Department of Justice – SASP Culturally Specific Grant Program for Sexual Assault Services

Congress, OVW, and victim advocates recognized the need to place increased focus on sexual assault in order to address the lack of available direct intervention and related assistance services and the unique aspects of sexual assault trauma from which victims must heal. Women and men of all ages, as well as children, can be victims of sexual assault. The perpetrator can be a relative, acquaintance (e.g., boyfriend/girlfriend, friend, coworker, neighbor), or a stranger. Nationally, one in six women and one in thirty-three men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime .

For many victims, it may take years to recover from the physical and psychological trauma caused by rape and other forms of sexual violence. In order to heal from the trauma, survivors often need support from family and friends, as well as critical direct intervention and related assistance from victim-centered social service organizations such as rape crisis centers, through 24-hour sexual assault hotlines, crisis intervention, and medical and criminal justice accompaniment. The SASP will support these services through the establishment, maintenance, and expansion of rape crisis centers and other relevant programs that assist those victimized by sexual assault.

Survivors of sexual assault from culturally specific communities frequently confront unique challenges when seeking assistance, such as linguistic and cultural barriers. Sexual assault advocates report that survivors are more inclined to seek services from organizations that are familiar with their culture, language, and background and that there is no “one size fits all” solution to adequately address these critical needs. Culturally specific community-based organizations are more likely to understand the complex, multi-layered challenges and obstacles that victims from their communities face when attempting to access services in response to the sexual assault. In addition, culturally specific community-based organizations have experience forming relationships and engaging their communities and serve a vital role in providing services that are relevant for their community.

In order to provide the most appropriate services to such victims, the SASP Grants to Culturally Specific Programs (SASP Culturally Specific Grant Program) targets nonprofit organizations that focus primarily on culturally specific communities and have experience in the area of sexual assault or who partner with an organization having such expertise. The goal of the SASP Culturally Specific Grant Program is to create, maintain, and expand sustainable sexual assault services provided by culturally specific organizations, which are uniquely situated to respond to the needs of sexual assault victims within culturally specific populations.