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

This $700,000 Project Grant award under the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589) will fund the "Enlightening Native Daughters Sexual Assault (END-SA)" project led by Lumbee Land Development, Inc. in partnership with several local organizations. The project aims to: 1) provide education and outreach on sexual assault to 20,000 tribal members; 2) conduct 10 awareness events; 3) train 20 staff annually on sexual assault and trauma; 4) develop culturally-specific interventions including certifying 7 SANE nurses and 2 community health workers; 5) enhance sexual assault education for nurses and nursing students; and 6) increase direct services for survivors and their families. This 3-year project targets the underserved Lumbee Tribe population in Robeson County, North Carolina, and aligns with the OVW program's priorities of advancing equity for tribal communities and preventing sexual assault.

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 new OVW rural program project, LUMBEE land development, INC., a non-profit of LUMBEE tribe of north carolina, in partnership with rape crisis center of robeson county, legal aid of north carolina, UNC health southeastern, and DR. Julie harrison-swartz, will implement enlightening native daughters sexual assault (end-SA). This victim service project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 2, 3, and 4 for the rural county of robeson in southeastern north carolina. Specific activities will include: 1) reaching 20,000 tribal members on media platforms with sexual assault education throughout grant period; 2) conducting 10 outreach events promoting awareness of sexual assault; 3) training 20 staff members each year about sexual assault and trauma; 4) developing, implementing, and evaluating culturally-specific primary and secondary interventions for sexual assault and trauma within tribal programs, to include certifying seven sane nurses and two community health workers; 5) developing and implementing teaching of modules for nurses and nursing students to increase understanding of sexual assault; 6) increasing direct services that address the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of survivors of sexual assault and their families; 7) meeting quarterly with partners to address sexual assault and enhance culturally based interventions; and 8) disseminating work to other rural and/or indigenous peoples that enhances collaboration and information sharing. The project will address the following priority areas: priority area 1: advance equity and tribal sovereignty through continued service to tribal communities using culturally appropriate strategies that address the historical marginalization and barriers to mainstream systems for american indians; and priority area 2: prevent and end sexualassault by focusing primarily on response to non-intimate partner sexual assault through partnership with rape crisis center of robeson county. This project targets the following underserved populations: american indian (LUMBEE) women, youth, and children. The timing for performance of this award is 36 months.