Welcome to the 2026 April issue of Volunteer Voices, a monthly newsletter for current and potential Domestic and Sexual Violence Services (DSVS) volunteers.
In this Issue:
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My name is Erika Sobel and I am a behavioral health senior clinician on DSVS’ Clinical Services team and a licensed clinical social worker. I have been working in the field of social work for 30 years! I love the experiences I have working with clients and the amazing individuals I get to meet and work with.
I am so excited to join the DSVS team. I have learned so much already! I look forward to working for Fairfax County, which is the county I have lived in for most of my life.
When I am not working, I enjoy being outdoors taking a nature walk at a park nearby to see the plants, trees, and animals. I also enjoy gardening and attending the numerous farmer’s markets that this metropolitan area provides. I love food and enjoy trying new restaurants at least once a month.
Erika Sobel
Behavioral Health Senior Clinician
7 Ways to Rest Well
Sleeping more isn’t the solution for burnout. Your brain needs more than couch sessions, though those work, too. Try sleep and these six other ways to get good rest.
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month! We want to take this opportunity to thank every one of our volunteers for all the work they do. Volunteers at DSVS and further afield make such a huge difference in our community. In DSVS, you help our staff and support clients facing sexual and domestic violence, human trafficking, and stalking. I always feel deep gratitude that our volunteers spend their free time engaging in the very demanding roles we have at DSVS. Volunteers expand our capacity, therefore making our services as accessible as possible to those in the county. Equally important, volunteers bring new skills and perspectives to the service and help us build meaningful trust with the communities we serve. We could not do the work without you. Thanks to all DSVS volunteers for your time, expertise, passion, and commitment to our clients and our mission! –Caroline Croghan, Volunteer Manager
Sexual violence is a major public health, human rights and social justice issue that impacts every person in Fairfax County. The purpose of Sexual Assault Awareness Month is to raise public awareness about sexual violence, educate our community on how to prevent it and share resources available to those impacted by sexual assault. Learn more about sexual violence. Stay on top of the ways Fairfax County is observing SAAM. And help do your part by sharing awareness-raising messages on social media from our Sexual Assault Awareness Month Community Engagement Toolkit.
Did you know art is part of the movement to end sexual and domestic violence? Art and activism are linked, and creating art can be therapeutic for people who have experienced sexual violence. For Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2026, Fairfax County Domestic and Sexual Violence Services is collecting denim links created by the community with the theme of “Until Everyone is Safe.” The finished link will be displayed in Fairfax County public libraries. Learn how you can create your own link to connect survivors with healing.
Watching movies or shows can be helpful to learn about the experiences of some survivors and start conversations about sexual violence in our communities. Many of these works explore important topics in our communities, including safety, equity, justice, resilience, healing, and more. Check out our nine recommendations (plus a bonus!) of shows or movies that explore the issue of sexual violence from various perspectives.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, an opportunity to focus on information and resources related to sexual violence. When talking to the public about these issues, it is important to be mindful of the language we use. “Survivor” is often used instead of “victim” when referring to someone who has experienced sexual violence. This is because the term survivor is meant to highlight that person’s own agency and reduce stigmatization. However, in other contexts, such as the criminal justice system, the term victim is a legal term for someone who has had a crime committed against them. Watch this Ted Talk, The Power of Labels: Why Many Rape Survivors Don't Call It Rape, to learn about the language survivors themselves use and why we need to listen to those with lived experiences of sexual violence to responsibly and effectively raise awareness about sexual assault.
Research shows Arab Americans impacted by sexual and domestic violence often face barriers accessing culturally specific services or find only support that amplifies stereotypes or adds to the history of hate crimes and surveillance of their communities—all of which can lead to a lack of trust of the systems that provide resources. Learn more about the intersection between gender-based violence and Arab American communities.
Navigating domestic violence and tax season can feel overwhelming, especially if finances have been controlled, hidden, or used as a tool of abuse. You’re not alone—and there are ways to protect yourself while meeting tax requirements. Find out more from this practical, trauma-informed guide that you can use or share with other survivors.
Sexual violence is usually seen as an issue affecting young people only. A recent George Mason University study of survivors older than age 50, however, paints a different picture.
As April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we took this opportunity to talk about sexual violence and older adults with two of the study’s authors, Michelle Hand, sexual violence researcher and assistant professor of social work, and Denise Hines, Elisabeth Shirley Enochs Endowed Professor of Social Work, both at the George Mason University College of Public Health.
Why this research? Why now?
Michelle Hand: I worked with a colleague (from Korea) who studied later life. He asked if we could put our heads together to study Korean Comfort Women who were trafficked by the Japanese military during World War II. We interviewed them about their experiences with sexual violence that happened when they were in their teens or early 20s. It dawned on me I wasn’t looking into the sexual violence experiences of older people. I was being ageist.
The why is because it’s a hidden issue. When I talk about my research, people are surprised that anyone could be violated at any age.
Denise Hinds: I focus on intimate partner violence research in populations that aren’t being served—or don’t feel they’re being served well by the current survivor system. I specifically focus on men, LGBTQ+, immigrants, other minoritized individuals. In my book Family Violence in the U.S., when people think about elder abuse, they don’t think of intimate partner violence.
