Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Prevention

If you or your family are in immediate danger, call 911.

If you have been abused by an intimate partner, call the Washington State Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-562-6025.

If you have been sexually assaulted, call the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center: 1-888-998-6423.

The City of Seattle works to keep all adults and children safe from domestic violence and sexual assault. We help victims and survivors create safe and violence-free lives, and heal from the trauma of abuse or sexual assault.

The Human Services Department invests $4.5 million annually in victim services programs to ensure victims and survivors find safety, holds offenders accountable, builds community support to end abuse and violence, and ensures that all citizens have access to critical services. This involves collaborating with numerous private and public agencies to provide many services and programs, convening elected leaders and community partners to work together, and seeking public and private funding to enhance programs and services for Seattle residents.

Much of our work takes place in the Domestic Violence Prevention Council, which develops, implements and coordinates citywide efforts to reduce and prevent domestic violence. Human Services Department staff oversee the workings of the council and coordinate the efforts of its member agencies.

On this site:

• For domestic violence survivors and family, friends and co-workers
• For sexual assault survivors and their family and friends
• For people who speak a primary language that is not English
• For abusers
• Prevention information

Reports

Biennial Report on Domestic Violence in Seattle

Toward Safety and Justice: Domestic Violence in Seattle is a biennial report that aims to raise public awareness of all aspects of domestic violence – what it is, who and how many people it affects, and how the community responds to domestic violence. The report include national and local criminal justice and service data that helps explain the scope of the problem in our region. Also, it includes the City’s efforts to address these problems and gaps in services.

Promising Practices in Sexual Violence Prevention and Community Mobilization for Prevention: A Report to the City of Seattle

This report was commissioned by the Seattle Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Division within the City of Seattle Human Services Department. The report is an overview of the current state of the literature related to effective and promising approaches to sexual violence prevention. Additionally, current knowledge regarding best practices and critical elements of community mobilizing as a prevention strategy are reviewed. The goal of the report is to assist the City and its community partners in identifying sexual violence prevention-related activities that are likely to carry the greatest impact given limited resources.

Youth Involvement in Prostitution in Seattle

"Who Pays the Price? Youth Involvement in Prostitution in Seattle", completed by Dr. Debra Boyer, was commissioned to guide funding and policy decisions, and to help facilitate a more coordinated response to the problem.

Through The Lens of Domestic Violence: A look at Housing and Homelessness

Strategic Plan

The 2013-2015 Domestic Violence Strategic Plan: Seattle’s Criminal Justice Response, adopted by the Domestic Violence Prevention Council in January 2013, builds upon the ongoing efforts of the City of Seattle to achieve a bold vision – that Seattle will become a community where there is no domestic violence. The response to domestic violence within our community includes a broad spectrum of intervention and prevention initiatives carried out by numerous agencies, all of which are designed to address the comprehensive needs of a domestic violence survivor. This proposed plan is the continuation of Seattle’s efforts to reflect upon and improve our criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence, which comprises a narrow range of interventions and services. The graphic below provides a visual representation of the strategic plan, including purpose, focus areas, guiding principles and factors critical to success.

Information

For more information, call the Seattle Human Services Department’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention program at 206-233-2774.

For more information about our partners and other programs and services, visit:

• King County Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• King County Sexual Assault Resource Center

Important note: An abuser may be able to tell what Internet sites you have visited while on your home computer. The safest place to find information on the Internet is at a local library, a friend’s house, or at work. There may be other ways to protect your safety on the Internet. For more information, please visit:

• Eastside Domestic Violence Program
• Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Seattle Human Services Department
Street address: 700 5th Avenue, Suite 5800, Seattle, WA 98104
Mailing address: PO Box 34215, Seattle, WA 98124-4215

Phone: 206-386-1001
Fax: 206-233-5119
TTY/TTD: 206-233-2778

Accommodations for people with disabilities provided upon request.