Friday, April 18, 2025
4/18/2025
TO BE COMPLETED LATER - Sexual violence (SV) is a significant public health problem that impacts people of all ages, races, genders, and sexual orientations. While SV impacts people of all identities, some groups are disproportionately affected, including women; racial and ethnic minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people; and people with disabilities. The social determinants of health (SDOH)—the environments in which we are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age—also have a role in preventing or facilitating violence. Poverty and lack of safe and stable employment opportunities are known risk factors for SV perpetration. In Virginia, racial disparities in health outcomes exist; life expectancy among the White, non-Hispanic population is 78.7 years, compared to the Black, non-Hispanic population life expectancy of 73.9 years. Furthermore, geographic disparities in health outcomes exist in the Commonwealth. Counties in the Central and Southwest Health Planning regions have poorer health factor ratings, including factors such as access to health care, education, employment, family support, and community safety. Of significant concern is an increased apparent risk for intimate partner homicide, also on the basis of race and place. Between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2017, there were 131 homicides in Virginia that involved current or former intimate partners. Risk for Intimate Partner Homicide (IPH) was highest in the Central and Southwest Health Planning Regions, where a total of 65 fatalities occurred during the reported period. Across the Commonwealth, Black women died at three times the rate of their white female counterparts. Beyond race and place, differences in health outcomes are observed for those who identify as LGBTQ+ in Virginia. LGBTQ+ people in Virginia experience discrimination in employment and housing. The stigma and discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ workers can lead to economic instability, including lower wages and higher rates of poverty. For LGBTQ+ youth in particular, schools play an important role in their health and wellness. More than half of LGBTQ+ students in Virginia reported discriminatory policies or practices at their school, including restricted LGBTQ+ expression and discrimination related to their gender. Hostile school climates affect students’ academic success and mental health. Given the observed differences in health status and violence on the basis of race, place, and identity, it is vital that SV prevention strategies implemented in the Commonwealth are data-driven, health equity-focused, and center marginalized communities. The Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance (“Action Alliance”) seeks to implement equity-focused SV primary prevention strategies at the community and societal levels of the social ecology that advance health equity. During the period of performance, staff will build infrastructure to support SV prevention activities, work in collaboration with the State Health Department to develop a State Action Plan, and use data to inform prevention action. By the end of the period of performance, Action Alliance staff expect to observe sustained capacity for program implementation and SV prevention across the state; increased partner support to implement, evaluate, and adapt state and community level strategies to prevent SV; increased reach of prevention strategies that impact communities and populations with disproportionately high rates of SV; increased efforts to align selected strategies with the needs of populations disproportionally impacted by high rates of SV to promote health equity and reduce inequities in SDOH; increases in protective factors and decreases in risk factors associated with SV; increased use of data for decision making to reduce inequities impacting populations and communities with disproportionately high rates of SV; and increased state and community level monitoring of trends in SV outcomes and SDOH.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).