As part of Women's History Month, allow us to introduce you to Anacaona- The Golden Flower Queen. Anacoana's life was taken when she refused to be a concubine. Her story reminds us how colonization, racism, sexism, and sexual violence are deeply intertwined and overlapping.

Accepting Proposals Until Monday, March 8

If time allows, participants will be invited to share their own past and upcoming SAAM engagement ideas.

We are working with lawmakers to advocate for an increase to the Ohio Attorney General Office Rape Crisis Programs Line Item in the state budget.

In the 133rd General Assembly, lawmakers allocated $4.8 million per fiscal year for Ohio’s Rape Crisis Center Fund. This allotment was calculated expand services to cover all 88 counties. Instead, it served to stabilize existing programs and services following VOCA cuts. In FY'20, VOCA recipient rape crisis programs experienced an estimated 22%-48% reduction in funding.

Although funding has decreased for Ohio's rape crisis programs, the demand for these services has increased during the pandemic - including child sexual abuse. Programs have had to shift service delivery models and purchase equipment for remote advocacy, emergency survivor needs, and program materials for survivors who lack access to technology.

An increase of $10 million per fiscal year will allow programs to proceed with level services and avoid cuts to pre-2015 levels.

Join us at our 7th Annual Advocacy Day as we advocate for this critical funding!

"Today, Senators Durbin (D-IL), Graham (R-SC), Baldwin (D-WI), Grassley (R-IA), Feinstein (D-CA), Cornyn (R-TX), Klobuchar (D-MN), and Murkowski (R-AK) and Representatives Nadler (D-NY-10), Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1), Jackson Lee (D-TX-18), Wagner (R-MO-2), Scanlon (D-PA-5), McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5), Dingell (D-MI-12), and Moolenaar (R-MI-4) introduced the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021. This critical legislation will prevent devastating cuts to federal funding for victim service programs through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). 

NAESV President Monika Johnson Hostler noted, “Over one thousand rape crisis centers rely on VOCA funds to provide direct services like crisis intervention, counseling, and court accompaniment to victims of sexual assault. The profound decrease in VOCA deposits is having devastating impacts on sexual assault programs leading to a true crisis for victims. We are so grateful to the sponsors of the VOCA Fix legislation for their leadership, and we urge Congress to enact this legislation swiftly.” 

The situation is dire! Federal grants to victim services through the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) decreased by 35% last year on top of a 25% decrease the previous year, and further drastic cuts are expected, because the non-taxpayer-funded pool of funding VOCA grants are pulled from is running dry. Congress can fix this by ensuring federal financial penalties from deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements are treated the same way as penalties resulting from criminal convictions - that they go to serve and compensate crime victims.

In addition to the fix to increase deposits into the VOCA fund, the legislation:

Over 1600 organizations and government agencies signed a letter urging Congress to pass this legislation, and we need your help to make sure it becomes law quickly!

Please contact your Members of Congress and tell them to co-sponsor and support the VOCA Fix legislation. A toolkit with instructions on contacting your Members of Congress, call and email scripts, sample Tweets, an op-ed template, and other resources can be found here."

We released Episode #3 of Teal Talk Podcast! This podcast, created and hosted by OAESV Coordinator for Equity & Inclusion Olivia Montgomery, features interviews of professionals in the field discussing intersectional issues affecting survivors around Ohio, and listeners will have the opportunity to submit questions to the host and other experts. Watch new and past episodes here.

In 2020, VOCA cuts reduced OAESV’s legal services fund by 35%, leaving us with just $35,000 to cover legal fees for survivors in 88 counties. With this cut, OAESV could have to turn down more cases than ever before, leaving survivors without access to life-saving legal options.

So, what can you do? Will you join us by donating to our Survivor Legal Services Fund? Your donation to our Survivor Legal Services Fund will go directly toward legal representation and fees to support survivors in the aftermath of sexual violence.

Help support our work. At OAESV we provide many services, including training for advocates and preventionists, technical assistance for local programs, systems advocacy, public policy work, and much more.