Sexual Assault National Demonstration Audit (SANDA): Making a Commitment to Survivors

Praxis guides communities to engage in institutional reform on behalf of survivors of violence against women through the use of Institutional Analysis. By focusing on how work is structured, Praxis tools help teams seek understanding about where, how, and for which victims institutional practices routinely fail to adequately address the needs for survivors. The Institutional Analysis is increasingly being used to uncover gaps beyond its original focus on criminal legal system response to domestic violence. Praxis has a keen interest to develop our learning to expand our existing tools to examine responses to sexual assault. This webinar will showcase the Sexual Assault National Demonstration Audit (SANDA) where the Institutional Analysis methodology was applied in Bellingham-Whatcom County, Washington to uncover criminal legal system processes that produce negative outcomes for survivors of sexual assault. The findings come at a most opportune time with the national awakening to injustices for survivors, and the lack of accountability to offenders, highlighted through the #MeToo movement and the Surviving R. Kelly docuseries. Without change to institutional responses to sexual violence against women, the majority of survivors will continue to be silenced in all communities.