Why aren’t more people doing this research?
Hand: Sex is considered taboo. Talking about sex, especially in later life, and sexual violence are taboo. You certainly don’t talk about this with people you don’t know. Ageism is an issue, and intersexual ageism. Older men become more debonaire, women just get old. They become less sexually desirable. The idea that someone would want to abuse an older woman just seems preposterous. A lot of people don’t realize how ageist that sentiment is.
It also gets messy when you think about consent among people living with dementia. What constitutes consent?
What do the numbers of older adults who report look like? How high do we think that number really is?
Hand: It’s tricky because it’s largely underreported. What’s especially challenging is that this research is so young. The oldest studies are from the 1970s but research didn’t take off until the 2000s. With so much disagreement about what constitutes sexual violence, the number with older adults is about 1%. But when you look at the research of domestic and sexual violence scholars and look at how many victims are older than 50, that number reaches 15% to 17%. My own research suggests it’s about 16%.
Hines: When we look at U.S. spouses and partners who cited emotional and physical abuse, the rate of partner violence among older women is 1.3 of every 1,000. But this number is from 2010. So, we don’t even have recent numbers.
Hand: Something else to keep in mind is that gerontologists don’t even agree on when older life starts. I start my research at age 50.
And because there are so many people living with dementia who aren’t believed or who recant their report or don’t want retaliation [from a caregiver], it’s probably closer to 20% to 25% when we’re thinking about unreported cases. I estimate roughly 30% of cases go unreported but research is still so young.
Hines: I’ve had to exclude anyone 60 or older from my studies because I’d have to report them to Adult Protective Services, which makes it more challenging to get good numbers. I can’t make people anonymous if I have to report. And if you tell them that, you’re not going to get the right information. Those are some of the challenges we face when trying to get accurate numbers.
Hand: It’s also about people not even knowing—or defining themselves--as victims. People have said they don’t know if they’ve been victims. It comes out when they start describing behaviors.
What are survivors key wants and needs?
Hand: Survivors want stricter laws surrounding prosecution. They want to feel heard, seen, believed. There’s a need for further awareness. They say we should start this education young, in schools, across the lifespan, so people aren’t so surprised later.
When they see resources for sexual violence prevention, they’re not seeing themselves. When we talk about victims, we see younger people pictured. This idea that people are attacked at night, by a stranger, that the victim is young, attractive, white.
So, older adults need more education, information, and awareness. Who else needs this?
Hand: Everybody needs to be at the table. If the general public recognized older adults could be abused, they’ll know what signs to look for. Professionals should have diverse lenses to understand how to help clients. We need more collaborative work with and training of people who work in shelter and housing. With prosecutors, thinking about how we can be more survivor centered in the criminal justice system.
Hines: Medical personnel. Older people go to the doctor a lot. Their doctors are key frontline folks who could capture what’s going on. Educating the doctors who work with older adults to know the signs, to know what questions to ask.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned while doing this research?
Hand: I was surprised how many cases of incest there are of adult children who sexually abuse their parents and how often it goes underreported. I was surprised by older women experiencing sustained genital trauma and finding out they tend to take longer to recover. I was surprised by so much disbelief among service providers because they think older adults aren’t sexually active. That’s surprising because I don’t think of sexual violence targets needing to be sexually active.
Hines: That the people who are working with the older population are surprised, surprised me.
Final thoughts?
Hand: It’s important we’re aware this is a problem and that we talk about it. We can’t address what we can’t bring ourselves to talk about. There’s this need for greater awareness, for talking about sexual abuse in general. There’s a need for more rigorous screening, especially in noticing signs a caregiver could be abusing someone they care for.
Acknowledging ageism as one of those isms we’re all likely to experience. We’re all likely to grow old and this could happen to any of us or any of our loved ones.
A condensed version of this story, written by Kendra Lee, a communications specialist in the Department of Family Services, appears in the April issue of Golden Gazette.
“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” –Diana, Princess of Wales
Domestic and Sexual Violence Services’ podcast, Unscripted: Conversations about Sexual and Domestic Violence, is real talk on tough topics! Stay in the know with these biweekly discussions, paying particular attention to Unscripted: Conversations about Sexual and Domestic Violence--Sexual Intimacy After Sexual Assault this month. If you have ideas for topics you’d like to hear addressed on Unscripted, email them to DSVS’ communications specialist Kendra Lee.
Simrat “Simi” Grewal, management analyst, on DSVS’ Data Team, joined the division nine months ago. The juggling act started immediately and hasn’t stopped.
“A typical day on the DSVS Data Team is a mix of collaboration, problem-solving, and supporting the programs we work with. We juggle a variety of projects and data requests, some that can be turned around quickly and others that are longer-term efforts requiring ongoing teamwork and coordination,” Simi says.
“We meet frequently with program staff to better understand their data needs, answer questions, and provide meaningful insights. Collaboration is key in our work, so we partner closely with the IT team, as well. Alongside analyzing spreadsheets, creating forms, and developing data dashboards, I also help produce our quarterly data newsletter to help keep everyone informed, highlight insights, and celebrate progress.”
