ENOLA, Pa., March 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) announces production of an updated toolkit to address the needs of sexual assault survivors through a continued partnership with the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Since 2001, the National Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Toolkit has helped communities coordinate teams of people to serve victims of sexual assault.
Emerging in the early 1990s, the multidisciplinary approach to responding to sexual violence has become the gold standard. Since its release, the SART Toolkit has received more than 1.4 million page views and has proven to be an invaluable resource to victim service professionals.
This update to the SART Toolkit will ensure that professionals continue to have easy access to the most current research, practices and information to support sexual assault victims. Updated materials will highlight the needs of underserved populations, such as males, LGBT individuals and people of color. The update will also address barriers to justice and safety experienced by non-English speakers, immigrants and American Indians.
As a developer of educational tools related to sexual violence prevention and response, NSVRC will lead this update with the assistance of national advisors. Project Advisor Dr. Rebecca Campbell said, "The revised Toolkit will be a critical resource for practitioners and policymakers as it will reflect current best practices supported through empirical research."
Over the next year, NSVRC will work with advisors to increase the accessibility, options and justice for sexual assault survivors by enhancing the capacities of our nation's SARTs.
ABOUT NSVRC
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center leads the U.S. in providing professional support to local and state
anti-sexual violence organizations. NSVRC collaborates with partners nationwide to create research-based resources that focus on how to prevent and respond to sexual violence. The organization has the nation's largest library of resources on sexual violence and prevention. To learn more, go to www.nsvrc.org.