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

The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded Sexual Trauma Awareness & Response (STAR) Center $700,000 on October 1, 2025, under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589).

STAR Center, a nonprofit headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will enhance victim services and outreach in rural areas of Louisiana through improved coordination between law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers, coupled with development and implementation of prevention strategies addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The award covers a three-year period of performance ending September 30, 2028, with work performed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Rural Program authorizes funds to identify, assess, and respond appropriately to child, youth, and adult victims in rural communities; establish and expand victim services; increase the safety and well-being of women and children by addressing these crimes and creating prevention awareness strategies; and develop, expand, and improve sexual assault forensic medical examination or sexual assault nurse examiner programs. Grantees must employ at least one of five specified strategies, including cooperative law enforcement and prosecutor efforts, provision of treatment and counseling services, community-based education and prevention, enhancement of sexual assault programs, or strategies targeting victims in remote and geographically isolated areas.

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; 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, sexual trauma awareness & response (STAR) center, in partnership with the louisiana department of justice and the louisiana foundation against sexual assault, will implement the central louisiana rural sexual assault response project. This victim service project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 2, and 3 for avoyelles, catahoula, concordia, grant, lasalle, vernon, and winn parishes. Specific activities will include: 1) providing crisis intervention, advocacy, and case management, including accompaniment to hospitals, law enforcement interviews, and court proceedings; 2) supporting individual trauma-focused therapy; 3) creating prevention and public awareness initiatives; and 4) providing training for local law enforcement on best practices for investigating non-intimate partner sexual assault. During the project, the recipient will develop the following products: child-friendly prevention toolboxes and a community-wide awareness campaign mailer.