Assessing Capacity for Sexual Assault and Health Equity - ABSTRACT SUMMARY The Delaware Alliance Against Sexual Violence (DAASV)—an approved state sexual assault coalition named on the CDC’s RPE site—is partnering with Dr. Cheryl M. Ackerman, Scientist at the Center for Drug and Health Studies at the University of Delaware, and her team to conduct a primary prevention capacity assessment of the Delaware Network coalition (a coalition led by DAASV) and develop recommendations based on assessment findings. Sexual assault is a substantial public health issue that affects millions of people in the United States each year. The state of Delaware is no exception. According National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey data released in 2022, 54% of women and 31% of men have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. In Delaware, 16.2% of adult women and 4% of men reported having been forced into non-consensual sex at some point during their lives. Furthermore, there are disparities in different communities’ experience or prevalence of sexual assault, as well as their ability to access both preventative measures and treatment services. In Delaware specifically, the coalition has identified rural communities, children and teens, culturally specific (BIPOC, Muslim, etc.), LGBTQ, and persons with disabilities as communities at high risk for sexual violence and in need of additional resources. The purpose of this project is for DAASV to improve its ability to drive equitable health outcomes across all Delaware communities by better understanding its own coalition’s (the Delaware Network) capacity to advance primary prevention. The goals for this project are: • Goal 1: Assess the internal capacity of DAASV and the Delaware Network coalition for primary prevention and advancing health equity in Delaware. • Goal 2: Based on assessment data, develop recommendations and action steps for implementing primary prevention strategies and activities to advance health equity in Delaware. Progress towards these goals will be determined by an ability to achieve the following outcomes related to preventing sexual violence and promoting health equity in Delaware: • Outcome 1: Develop an increased understanding of staff expertise and available resources within the Delaware Network. • Outcome 2: Develop an increased understanding of available data sources used to identify population(s) and communities of focus in Delaware. • Outcome 3: Develop an increased understanding of current partnerships, and how these partnerships are/are not meeting the current and future primary prevention and health equity work needs. • Outcome 4: Develop an increased understanding of current technical assistance provision and how well it incorporates health equity.
