Sexual assault is one of the most under-reported crimes in the United States to date. There are many barriers that survivors experience to seeking law enforcement intervention: embarrassment, shame, guilt, and most importantly mistrust in the criminal justice system.
Experiencing sexual assault is an extremely traumatic experience that occurs in a person’s lifetime. What is further disheartening following the violation of a woman’s body and sense of security is when the system that is designed to serve and protect, fails and re-victimizes.
On April 2, 2014, a New Orleans resident was attacked by strangulation in a Carrollton home by a perpetrator that had been lurking in her neighborhood for days prior. When the police arrived, initially at the wrong residence, the attending officers initiated preliminary investigation tactics that according to the survivor, addressed the incident nonchalantly. The survivor felt completely disregarded.
This recent incident in Carrollton is one story of many that reflects the pervasive re-victimization of survivors through accusatory investigative procedures and the lack of empathic delivery methods.
The National Sexual Assault Awareness campaign’s message is to encourage survivors and advocates to speak out. However, for this recent survivor and many others, speaking out to the police has added another layer of trauma.
The police, along with 911 dispatchers, are often the first encounter the survivor will have while attempting to seek support for her attack. If she receives any resistance from the first responders, she will be reluctant to continue seeking available supportive resources; leaving survivors to retreat into a world of isolation and despair.
April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Let us use this month and every month to continue to bring awareness to the types of violence women experience and to the barriers they will face in getting help and support. We must continue the push to create greater dialog among survivors, advocates, and law enforcement that will result in better service and support for survivors.
Women with a Vision’s Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking, and Dating Violence Program offers support with the understanding of keeping the needs and experiences of the survivor at the center of our program. You are not alone.
If you have experienced a sexual assault or know someone who has, and would like to share your story, please contact us at (504) 301-0428.