotional, and Relational Climate and Organizational Trauma, guide created by the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental Health
• Healing Wounded Healers, webinar recording
• Keeping Your Cup Full: Self-Care is Essential to Trauma Informed Advocacy, webinar recording
• Self Care for Advocates, blog post by Milena Lopez for Break The Silence Against Domestic Violence
• Find Balance in Advocacy Workflow through Tech, blog post from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center