The DC Coalition to End Sexual Violence leads efforts to strengthen and sustain a coordinated, survivor-centered, and trauma-informed community response to sexual violence across the District of Columbia.

Through policy advocacy, systems coordination, and strategic partnerships, we work to ensure that every survivor has access to compassionate care, equitable support, and meaningful justice, no matter when or how they come forward. 

Coordinated Community Response and Systems Advocacy 

  • We engage public and private stakeholders, including law enforcement, health care providers, prosecutors, advocates, and government agencies, to identify barriers in the response system and advocate for survivor-centered improvements. Our systems advocacy work focuses on promoting accountability, transparency, and collaboration across sectors, especially in policy development, protocol reform, and agency training. Our member agencies drive this process by identifying issues they experience when serving survivors.

  • DCCESV convenes issue-specific roundtables that bring together professionals from across the District to address emerging trends, complex issues, and persistent system gaps. These roundtables foster cross-sector dialogue and collaboration on topics such as: [list] 

    Roundtables serve as action-oriented spaces where stakeholders problem-solve in real time, share resources, and develop collective strategies and partnerships to improve response. 

  • Our coalition facilitates and supports multi-agency coordination to ensure that member agencies and stakeholders can provide seamless referrals, reduce fragmentation, and align services with best practices. We offer technical assistance and consultation to agencies working to implement trauma-informed approaches, and we elevate the voices of survivors and frontline advocates to drive systemic change. 

    Through this coordination, we aim to create a District-wide response that is both survivor-centered and systemically sound.

  • The District of Columbia Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is a multi-disciplinary body that brings together core responders, including forensic nurses, law enforcement, prosecutors, victim advocates, and service providers, to improve outcomes for adult and adolescent survivors of sexual assault.

    The SART plays a critical role in ensuring that survivors are met with timely, trauma-informed care and that responders are equipped to work collaboratively across systems.