General Approaches

Videoconferencing can be a good option because it provides survivors with an alternative way to meet with a provider or counselor. Additional benefits include increasing accessibility and allowing survivors to talk to advocates who have expertise in whatever service the survivor needs, such as being able to speak the same language or understand the survivor’s cultural background. Using video conferencing can also save money and provide high quality contact for those who are unable to travel to the program’s location due to lack of transportation or because they live too far from the program. Video contact also can be more personal than a phone call or email.

This tool is to be used by sexual assault and domestic violence programs to review their programs and services to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access and an equal opportunity to participate. Accessibility includes removing not only physical barriers to participation, but also cultural and attitudinal barriers. Many of the suggestions about policies and communication are best practices, and some are required by law. This tool is designed to be used with an accompanying Accessibility Guide. Links to both the Guide and the Tool can be found below.

This toolkit was designed in hopes that it will be widely used for training advocates and other service providers, creating support groups for individuals coping with multi-abuse trauma issues, and educating and advocating in the community. The excerpted chapter describes how advocates and programs can support survivors seeking safety, sobriety, wellness, autonomy and justice by reducing service barriers and ending isolation for people impacted by multiple abuse issues. Policies and procedures to ensure culturally competent, appropriate, non-punitive and non-judgmental accessible services are key.

As state domestic violence coalitions and local domestic violence programs across the country work to create more accessible and trauma-informed shelter programs, staff and advocates have sought guidance on designing medication policies that better serve survivors who are experiencing mental health symptoms or living with mental health disabilities. This Model Medication Policy for Domestic Violence Shelters, developed in response to these requests, is intended to provide coalitions and programs with guidance on designing medication policies that reflect survivor-centered values and to help to create more accessible and trauma-informed shelter environments. It also provides guidance on drafting policies that comply with ethical and legal obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Housing Act (FHA), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These three federal statutes have implications for how domestic violence shelters screen and admit survivors and how they store and handle medications.

This article summarizes and analyzes the body of literature from the mainstream DV movement and discusses its insights, models, and cautionary tales in terms of their applicability to LGBTQ IPV. Includes discussion of DV shelter models and new low-barrier approaches such as DV Housing First.