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Promising practices strongly suggest that when colleges and universities conduct sexual assault investigations and adjudications as required by Title IX, they should employ a trauma-informed approach. This naturally promotes access for complainants by encouraging their participation and promotes accuracy by enabling investigators and decision-makers to ask appropriate questions and better… (read more)

Promising practices strongly suggest that when colleges and universities conduct sexual assault investigations and adjudications as required by Title IX, they should employ a trauma-informed approach. This naturally promotes access for complainants by encouraging their participation and promotes accuracy by enabling investigators and decision-makers to ask appropriate questions and better… (read more)

The development of effective prevention programming and comprehensive response to sexual and relationship violence requires a university-wide commitment to the values of trauma-informed practice, as well as a commitment to institution-wide use of promising practices in gender-inclusive and culturally-relevant victim/survivor-centered care and programming. Response to victims/survivors with… (read more)

Alcohol use plays a role in 50-70% of campus sexual assaults, which has generated heightened consideration of the intersections of sexual assault and alcohol use on campus. Existing research and guidance from various organizations stress the importance of consistency between alcohol use/abuse prevention efforts and sexual assault prevention efforts that use individual, relationship, community,… (read more)

Sexual assault kits (SAKs) are collected as evidence in sexual assault investigations and may contain DNA evidence that can assist in the investigation of sexual assault cases. Many jurisdictions have implemented alternative reporting and non-reporting options that allow victims to obtain a medical forensic exam while delaying or foregoing a report to law enforcement, and offer them the… (read more)

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime, awarded a grant to Northeastern University's Institute on Urban Health Research and Practice to work with stakeholders in the field to develop the Vicarious Trauma Toolkit (VTT). The VTT was developed on the premise that exposure to the traumatic experiences of other people known as vicarious trauma… (read more)

The Safe Place resource kit encompasses a broad range of material introducing and endorsing trauma-sensitive practice with an emphasis on sexual assault trauma. Designed specifically for health center staff who serve as primary care providers to students in higher education, the kit will support health center staff at all levels to understand the likelihood that they serve higher education… (read more)

The purpose of The Blueprint for Campus Police: Responding to Sexual Assault is to fill gaps in current research and identify best practices in campus police response to sexual assault. The Blueprint is a multi-level approach to the complex problem of campus sexual assault that builds upon the existing body of knowledge and recognizes the need for identifying emerging best… (read more)

Most sexual assaults never even come to the attention of police. As recently as 2014, the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics found that only one-third of rapes and sexual assaults were being reported to police. Media reports, congressional hearings, research, the change in the FBI definition of rape, rape kit backlogs, high-profile cases of sexual assault on college campuses, and Justice… (read more)

In 2014, VOICES completed Preparing for After, a resource kit that documents best practices in preparing for, responding to and recovering from acts of mass violence. The purpose of this eBook is to introduce a long-term recovery perspective into emergency response planning. This publication serves to: underscore the importance of pre-planning to both the short- and long-term outcomes;… (read more)

Dr. David Lisak speaks on the neurobiology of trauma in a webinar hosted by the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Dr. Lisak has worked as a forensic consultant, clinical psychologist, and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

Building Resilient and Trauma-Informed Communities is essential to improving public health and well-being. communities can be places where traumatic events occur, and they can also help keep us safe. they can be a source of trauma, or buffer us against the negative effects of adversity. Communities can collectively experience trauma much like individuals do, and they can be a resource for healing… (read more)

In 2011, after a competitive selection process, NIJ awarded grants to the Wayne County (Detroit), Michigan Prosecutor's Office and to the Houston Police Department to look at the issue of sexual assault kits (SAKs) that had not previously been sent to a crime laboratory for DNA testing. The overarching goal of this project was to identify effective, sustainable responses regarding previously… (read more)

This training video was designed so that it can be used in a brief in-service training or two short training sessions as part of roll call or shift change briefings at your agency. The training provides an overview of how trauma impacts victims and how law enforcement first responders can implement a trauma informed response and approach to sexual assault survivors. The training video features Dr… (read more)

When people experience trauma, they go through a process that many professionals - as well as the individuals themselves - do not understand. For example, most of us were trained to believe that when an individual experiences a traumatic event, the brain records the majority of the details investigators need, or want to know, about the event: Who, What, Where, Why, When and How? Unfortunately,… (read more)

When people experience trauma, they go through a process that many professionals - as well as the individuals themselves - do not understand. For example, most of us were trained to believe that when an individual experiences a traumatic event, the brain records the majority of the details investigators need, or want to know, about the event: Who, What, Where, Why, When and How? Unfortunately,… (read more)

This webinar reviews current forensic psycho-physiological knowledge and practices, comparing what we think we know with new and exciting research and ideas for what we could do. Using the forensic experiential trauma interview (FETI) approach, we can gather the best possible evidence by interviewing victims in ways that empower and calm them, so they are able to provide more accurate, coherent,… (read more)