What Survivors Tell Us About the Impact of Advocacy in Virginia. Among survivors who received services from Virginia’s Sexual and Domestic Violence Agencies in 2025, 97% felt more hopeful about… read more ““These Services Are Keeping Me Alive.””
After more than 30 years with the coalition, Cathy Maxfield Coleman has retired, and we couldn’t let this moment pass without celebrating her extraordinary legacy. Two of her longtime colleagues,… read more “Celebrating Cathy Coleman’s Legacy”
By Courtenay Schwartz, Policy Director, Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance The Action Alliance’s New Laws Report 2026 breaks down every major legislative win for sexual and domestic violence… read more “New Laws Report 2026: Virginia’s Legislative Wins for Survivors, Explained”
New Laws Fortify Protections for Survivors of Sexual and Domestic Violence The Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance Applauds Policy Leaders for Strengthening Survivor Safety Across Commonwealth With New Laws, Virginia Joins the Majority of States in Keeping Firearms … read more “Governor Spanberger Signs Landmark Bills to Close Deadly Firearms Loopholes in Virginia”
Every time a story about domestic violence, sexual violence, or domestic homicide breaks in the news, something important happens beyond the facts of the case: a narrative forms. That narrative, … read more “Words Matter: Introducing Our New Media Guide for Responsible Reporting”
One of my earliest encounters with Ruth Micklem happened when I was 25 years old. I didn’t know then that I was in the company of a legend in the… read more “Farewell and Happy Retirement, Ruth Micklem!”
Recognizing the work to end gender-based violence began with the voices, efforts, and labor of survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence, and that survivors are the ones who, through… read more “Extending the Invitation – a Collective Impact Poem by V.O.I.C.E.S. Members”
A Glimpse into the Latest Goings-On with Emergence On a crisp Spring morning in late March, 40 sexual and domestic violence victim advocates and preventionists gathered on the grounds of… read more “What Are We Emerging Into?”
Tikkun Olam is a concept in Judaism that refers to “repairing the world” and is often used to support and protect those who are disadvantaged. The power of Tikkun Olam… read more “TIKKUN OLAM”
George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” During a shameful era of our nation’s history, then-President Franklin Roosevelt isolated thousands of people… read more “CHILDREN, FAMILIES, SURVIVORS, OUR NATION, AND HUMANITY DESERVE BETTER THAN FAMILY SEPARATION AND FAMILY DETAINMENT”
Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Agencies