The County of Santa Clara's Office of Gender-Based Violence Prevention (OGBVP) is dedicated to disrupting the cycle of gender-based violence and supporting survivors throughout Santa Clara County with the services they need to heal and thrive.

We are excited to host our 32nd Annual Domestic Violence Conference, a space where our community can come together to exchange ideas and learn from peers and other experts in the field. Our conference strives to engage grassroots experiences, community-driven perspectives, and promote peer-to-peer learning to advance the movement to end gender-based violence.

The theme of our 32nd Annual Domestic Violence Conference is "Constellations of Community: Connecting a Network of Justice and Healing" and scheduled to take place on October 17, 2025, in San Jose, CA.

Proposals may illuminate adaptive strategies in response to systemic and federal barriers, as well as approaches for sustaining care, trust, and prevention. Whether you focus on cultural competency, survivor-centered practices, legal advocacy, or community-driven healing, your work can make a meaningful impact on our attendees.

We welcome workshops that are interactive and participatory. They may include panels, mini-lectures, and/or discussion formats. Workshops should be 75-minutes in length. Workshop proposals need to be submitted by July 27, 2025 at 11:59 pm PT.
We are strongly committed to equity and inclusion and encourage proposals that reflect the full spectrum of our communities to elevate diverse voices and ensure that our shared work is informed by differing perspectives. We especially welcome proposals from members of communities who have been traditionally underrepresented or underserved.

Workshops should:

1. Provide relevant, current information.
2. Provide participants with tools or strategies that they can implement in their own work.
3. Demonstrate evidence of knowledge and skill in the subject area.
4. Be accessible to the widest variety of participants and support a survivor-centered approach.
5. Incorporate adult learning principles.

The following list includes suggested (but not limited to) workshop topics as they relate to the conference theme and intersections within the context of domestic violence:

• Collective resilience in political uncertainty
• Equity and social justice
• Healing through community
• Legal advocacy
• LGBTQIA+, migration, disability & racial justice
• Medical & public health approaches to GBV
• Prevention, intervention & advocacy
• Youth, families & cycles of violence

Audience

The Annual Domestic Violence Conference invites a variety of attendees, especially from intersectional fields, who are committed to ending gender-based violence. Attendees may include advocates, health care providers, researchers, trainers and educators, government agency employees, social service providers, legal service providers, survivors, and interested community members.

Proposal Submission Process

Proposals must be received no later than July 27, 2025, at 11:59 pm PT.

Selected presenters will receive free conference registration. Presenters who are not compensated for their time may also be eligible to receive an honorarium.

Further scholarship opportunities may be available for individuals requiring travel assistance.

To Apply

Please ensure you have all the requested information/materials before submitting your proposal. You are welcome to submit more than one conference proposal. If submitting multiple proposals, please complete a separate form for each.

Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

Limit on number of presenters: We limit conference sessions to a maximum of three presenters. This ensures that each speaker has sufficient time to present their material. If an applicant would like to include more than three presenters in a session, please contact us at gbv@ceo.sccgov.org.

Honorarium

Honorariums are offered to survivors or presenters who are presenting based on their lived experiences. We also extend honorariums to presenters who are not being compensated through their work or need to take time off in order to present. All honorarium details will be discussed following the workshop selection process.

Questions?

Please email gbv@ceo.sccgov.org with any questions.

We thank you for your interest in presenting at the County of Santa Clara’s 32nd Annual Domestic Violence Conference!

The proposal form is designed as an accessible fill-in-the-blank format that solicits all the information required to consider your proposal. Please answer each question fully; incomplete applications will not be considered.

If there is more than one presenter for this proposal, please know that the person designated as the "Lead Presenter" will be the point of contact we will use to communicate with for anything related to this proposal. Please make sure to list the correct email address, as this will be the primary method of communication. Space will be provided to list additional presenters. If submitting multiple proposals, please complete a separate form for each.

We cannot guarantee a particular time for any conference presentation. If you submit a proposal, you must acknowledge that you will be available to present your session at any time during the conference on October 17, 2025.

Proposals need to be submitted by July 27, 2025 at 11:59 pm PT.