Annual STOP Training during Domestic Violence Awareness Month

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The Office of Violence Against Women awards financial support to Pennsylvania to assist communities in improving their response to violence against women.  One of the ways they do this is through the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program.  STOP is an acronym that stands for Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors.  Transitions has been honored to have received this funding for at least one of the counties we serve for over 16 years.  One of the ways Transitions uses this money is to host an annual training event for law enforcement officers and prosecutors. 

Transitions hosted their annual STOP Training on October 4th and 5th at the Union County Government Center.  The training was geared towards law enforcement officers and topics included civil protection orders available to victims of crime, Pennsylvania’s strangulation law, moving forward in criminal cases without the victim, and using the neurobiology of trauma to inform interviews and investigations.  Thirteen local law enforcement officers attended, including representatives from Bucknell University’s Department of Public Safety, Muncy, Northumberland County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside, Susquehanna University’s Department of Public Safety and Watsontown.  Twelve advocates, six human service providers, and two court personnel also attended sessions. 

Participants learned about the three types of protection orders available in Pennsylvania: 
The Protection from Abuse Order, for cases of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse where the victim and defendant are related by blood or marriage or with whom they have been in a sexual or intimate relationship;

The Protection from Intimidation Order, for children who are stalked or harassed by an adult;

The Sexual Violence Protection Order, for cases of sexual violence where the victim and perpetrator do not have a family, household, or intimate partner relationship.

Participants also learned that Pennsylvania now has a strong strangulation law, where perpetrators of this crime, often called “choking,” can be charged with a misdemeanor of the second degree, a felony of the second degree, or a felony of the first degree, depending on the circumstances of the crime and whom the crime was committed against.

During and after a traumatic event, individuals may process that experience in ways that appear illogical to outside observers.  Participants learned about ways that the brain reacts to trauma and how those reactions and some of the choices survivors make, such as delaying reporting, can be attributed to the neurobiology of trauma.


Transitions is a crisis center that provides advocacy, empowerment, and services to victims, survivors, and communities in Northumberland, Snyder and Union Counties.  Please contact 1-800-850-7948 for more information.

Wrjtten by Katy K., Northumberland County and Legal Advocacy Coordinator

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