Establishing a Multi-pronged, Trauma-Informed Campus-Based SANE Program at the University of South Alabama

The purpose of this award is to establish or expand Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs that will offer medical forensic care, advocacy, and other victim services to sexual assault survivors on college campuses. The primary goals of this program are to: 1) establish or expand SANE programs that will improve the delivery of sexual assault medical forensic care, advocacy, and other victim services to sexual assault survivors on campuses using coordinated community response strategies and 2) build the campuses' capacity to train and retain SANEs.

The University of South Alabama (USA) is dedicated to securing the safety, health, and well-being of its over 14,000 students through enhanced sexual assault prevention and response. As such, the overarching goal of this multipronged project is to establish a sustainable, trauma-informed sexual assault response program, including medical forensic care, advocacy, and counseling in a familiar setting in close proximity to the student – the Student Health Center. An interdisciplinary team of representatives from key campus and community stakeholders will work collaboratively to: (1) establish a trauma-informed, sexual assault response program staffed by certified sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs), advocates, and counselors on USA's campus in the Student Health Center; (2) establish a campus sexual assault response team (SART); (3) develop trauma-informed policies, protocols, and services that improve the quantity and quality of acute and long-term services provided to campus survivors; (4) strengthen the relationship between USA and local, community-based victim service providers to expand advocacy services offered to student survivors; (5) use a strategic social marketing campaign to decrease stigma of reporting sexual assault and increase awareness of sexual assault response services available on campus; (6) provide trauma-informed care to survivors of campus assault to minimize retraumatization; (7) establish an advisory board to oversee programmatic activities and ensure rapid cycle quality improvement; and (8) expand USA College of Nursing's capacity to train, (9) mentor, and (10) retain SANEs. CA/NCF