Our Mission
The South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (SCCADVASA) serves as the collective voice promoting the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault in South Carolina.
Our Vision
A South Carolina free from domestic violence and sexual assault.
Who We Are
Since 1981, SCCADVASA has been a leader in representing the critical needs of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and is a pivotal voice in violence prevention. We advance our work through advocacy, education, and collaboration. View our special 40th Anniversary Celebration publication and learn more our team members and our Board of Directors below.
Our Coalition
We are an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, but our approach is highly collaborative with our 22 domestic and sexual violence members who provide direct services in communities across the state, affiliates, partners, and allies. SCCADVASA is an active member of several national domestic and sexual violence networks, and we work in partnership with Coalitions in all 50 states and several US territories.
View our Member OrganizationsWhat We Do
We’ve developed this infographic (click to download a PDF) to provide an overview of how our work, and the work of our member organizations, impacts survivors of domestic and sexual violence. It is our hope that this will provide a greater understanding of how we work together towards a South Carolina free from domestic and sexual violence.
When survivors of domestic and sexual violence need help dealing with violence and abuse and moving forward in their lives:
SCCADVASA provides our member organization with information, training, and technical assistance on providing quality services, systems, and policy advocacy to improve outcomes in the well-being and safety of survivors and works to secure federal and state funding to support their ability to provide services.
Our member organizations provide hotlines, free and confidential advocacy, safety planning, emergency shelter, counselling, and other services for survivors, their children, and families.
When survivors need legal protections and options:
SCCADVASA advocates for improvements to laws, policies and procedures that will be helpful to survivor well-being and provides legal assistance through the contract attorney program and connections to other legal services providers.
Our Member Organizations assist survivors in navigating all aspects of the criminal legal and family court system, support them during sexual assault exams at the hospital, accompany them to court hearings, connect them with legal representation and other supportive systems.
When survivors need the intervention of police, prosecutors, and judges:
SCCADVASA collects information from our member organizations on what is working well and what problems exist to inform statewide efforts and committees working to effectively coordinate improvements to South Carolina’s response to domestic and sexual violence across the criminal legal system.
Our Member Organizations assist survivors in working with these professionals, collaborate with local office and departments to build trauma-informed responses to survivors and to promote a coordinated community response model to domestic and sexual violence. Member organization staff participate in community-level domestic violence, fatality review & sexual assault coordinated response teams (DVCC & SARTs).
When survivors need a safe place to live:
SCCADVASA advocates for housing laws and policies that protect victims, works with other state and federal organizations to advocate for affordable housing options in every community, provides information and resources on safe housing options and accessing rental or other forms of available assistance.
Our Member Organizations offer emergency shelter and assistance in securing transitional or long-term housing.
Because we all want to live in a state free from domestic and sexual violence:
SCCADVASA advocates for systems and policy changes, creates statewide informational and targeted prevention campaigns, supports the work of our member organizations, and holds the vision of a South Carolina free from domestic violence and sexual assault.
Our Member Organizations deliver community and school-based presentations on the prevention of sexual, domestic and dating violence, build community-based prevention teams, provide trauma-informed healing services for survivors, offer opportunities for volunteers and host events to build understanding of what people can do to prevent violence and create safer communities for everyone.
*Inspired by Violence Free Colorado’s “What We Do”: www.ViolenceFreeColorado.org
Our Core Values
Our vision of a violence-free South Carolina demands united action. We believe in the value of collaboration to create change, passionate advocacy for survivors, education for prevention and the credibility that emerges from persistence. We ground our work in humility as we learn and grow, leveraging our collective leadership to influence the greater good.
Our Work
Each year, tens of thousands of survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault are served directly by SCCADVASA member organizations, including those who accessed 24-hr hotlines. Additionally, SCCADVASA responds annually to ~1000 requests for technical assistance (TA) and provides professional capacity building assistance to improve victim services. In 2021, SCCADVASA trained over 3,779 people with 13,237 hours of total training provided. Find out additional statistics on domestic and sexual violence and support services here.
Membership and Affiliate Support
We provide our member organizations, affiliates and allied organizations with the support and technical assistance they need to help them better serve survivors in their communities. For the domestic violence and sexual assault member organizations, this support includes collaboration through member meetings and interest groups, campaign resources and publication access, along with continued education though trainings and webinars on revolving topics. SCCADVASA members are organizations that meet state and federal standards in the provision of services to victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
What is Technical Assistance?
We provide technical assistance in the form of educational trainings and webinars, needs assessment, and capacity building for program growth. These services are tailored to the needs of the organization, program, or individual requesting help. You can call our office to receive direct, problem-solving services in a variety of areas, from best practices and enhancing skills in providing direct services, to nonprofit management, statistics, and governance.
