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

The Office on Violence Against Women awarded Safe Center of Southwest Virginia $950,000 under the Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Assistance Program (CFDA 16.589) on October 1, 2025.

This continuation project funds victim services and collaborative response efforts addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in rural communities. Safe Center of Southwest Virginia, in partnership with Pulaski County Sheriff Office, implements the work. The award supports identification, assessment, and response to child, youth, and adult victims in rural areas; establishment and expansion of victim services including treatment, counseling, advocacy, and legal assistance; education and prevention strategies; and enhancement of sexual assault forensic medical examination or sexual assault nurse examiner programs. The program requires grantees to employ at least one of five strategies: cooperative law enforcement and prosecution efforts, victim and population-specific services, community-based education and prevention, sexual assault program development, or programs addressing the needs of victims in remote and geographically isolated areas.

Performance takes place in Newbern, Virginia. The period of performance runs from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2028.

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 continuation OVW rural program project, safe center of southwest virginia, in partnership with pulaski county sheriff office, pulaski county commonwealth attorney, pulaski county social services, wythe county sheriff office, the womens resource center of the new river valley, and the family resource center, will implement the safe center of swva project. This victim service, sexual assault forensic examination, and sexual assault response team project addresses the following purpose areas: 1, 3, and 3 for pulaski, wythe, galax city, giles, grayson, carroll, russell, and bland counties in virginia. Specific activities will include: 1) providing confidential, compassionate, comprehensive, trauma-informed medical forensic exams and services for up to 50 victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; 2) receiving two educational courses each year to ensure forensic nurse examiners (fnes) remain up to date on the best practices care for victims; 3) providing four trainings to other service agencies annually regarding services offered by this program; 4) attending at least 75% of coordinated community response teams and multidisciplinary teams assigned to each FNE; and 5) performing peer review on 100% of victim charts.