The rural domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking program (rural program) is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 12341

The Alaska Network On Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault, Inc. (ANDVSA) was awarded a $950,000 grant under the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589). The 36-month project, titled "Increasing Survivor Support through Intervention, Education and Expansion", will be implemented in partnership with several member organizations. Key activities include: 1) continuing integrated substance misuse and domestic/sexual violence victim services, 2) revising a training manual on working with survivors who have co-occurring issues, 3) providing civil legal assistance to domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, 4) increasing knowledge of sexual assault advocates and first responders on a healing-centered approach, and 5) expanding sexual assault response services in the Dillingham Census Area. The project aims to enhance the safety and well-being of women and children in rural Alaskan communities by addressing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking through collaboration among law enforcement, victim service providers, and other stakeholders.

Rural program funds are used to support programs that: 1) identify, assess, and appropriately respond to child, youth, and adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in rural communities by encouraging collaboration among victim service providers, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, other criminal justice service providers, human and community service providers, educational institutions, and health care providers; 2) establish and expand victim services in rural communities to child, youth, and adult victims; 3) increase the safety and well-being of women and children in rural communities, by (a) dealing directly and immediately with domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking; and (b) creating and implementing strategies to increase awareness and prevent these crimes; and 4) develop, expand, implement, and improve the quality of sexual assault forensic medical examination or sexual assault nurse examiner programs. Grantees must use at least one of the following strategies in implementing their projects: 1) implement, expand, and establish cooperative efforts and projects among law enforcement officers, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other related parties to investigate and prosecute incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; 2) provide treatment, counseling, advocacy, legal assistance, and other long-term and short-term victim and population specific services to adult and minor victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural communities; 3) work in cooperation with the community to develop education and prevention strategies directed toward such issues; 4) develop, enlarge, or strengthen programs addressing sexual assault; and 5) develop programs and strategies that focus on the specific needs of victims of who reside in remote rural and geographically isolated areas. Through this continuation OVW rural program project, the alaska network on domesticviolence and sexual assault in partnership with alaska native womens resource center, bering sea womens group, women in safe homes, kodiak womens resource and crisis center, sitkans against family violence, and safe and fear free environments, will implement the increasing survivor support through intervention, education and expansion project. This victim service project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 2, 3, and 4 for nome, ketchikan, kodiak, sitka, and dillingham counties in alaska. Specific activities will include: 1) continuing the integrated substance misuse and domestic and sexual violence work victim services organizations have developed over the last two rural awards and evaluate their effectiveness; 2) revising the real tools training manual for working with victims with CO-occurring issues to include working with sexual assault victims (resulting in a new product, real tools: a guide for working with survivors with substance use 3) providing direct civil legal assistance to both survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault; 4) increasing the knowledge of sexual assault advocates and first responders on using a healing centered approach; and 5) expanding sexual assault response services in the dillingham census area to the villages located in the east, king salmon and naknek. The project will address priority area 2: prevent and end sexual assault. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.