FAQ: Making the Connection

Building Stronger Relationships Between Sexual Assault Service Providers and Transgender Survivors

With support from the Office of Victims for Crime (OVC), FORGE — a national transgender organization specializing in sexual violence — is offering a unique opportunity for sexual assault service providers and transgender community members to work together to:

• Evaluate what barriers in your community might be keeping transgender survivors from accessing services;
• Cross-train on local transgender and sexual violence resources and issues;
• Select key barriers identified by participants;
• Create an action plan to begin addressing barriers; and
• Assess success and determine what, if any, additional monitoring, support, or work will be done.

1. Review the detailed information on the FORGE website
2. Sign up for and attend the teleconference.  Callers will hear many details of the project and have ample opportunity to ask questions and listen to other potential applicants.  More information about how to sign up for the July 6, 2011 or July 7, 2011 teleconferences is available here <LINK>
3. Contact FORGE directly by phone (414-559-2123) or email (AskFORGE [at] forge-forward [dot] org) to discuss any questions you have.

The process is simple and flexible.  You, your agency/organization, or several people or agencies complete a short cover sheet providing contact information and a Letter of Interest.  View instructions and starter questions here to provide a guideline for what to include in your submission. You can email the cover sheet and Letter of Interest to AskFORGE [at] forge-forward [dot] org or paper mail it to FORGE at PO Box 1272, Milwaukee, WI 53201.

Consider attending one of the two informational teleconferences on July 6 or 7, 2011 if you’d like more information about the application process.

Sexual assault service providers. Different communities have different types of sexual assault service providers.  We welcome all kinds of professionals (and volunteers) who work with sexual assault survivors.  Providers could include: sexual assault advocates, forensic nurses, police sensitive crimes unit personnel, medical personnel (emergency room physicians and personnel or primary care), lawyers/prosecutors who work with victims/survivors, therapists, rape crisis counselors, sexual assault response teams (SARTs), sexual assault coalitions/councils/committees, sexual assault crisis centers, support group facilitators, art therapists, alternative care providers (e.g. bodyworkers, acupuncturists, reiki practitioners), or any other professional who works with sexual assault survivors.

Transgender community members. The transgender community is diverse.  Urban areas may have very different structures for support and networking than rural areas.  Some areas may have a well-developed MTF support structure, whereas other cities may not focus on support at all, but rather devote their energy to political issues or advocacy.  We encourage transgender and SOFFA individuals and groups/collectives of people to apply.  You don’t need to be a ‘leader’ in your community.  You simply have to be interested and committed to transgender sexual assault survivors and have a willingness to connect with others — both others in the transgender community and the sexual assault service providers’ network.

No previous knowledge or experience about sexual violence is necessary to apply.  If you care about transgender survivors (or people who may be assaulted in the future) and want to help create a better response to and for survivors, we welcome your involvement.

If you are interested in better serving any survivor who walks through your doors, this project will help you more effectively reach and serve transgender survivors.

• Tailored assessment tools to identify barriers and strengths;
• Training and facilitation of a 1-2 day intensive and initial planning session in your city/community;
• Assistance with follow-up meetings, which can include scheduling and facilitating (if phone based);
• Ongoing technical assistance, consultation, resource identification, and problem-solving; and
• Evaluation and assistance in planning next steps.

• Eagerness to better serve transgender survivors of sexual violence.
• Commitment to participating throughout the project: from assessment to in-person training to follow-up next steps.

Three or four communities will be selected based on Letters of Interest submitted by sexual assault service providers and/or transgender community members.  Because these are pilot projects, we will be selecting a mix of communities that are at various stages of development, with various levels of already-identified resources, and from different parts of the country.

FORGE staff will carefully review all Letters of Intent and ask applicants additional questions (if necessary).

Communities will be notified in mid-to-late August 2011 by the email address and phone number provided on the cover sheet.