From April through June 2026, Virginia’s sexual and domestic violence agencies answered 18,051 hotline calls and served 9,787 survivors through 81,335 hours of advocacy. Emergency shelter was requested 5,200 times but could only be provided about half the time. Compared to the same period in 2025, hotline support hours grew 29% and advocacy hours grew 17%, meaning advocates are spending significantly more time with each survivor as needs grow more complex.
Every quarter, Virginia’s sexual and domestic violence agencies report data on the survivors they serve. And every quarter, the numbers tell two stories at once: the scale of violence in our Commonwealth, and the extraordinary dedication of the advocates who answer it.
The newest data, covering April through June 2026, tell those stories more vividly than usual.
The Scale of the Need
Over 91 days this spring, survivors and their loved ones called Virginia’s sexual and domestic violence hotlines 18,051 times. That is one call every seven minutes, around the clock, all quarter long. Advocates provided 10,946 hours of hotline support, about 120 hours every single day.
Beyond the hotlines, 9,787 adults and children received advocacy services, from court accompaniment to crisis counseling to safety planning, totaling 81,335 hours of support.
The Shelter Gap Persists
Survivors requested emergency shelter 5,200 times between April and June. Shelter could be provided, offered, or arranged 2,751 times, just over half of all requests. And 158 times, a survivor seeking safety was turned away because shelters were full.
During the quarter, 1,035 adults and 756 children lived in emergency shelter across the Commonwealth. Survivors need safe places to go, and we must ensure they exist.
What Survivors Are Facing
Among survivors who completed risk assessments with an advocate, 13% had a weapon used against them, 15% had their breathing blocked or obstructed by the person harming them, and 9% were threatened with a firearm. These are among the strongest predictors of lethal violence.
The consequences extend far beyond the moment of harm. Seventeen percent of survivors missed work or school or lost income and financial security. Thirteen percent became homeless. One in five had to relocate entirely.
The Time It Takes
Here is where this quarter’s data reveal something remarkable.
Compared to April through June of 2025, the number of survivors served through advocacy barely changed: 9,781 then, 9,787 now. But the hours advocates devoted to them grew dramatically. Hotline hours rose 29%, from 8,461 to 10,946. Advocacy hours rose 17%, from 69,431 to 81,335. That is nearly 12,000 additional hours of support for essentially the same number of survivors.
The average hotline call grew from about 29 minutes to about 36 minutes. The average survivor in advocacy services received more than an extra hour of support compared to a year ago.
Survivors’ situations are taking more time to work through. Safety is getting harder to plan. And Virginia’s advocates are answering with more of themselves: more time on every call, more hours with every survivor, over 1,000 hours of combined support delivered every single day this quarter.
No one gave advocates more resources to make that happen. They found the time because survivors needed it. That is quiet heroism, happening in every corner of the Commonwealth. And it is not sustainable without communities standing behind them.
If You or Someone You Know Needs Support
The Virginia Statewide Sexual and Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7/365. Call 800-838-8238, text 804-793-9999, or chat online at vadata.org/chat/.
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Data retrieved from the Hotline Data and Advocacy Data reports at vadata.org on 7/10/2026. Year-over-year comparisons reflect April – June 2025 data from the same source.
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