By Miranda Gonzalez Paul
We have some exciting news!
The Rural Sexual Violence Response National Conference is returning in June of 2024! This conference is formerly known as the National Institute for SART Leaders, but has been renamed to better reflect the needs of sexual assault response teams. In order for teams to do the work, they need to look at their response as a whole, and how they are serving their communities. We encourage sexual assault response teams in rural communities to have multiple team members attend this conference. By attending this conference responders will develop tools to build stronger multidisciplinary teams and create effective team processes.
This year’s theme is “Transforming – Ourselves. Our Community. Our Response.” Team members will be encouraged to reflect on what transformation looks like on an individual, systemic, and community level. This two-day conference is tentatively planned for June 4, 2024 and June 5, 2024 (pending OVW approval) in Bloomington Minnesota!
The conference will consist of plenary speakers, workshops, and in-person connection calls where participants will have the opportunity to connect with each other over specific topics and issues they may be experiencing in sexual assault response teamwork. The plenary speakers include Thinking Outside the SART Box: Transforming our Teams by Nicole Colvin of the Ohio Alliance to end Sexual Violence and From a Survivor: Improving Our Response by Danielle Leukam from WISH: We Inspire Survivor Healing. Workshops topics include; Beyond Conviction Rates: Measuring Success in Sexual Assault Prosecution, Acknowledging and Working Through Conflict, Bridging the SART/Community Divide Through Storytelling, Reaching and Engaging Culturally Specific Communities, Working Toward Language Equity: How SARTs can Expand Language Access for Survivors, Working with Correction, Frameworks for SART Effectiveness, Focus Groups for Social Change, Sexual Assault Care Using Telehealth Technology 101, Principles of Facilitation: Keeping Your SART on Track. Sexual Assault Care Using Telehealth Technology 101, and Rural Advocacy Through a Healing Lens. Connection call topics include; Challenging Group Dynamics, Centering the Margins in Rural Communities, SART Needs, Q&A with Minnesota SART Coordinators and Networking opportunities!
We hope to see you there!
If you have any questions about the conference or technical assistance needs, please email us at SVJI@mncasa.org.
This project was supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-22-GK-04024-RURA awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.
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