MCASA Newsletter : Frontline

These past few months have been especially busy for MCASA as we’ve done essential advocacy during Maryland’s legislative session. Your support helps ensure that MCASA can bring the voices of survivors and the programs who serve them to our state legislators in Annapolis. We appreciate all those who called, emailed, testified, and reached out to their elected officials. This year’s legislative priorities centered on funding for sexual assault survivor services, access to justice, and prevention. Working together, we stopped proposed cuts to victim services and rape kit testing, shored up efforts to

As we begin the new year, MCASA would like to express gratitude for all those who have been dedicated in their work to end sexual violence. Our vital work to stand behind survivors across the state matters, especially now. The 2025 Maryland Legislative Session began on January 8th and we held our annual Legislative Reception in Annapolis on January 16th to introduce MCASA's 2025 legislative advocacy. We saw another successful and informative legislative reception, all due to those who sponsored, supported, and attended the event. We are looking forward to another busy session, with returning and new initiatives on our priority

Throughout the election year, MCASA has worked hard to preserve and expand rights of survivors. Now that the election is over, we must continue to fight to amplify the voices of survivors. While there is much work to be done, we are also proud to reflect on our accomplishments these past few months. On September 10th, MCASA held our annual Call to Action, which brought together advocates to discuss the importance of survivors' voices in voting as well as celebrating individuals who have gone above and beyond in supporting survivors. MCASA understands that policies and laws not only impact the

Happy Summer Training As we approach the end of the summer, MCASA is proud to highlight a number of our trainings aimed at preventing and responding to sexual violence in Maryland. In June, we completed our latest Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Training (SAVAT) series. We would like to thank all the new and returning advocates and service providers who have participated and engaged in our training sessions and our staff for facilitating another successful training series. We also hosted expert trainings on the needs of LGBTQ+ survivors, exploring the intersections of trafficking and gender-diverse folks and providing gender-affirming FNE care.

This spring at MCASA has been very busy as we worked to advocate for survivors during the 2024 Maryland Legislative Session. Thank you again to everyone who called, emailed, testified, and reached out to your elected officials this session. One of our major successes this session was the passage of the Consent Bill (HB496/SB758), which created a statutory definition of consent and repealed the requirement that the state prove “force or threat of force” in 2nd degree rape cases. MCASA was honored to help amplify the voices of survivors as they testified on the shortcomings of the current

I hope you had a peaceful New Year that brought you rest and renewed energy for our work in 2024. The 2024 Maryland Legislative Session began on January 10th and we hosted our annual Legislative Reception in Annapolis on January 18th. Thank you to everyone who sponsored, supported, and attended our reception to learn more about MCASA’s legislative advocacy. We are looking forward to another busy session, with returning and new initiatives on our priority list. MCASA supports legislation that promotes justice for survivors of sexual violence, accountability for offenders, and protection for the general public. MCASA responds to policy

This summer has been busy at MCASA as we work to offer comprehensive trainings on a variety of topics for Maryland service providers. We just completed another successful Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Training (SAVAT) series in June. Thank you to all of the service providers, advocates, and support staff who attended our training to continue to improve our response to support survivors in Maryland. We are also gearing up for the next school year, with plans for our upcoming Virtual Campus Training (VCT) series to begin in September. MCASA is also excited to invite you to join us in person

The 2023 Maryland Legislative Session has been incredibly busy with important legislation moving through both the House of Delegates and the Senate as we near the end of session on Monday, April 10th. Thank you to everyone who has called, emailed, testified, and advocated to your elected officials to support survivors in Maryland and improve our prevention and response to sexual violence. We encourage you to continue to make your voice heard as final votes are held in Annapolis. We will provide an in depth update in our 2023 Legislative Report in the coming weeks.  April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month