Engaging Survivors of Sexual Violence and Trafficking in HIV and Substance Use Disorder Services (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA DA 25 018

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA DA 25 018

Engaging Survivors of Sexual Violence and Trafficking in HIV and Substance Use Disorder Services (R34 Clinical Trial Optional) is a National Institutes of Health discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-DA-25-018; CFDA 93.279) designed to fund early-stage, exploratory work focused on survivors of sexual trafficking. The central aim is to support preliminary research and intervention development that addresses how multiple, overlapping realities in survivors lives (including trauma exposure, ongoing safety concerns, unstable housing, coercion, stigma, and limited access to care) can combine to increase both substance use risk and HIV risk. In practice, the opportunity is looking for projects that generate actionable evidence and workable prototypes, rather than large, definitive effectiveness trials, while still allowing for a clinical trial component if it fits the research plan (hence "Clinical Trial Optional").

The program is specifically oriented toward building and refining new interventions and models of care that actually engage sexual trafficking survivors in services, not just refer them. That includes strategies that improve uptake, continuity, and retention in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, HIV prevention and care, trauma-informed services, and broader mental health support. A key emphasis is on the fact that these needs rarely occur in isolation for survivors: substance use, HIV vulnerability, post-traumatic stress and other mental health conditions, and immediate safety risks frequently interact, and the grant concept is aimed at integrated approaches that reflect this reality. Projects are expected to grapple with the contextual factors that shape risk and recovery, and to test or refine approaches that are feasible in the real-world settings where survivors receive support, such as community-based programs, clinics, shelters, outreach programs, or multidisciplinary service networks.

Another major priority is addressing structural and social determinants of health that contribute both to vulnerability to trafficking and to barriers in accessing and staying in care. That can include things like housing instability, poverty, legal and documentation issues, criminalization, limited transportation, discrimination, lack of culturally responsive services, and fear of retaliation or re-exploitation. The opportunity also highlights the importance of understanding and reducing barriers to escaping continued exploitation, while identifying facilitators that support safety and longer-term stability. In other words, projects are encouraged to consider survivor engagement in HIV and SUD services alongside the broader conditions that make engagement difficult, and to design models of care that are realistic under those conditions.

The eligible applicant pool is broad and includes many types of governments and organizations, reflecting the expectation that meaningful work in this area often requires close collaboration between researchers, service providers, and community partners. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) as well as other tribal organizations. The announcement also explicitly notes additional eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, U.S. territories or possessions, and even non-U.S. (foreign) entities.

Administratively, this is a grant mechanism under the NIH, with the opportunity posted on 2023-08-21 and an original closing date of 2024-08-05. While the source data provided does not list an award ceiling or expected number of awards, the R34 mechanism generally signals a developmental, pilot-focused scope where the deliverables often include intervention refinement, feasibility and acceptability testing, pilot outcome signals, implementation considerations, and stronger preliminary data to support a later, larger study. Overall, the opportunity is centered on practical, trauma-informed, survivor-responsive research that improves how systems identify, engage, and support sexual trafficking survivors in HIV and substance use-related services while addressing the broader conditions that shape risk and recovery.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Engaging Survivors of Sexual Violence and Trafficking in HIV and Substance Use Disorder Services (R34 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.279.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-08-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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