The six previous posts in this series were built on a foundation of specific, statewide, year-over-year data: how many survivors were served, what they said about their experiences, how funding… read more “How Does Virginia Know What It Knows About Sexual and Domestic Violence? Meet VAdata.”
Of the 70,136 people who contacted Virginia’s sexual and domestic violence hotlines in 2025, 66% reported that their earliest experience of violence occurred before the age of 18. That statistic… read more “Two-Thirds of Virginia Survivors First Experienced Violence Before Age 18. Prevention Can’t Wait.”
Among Virginia domestic violence survivors whose advocates assessed weapon use in 2025, 44% reported that the person who harmed them used or threatened to use a firearm against them. Among… read more “What Virginia’s 2025 Data Reveal About the Link Between Firearms and Sexual and Domestic Violence”
What Virginia’s 2025 Data Tell Us About Who Causes Harm and How Data from Virginia’s 70+ Sexual and Domestic Violence Agencies in 2025 confirm that sexual and domestic violence follow… read more “Sexual and Domestic Violence Are Not Random”
In 2025, 664 requests for emergency shelter from domestic violence survivors in Virginia went unmet because programs did not have room. That is a 63% increase since 2021. Over the… read more “664 Survivors Were Turned Away from Emergency Shelter in Virginia in 2025. Federal Funding Cuts Explain Why.”
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… read more “Behind the Numbers: What Q2 2026 Data Tell Us About Survivors and Advocates in Virginia”
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”
Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Agencies