Children and teens experience power disparity as they navigate a world created by adults, and this socialization is compounded in the powerlessness caused by sexual violence. As advocates practice confidentiality with child and teen survivors of sexual violence, we challenge the inherent power adults have over children and youth. Advocates can constantly check personal bias about children and teens, and avoid assumptions that we know what is best for…
Recognizing the need for an accessible, user-friendly manual that could help Community Sexual Assault Programs navigate the complexities of the Washington State accreditation process, we have developed this document over the years.
While WCSAP realizes that it is often useful to see samples of policies, procedures, or other documents, we are mindful that these examples can easily be misused. It is never good practice to simply copy and use sample documents, because they may not fit…
We are pleased to present the "2017 Sexual Violence Prevention Plan," an update to the "2009 Sexual Violence Prevention Plan, Synergies." The period surrounding the development of the 2009 plan was the culmination of a shift in statewide focus away from risk reduction efforts, and toward perpetration reduction. The 2017 plan builds upon that transition. It emphasizes community-driven decision-making and encourages efforts to track and evaluate…
"Making Out Like a Virgin: Sex, Desire, and Intimacy After Sexual Trauma" is a collection of essays by survivors who have experienced many different kinds of sexual violence. This book fills an important gap in literature by and for survivors about healing from sexual violence across the lifespan.
Many of the essays explore the experiences survivors have with their sexuality decades after the assault. The authors write about sexuality from a variety of perspectives including essays…
Advocates and therapists have important roles in promoting the healing of survivors of childhood and teen sexual abuse, as well as survivors' nonoffending family members. When we work together, we can develop strong partnerships that ensure survivors have therapy options that are relevant to their needs. This offers survivors and their families a continuum of care that can help ease, and possibly hasten, the path of healing.
This booklet was developed for advocates and aims to…
The Circle of Hope "Latin@ Support Group Guide" is intended to provide a basic outline for support group facilitators that are seeking to establish or enhance sexual assault support groups for adult Latin@ survivors in Washington State.
Recognizing the expertise current facilitators have working with Latin@ survivors and also acknowledging the need for new facilitators to obtain a basic foundation to build upon, this guide provides generalized guidelines for structuring, marketing,…
In WCSAP's 2006 issue of Connections, Sexual Assault: Not Part of the Penalty, we explored the issue of sexual assault in correctional facilities. A lot has changed since then. Although the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed in 2003 to address sexual assault and abuse in prison, it was not until 2012 and 2014 that the final PREA standards that govern implementation of this law took effect.
One thing that has not changed since our last exploration of the issue of…
This summer, WCSAP released a support statement for the #blacklivesmatter Movement as a recommitment to our anti-racism work and allyship with African American communities. In that statement, we committed to being transparent about our ongoing process and to sharing tools that we find helpful along the way with our membership. We don’t have all the answers, but we want you to come along with us as we continue and deepen…
Three agencies — Disability Rights Washington (DRW), the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (WCSAP), and Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) — came together as the Alliance to End Sexual Violence in Long-Term Care. Alliance partners created this handbook as a result of their collaboration to develop technical assistance for advocates working with residents of long-term care facilities in Washington State.
This handbook celebrates the combined…
Advocates come from all walks of life and advocate for a variety of purposes; but the purpose of these training materials is to provide information and support for advocates who work with residents of long-term care, specifically, long-term care ombuds, sexual assault program advocates, or disability advocates.
Building advocacy where disability, sexual violence and long-term care meet is nuanced and important. The intention of this booklet is to assist in the development of…
