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New program to aid sexual assault victims
BY ALYSSA ANTTILA
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
ISSUE: 78/18
On average during one-in-four women will be sexually assaulted at some point during their four years in college, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime. To help women cope with their experiences, more and more programs are becoming available to assist sexual assault victims. In particular, a new program titled Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), which is being coordinated through Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault (PAVSA), and is making a big impact an RN (registered nurse) specially trained in forensics evidence collection and expert testimony,” said SANE coordinator Sarah Fries.
SANEs are specifically trained in areas that include collection of evidence, testing and treatment, evaluation and assessing injuries, according to Fries. Because SANE’s RNs are specifically trained to deal with sexual assault cases, the likelihood that evidence will be collected properly is increased and in return could lead to better prosecutions. “Before, exams tended to take a lot of time,” Fries said. “But now with SANEs, it frees up the ER and reduces the amount of time spent in the ER.”
PAVSA posted several benefits SANE will have on the community and hospitals on their Web site. Benefits to hospitals include an increase in patients reporting sexual assaults, higher standard of care for victims and the possible mandate that every hospital will be required to have SANEs on staff. PAVSA is an organization that provides advocacy to primary and secondary victims, counseling, supportive services and a 24-hour crisis line. PAVSA has been working with a multi-disciplinary SANE team to help jump start the program and to raise awareness.
The team is made up of St. Louis County Social Services, First Witness Child Abuse Resource Center, Duluth Police Department, St. Luke’s Hospital, St. Mary’s Medical Center and St. Louis County Victim-Witness Program, to name a few. Fries, who is a UMD graduate, got involved with PAVSA when she volunteered in the advocacy program while in school. Advocates work with victims to help them understand what they are going through, the various procedures that may take place and be a person the victims can talk to and confide in. Twice a year, PAVSA holds a 40-hour training program that allows for members of the community and students to volunteer as advocates for victims.
“When a victim is brought into the hospital, a SANE and advocate is automatically dispatched to the hospital,” Fries said. “Almost everyone accepts them. They [SANE] best understand the situation.” Here at UMD, there are services to help students understand and know what they can do if they have been sexually assaulted or know someone that has. “We are kind of a bridge,” said junior Cheré Suzette-Bergeron, intern for the Women’s Resource Action Center (WRAC). “We can’t counsel students that have been sexually assaulted, but they can definitely come to us and we can point them where to go.”
WRAC has tight relationships with many community programs that help with sexual assault victims, including PAVSA. Some tips to stay safe on campus include using the buddy system when you are out with your friends, look out for each other, don’t drink excessively, go home with someone you know and never leave your drink unattended.
“Educating people about services that exist can help them to make important decisions at difficult times,” Fries said. “We would like to raise awareness about the programs PAVSA offers so that survivors of sexual assault are empowered to use those services if they choose.”
If you are interested in volunteering with PAVSA, Fries strongly suggests visiting their Web site at www.pavsa.org for more information about training days and conferences being held in which students can get more information and involved.
