Ending Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence

Senator Favola has fought to end sexual assault and domestic violence throughout her career. She has led efforts to hold abusers accountable and to support and empower survivors. Senator Favola passed legislation to help end the rape kit backlog in Virginia and to ensure that sexual assault survivors were notified if there was a DNA hit on their rape kit. She also passed a law to encourage bartenders and others who serve alcohol to undergo bystander training to help them recognize and intervene in dangerous situations, enabling them to prevent sexual assaults.

As a former college educator, Senator Favola is especially concerned with the high rates of sexual assaults on college campuses and the underreporting of such incidents. She passed legislation to empower survivors to report campus assaults and to direct colleges to connect survivors with counseling resources. Senator Favola’s legislation also established Threat Assessment Teams on college campuses to ensure that credible reports of sexual assault were investigated.

During her tenure on the Arlington County Board, Senator Favola initiated Project PEACE (Partnering to End Abuse in the Community for Everyone) Program, which is a coordinated community response dedicated to advancing the most effective and efficient array of education, prevention, protection, and support services to end domestic and sexual violence in the community.

Senator Favola is a member and former chair of the Virginia Advisory Committee on Sexual and Domestic Violence, where she continues to work to address this critical issue. In 2021, she was awarded the HOPE Award from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance for her work.