Interdisciplinary commitment to advancing equitable and survivor-centered solutions for prevention and response to gender-based violence in the U.S. and across the globe.

The Gender-Based Violence (GBV) practice area advances interdisciplinary and equitable survivor-centered solutions for prevention and response to reduce harm in the U.S. and around the globe. Cloudburst recognizes GBV is a human rights abuse that impacts all aspects of survivors’ lives, from their housing and economic status to their health and wellness and their ability to fully participate in civil society.

Cloudburst experts in the GBV practice area are committed to promoting effective solutions to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking to ensure that survivors benefit from the programs and resources available.

Relying on decades of expertise, Cloudburst experts bring practical and innovative solutions to help non-profits, government, and non-governmental entities in the U.S. and around the globe to prevent and respond to GBV. Our experts are well versed in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the protections it offers as well as prevailing policies—including the Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally and the National Strategy for Gender Equity and Equality—that call for expanding access to survivor-centered and racially equitable services and increasing access to justice.

 

 

As experts in leveraging resources for prioritization of programming to survivors as well as using flexible funding mechanisms to meet survivor needs, Cloudburst experts have worked extensively on programs funded by the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as well as efforts supported by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to:

 

• Help tribes and tribal programs funded by the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) with effective grants management through the development of a manual designed in consultation with tribal subject matter experts.
• Comply with financial and grants management requirements for FVPSA-funded ARP grantees through the design and delivery of a three-part training series developed in English and Spanish accessible on the FVPSA ARP Learning Portal.
• Understand the new right to report crime and emergencies from one’s home requirements for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) recipients under the VAWA reauthorization of 2022 by developing and delivering a fact sheet and webinar for HUD CDBG recipients and subgrantees.
• Ensure local victim service providers and state coalitions are actively engaged to inform the design and prioritization of housing, shelter, and supportive services in HUD-funded HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) program allocation plans.
• Inform HUD homelessness assistance programs data and performance strategy to ensure that victim service providers and Continuums of Care coordinate to collect necessary data in a comparable database or Homeless Management Information System that meets HUD and VAWA regulations.
• Educate the National Fair Housing Training Academy (NFHTA) stakeholders on violence against women. Participants will understand domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking from the diverse perspectives of survivors and preview HUD’s enforcement authorities under VAWA.
• Conduct a mid-term performance evaluation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Dominican Republic Mission’s Human Rights Grants Program on Family- and Gender-Based Violence that provided recommendations for a more holistic approach to GBV programming in revisions to the national plan to counter GBV.

Cloudburst’s interdisciplinary approaches often call upon experts from our Housing and Community Development and Homeless Assistance teams. Our teams excel at translating federal regulations and policies to support GBV grantee compliance with federal funder requirements.

Internationally, our experts are trained in USAID’s Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally and the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Gender and Social Inclusion Strategy. Cloudburst experts are at the forefront of ensuring global program improvements take into consideration the experience of women and girls, including those that have been explosed to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, threats, and coercion.  Cloudburst conducts gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) assessments and evaluations of GBV programming to identify opportunities for strengthening and improving access to critical services.

As advocates and allies advancing an equity agenda across the globe, Cloudburst stands by our commitment to reduce barriers faced by those who belong to underserved and historically marginalized communities that have long been denied full opportunity: all people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, and all of those whose lives are affected by persistent poverty and inequality.

Our experts are available to provide training, technical and regulatory support, and data-driven performance improvement and strategic planning to help our clients develop collaborative and creative survivor-centered strategies. For more information, download our capabilities statement and contact [email protected] with any questions or requests for assistance.

 

 

Specialized Areas of Expertise