Our Mission

     Our mission is to END the isolation, fear and hopelessness that victims abroad experience due to violence and abuse.  IVAC provides the urgent help they need.

We help victims become resilient SURVIVORS!

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We advocate for implementable solutions in U.S. government and in host countries to provide protection for these victims and assurance of their human rights.

Domestic Violence

     Domestic violence persists in every country in the world, and it spans educational, economic, and cultural divisions.
     There are many types of domestic abuse: it may be physical, emotional, financial or sexual, but the abuse usually follows an escalating pattern in which the controlling behaviors intensify over time.  Many abusers behave in ways that include more than one type of domestic violence, and the boundaries between some of these actions are often quite blurred. 
      Children and youth who are abused and exposed to violence, experience emotional, mental and social damage that can affect their developmental growth.
      To see further examples of abuse, click the LINK below to view the Domestic Violence Wheel.
Domestic Violence Wheel

SEXUAL ASSUALT

     Sexual assault can take on many different forms and the most important thing for a victim to understand is that no one deserves to be abused and that nothing they have done justifies violence against them.

Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.

Sexual assault is a form of sexual violence, and it includes: Intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape.

To see further examples of sexual assault/abuse please click the link below for the Sexual Assault Wheel

Sexual Assault Wheel

Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking is a crime when women, men and/or children are forcefully involved in commercial sex acts.

Sex trafficking is also the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons who under threat, force, coercion, fraud, deception or abuse of power are sexually exploited for the financial gain of another.

The use of children in the commercial sex trade is illegal under U.S. law and in most other countries as well.

Note:  Sex trafficking DOES NOT have to include a form of “travel” across borders. Sex trafficking is characterized by sexual exploitation through force, fraud, or coercion.

  “Children who were exposed to violence in the home are 15 times more likely to be physically and/or sexually assaulted than the national average."

Source: Volpe, J.S., “Effects of Domestic Violence on Children and Adolescents: An Overview”, The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, 1996

 

“Sexual assault or forced sex occurs in approximately 40-45% of battering relationships."

Source: Campbell, et al. (2003). “Assessing Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Homicide.” Intimate Partner Homicide, NIJ Journal, 250, 14-19. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice.