Advocacy
SCCADVASA actively monitors all legislation that potentially impacts victims/survivors and our member organizations.
Get Involved
You can help ensure that the voices of survivors are heard in the statehouse and on Capitol Hill by calling your legislators, senators, and representatives. Learn about the issues, stay informed and make your voice heard.
Public Policy Initiatives
During each Legislative Session in both South Carolina and at the Federal Level, SCCADVASA continues our advocacy efforts and monitors the situation at the S.C. State House and in Washington, D.C.
Click here to sign up to receive updates on how things are progressing at both the State and Federal level.
Survivor Access to Emergency Contraception
Emergency contraception is an integral component of a comprehensive medical response to sexual violence. In Fall 2025, SCCADVASA strongly opposed SC Senate Bill 323, legislation that would have denied women and girls access to emergency contraception following a violent sexual assault by a male perpetrator and subject victims and victim advocates to extreme civil and criminal penalties for discussing emergency contraception and other critical health and safety needs.
This bill failed to gain a favorable report from the subcommittee on Tuesday, November 18. At least one member of the committee has stated that work has already begun on drafting a new bill to further increase limits on abortion care from the current 6-week law.
SCCADVASA S.323 Opposition Statement S.323 Would Harm Victims of Rape and Incest
IPV and Gun Violence
Intimate partner violence and gun violence in the U.S. are inextricably linked. The intersection of these issues impacts millions of women, families, and communities across the country. With escalating levels of gun violence, combined with recent court decisions, advocacy efforts for increased gun safety measures are even more critical.
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VOCA Funding Cuts
H.R. 909, a bi-partisan bill in Congress aims to stabilize the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) from which essential grants supporting victim services are funded.
The proposed legislation would redirect funds collected through the False Claims Act (FCA) into the CVF through FY2029.
The cuts that victim service agencies have and continue to experience is threatening core services to victims and survivors in your district. Any discontinuation of or delays in funding will threaten the stability of community-based programs that provide life-saving services to victims of domestic and sexual violence.
Learn About H.R. 909
Orders of Protection
In April 2024, USC Professors Lisa Martin and Suzanne Swan presented findings from the first statewide study of Orders of Protection in South Carolina which reported a statewide average of 14 days between a court filing and hearing. In the worst cases, the time grew to more than a month.
South Carolina is the only state that does not offer a Temporary Order of Protection to protect petitioners from respondents between the time when a case is filed and the final hearing. During this gap, petitioners are left unprotected and exposed while separating from the person abusing them, often the most dangerous time in a violent or otherwise abusive relationship.
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2026 State House Session Advocacy
Our policy focus areas are determined by our member organizations’ experience of emerging and ongoing needs at the community level. SCCADVASA strives to make sure these needs are heard, understood, and acted upon by our state legislators and congressional delegation.
Get Information
2026 Federal Session Advocacy
During each legislative session, we monitor news and events related to survivors at the Federal Level happening in Washington, D.C. and nationwide. Our goal is to provide you with updates on how things are progressing and what you can do to stand with survivors.
Get InformationOngoing Public Policy Initiatives
SCCADVASA staff work with advocates at rape crisis centers and staff at federal, state, and local corrections institutions and juvenile detention centers across South Carolina to provide in-service trainings and regional and state conferences to ensure that incarcerated survivors of sexual assault and rape have access to victim-centered, trauma-focused care. The Coalition also works with community partners to increase collaboration and improve capacity by supporting the development and continual improvement of policies and practices for services to incarcerated survivors.
As a member of the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Task Force, SCCADVASA is at the forefront of advocacy for the creation and continual improvement of prevention and intervention services for victims and survivors of labor and sex trafficking.
When the issue of human trafficking first became a priority at the state Attorney General’s office, SCCADVASA was a key player in the formation of the AG’s Task Force and in the development of our current state legislation, which is one of the strongest in the country. As a leader of the Direct Services Workgroup, a subcommittee of the Task Force, SCCADVASA works alongside the Department of Social Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, child advocacy centers, sexual assault and domestic violence centers, and other nonprofit groups to create and implement model policies and practices for direct service provision to survivors of trafficking in our state.
SCCADVASA also provides technical assistance and professional development training to member organizations and allies to improve their professional knowledge and capacity to provide services to this population.
Learn more about the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Project and the Task Force.
SCCADVASA plays a vital role as a link between direct service providers, state legislators, and policy developers to amplify the voice of all survivors. We understand that sometimes seemingly simple things can become very real roadblocks for survivors and victims of trauma. SCCADVASA advocates for systems that work for survivors instead of against them.
