Observations of a Sexual Assault Response Team

• In Event: Sexual Victimization

Abstract

A strained history between rape victims and criminal justice practitioners has resulted in chronic underreporting, inadequate prosecution rates, and the neglect of victims’ emotional and mental health needs. The traditionally contentious relationship between victims of sexual assault and criminal justice professionals is not lost on the criminal justice agents who are tasked with responding to victims/survivors of sexual assault. One intervention that has been adopted in metropolitan communities across the US is Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs). Building rapport and developing collaborative relationships between the various agencies and actors who regularly interact with and serve victims of sexual violence is an important step towards providing more supportive and victim-centered responses to these crimes. Individuals on a SART typically include rape crisis advocates, sexual assault nurse examiners, police, and prosecutors, all of whom who work together on a consistent basis in responding to sexual assault victimization. However, their actual form and function (when they meet, what those meetings consist of, key roles of each individual) is defined and developed by individual jurisdictions. This presentation will focus on two years’ of observations of a SART in a Southeastern city. Implications for jurisdictions that are considering development of a SART will be discussed.

Author

• Sarah Koon-Magnin, University of South Alabama