YWCA USA Stands with Survivors and Calls for Greater Accountability, Prevention, and Survivor-Centered Responses to Sexual Violence
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 8, 2026 — In response to recent national conversations about sexual violence, YWCA USA stands with survivors and calls on policymakers, institutions, and communities to strengthen accountability, prevent violence, and ensure survivor-centered responses.
As a national network of nearly 200 Local Associations providing safety, support, and healing services for survivors of gender-based violence, YWCA knows that too many survivors continue to face barriers to support, accountability, and justice.
Every person deserves safety, dignity, and the freedom to live free from sexual and interpersonal violence. Achieving that vision requires institutions that prevent harm, respond effectively when violence occurs, and center the needs of survivors.
YWCA calls on policymakers, educational institutions, employers, community leaders, and service providers to take meaningful action in three critical areas: accountability, prevention, and survivor-centered response.
Accountability requires more than policies on paper. Institutions must maintain credible reporting and investigative processes, enforce standards consistently, address retaliation, and take responsibility when systems fail. This includes closing voluntary-intoxication loopholes, strengthening campus sexual-violence accountability and Title IX protections, and ensuring meaningful consequences for misconduct.
Prevention means addressing the conditions that enable violence before harm occurs. Institutions must invest in education, prevention efforts, and cultures that promote safety, respect, and healthy relationships. Preventing violence requires sustained action, not simply responding after the fact.
Survivor-centered systems ensure access to confidential support, meaningful choices, fair processes, and pathways to healing and justice. Survivors should be able to seek help without fear of blame, disbelief, retaliation, or further harm.
"For too long, the burden of sexual violence has fallen on survivors to report it, prove it, navigate institutions, and rebuild their lives," said Margaret Mitchell, CEO of YWCA USA. "That burden must shift. Institutions must be accountable for preventing violence, responding effectively when harm occurs, and ensuring that survivors are not further harmed by the very systems intended to protect them."
YWCA USA supports efforts to strengthen survivor protections and campus sexual-violence accountability, including through the Title IX Take Responsibility Act. Strengthening Title IX protections is critical to ensuring survivors can access fair processes, support, and accountability when sexual violence occurs. To learn more view YWCA USA's endorsement, click here.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
About YWCA USA
YWCA USA is one of the nation's oldest and largest multicultural organizations, dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all