Expanding an Innovative Web-based Healing Hub to Increase Accessibility to Resources, Community, and Healing Tools for Victims of Gender-Based Crimes

After becoming a victim of a gender-based crime, it is often unclear what the next steps are. Victims of gender-based violence often do not know what resources are available to them. Finding care after experiencing a crime is an arduous task that many victims find too difficult to pursue. Victims from historically underserved groups have even more difficulty, as many existing resources do not account for the issues faced by victims of marginalized identities. 
    Promoting Awareness | Victim Empowerment (PAVE) is applying for the OVC FY 2022 grant, “Advancing the Use of Technology to Assist Victims of Crime '' under priority A, to expand their pre-existing website, Survivors.org. Launched in 2020, this website currently has over 1,400 verified resources nationwide which include therapists, trauma-informed yoga practitioners, rape crisis centers, domestic violence shelters, LGBTQ+ centers, and legal assistance. The expansion of Survivors.org would transform this website from a search engine into a resource hub that brings support, education, and community to victims of gender-based violence, their loved ones, and professionals in this field. 
    The activities that this expansion would entail include creating professional development and educational courses, discussion forums for victims of different marginalized identities, task forces for marginalized victims, virtual monthly support groups, a website wizard to provide personally-specific resources, and an intake process for victims to meet with a Survivors.org representative for personalized help. 
    Survivors.org is a nationwide resource, which refers victims to in-person resources in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The addition of more free, virtually-hosted events through this expansion, such as conferences or support groups, will allow victims to have access to resources regardless of financial status or geographic location. The focus of this expansion on marginalized groups is expected to connect more victims of marginalized identities with identity-specific resources. In summation, this expansion of Survivors.org is expected to greatly increase the accessibility of a variety of resources to victims of gender-based crimes, regardless of financial status, geographic location, or identity.