VAWnet Event Calendar

Food is more than just sustenance—it can be a pathway to healing. For many survivors of trauma, however, relationships with food, body, and wellness are deeply impacted by lived experiences. This workshop explores the powerful connections between nourishment, self-care, and trauma recovery. Participants will learn how trauma affects the body’s stress response, eating patterns, and overall wellness, while also discovering culturally rooted and practical approaches to restore balance and connection.

Justice agencies have faced grueling personal and organizational stress in the 2020s. We have “survived” several once-in-a-generation events in a seemingly relentless sequence of stressors. We are still adapting to a global pandemic, the Great Resignation, a pervasive opiate crisis, a shift to virtual and hybrid work, extraordinary justice reform, a national social justice movement, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, and more dangerous crime and supervision trends in our work.

We are unveiling a suite of resources on practice-based knowledge, which will serve as a comprehensive guide for those working directly in childhood sexual violence (CSV) prevention and response. The background paper and guidance framework will enable practitioners to capture and apply practical, real-world expertise gained through experience, reflection, and adaptation – complementing available formal research.

This session will explore the distinctions between legal information and legal advice and identify activities that may be the unauthorized practice of law. Advocates will learn how to provide meaningful and creative assistance on cases involving gender-based violence while remaining within the bounds of legal information. Case scenarios and examples will demonstrate how advocates can apply this in their work with survivors.

Many victims of crime envision a more expansive definition of justice outside of the offender-focused criminal justice system we all know. This expansion of justice options can be found within the spectrum of restorative justice. This Vital Subjects webinar is designed to provide an overview of restorative justice practices and principles that can provide opportunities for victims' voices to be elevated and for offenders to learn more about the impact of the harm they have caused.

The evidence is everywhere: Many boys and young men in America are struggling. Compared to previous generations, they have fewer friendships and weaker family and community ties. Their growing isolation is fueling depression, disengagement from school and work, and – for some – violence. It doesn’t have to be this way. At Futures Without Violence, we’ve spent decades working with boys and men to improve their mental health and promote healthy connection.