| The Sexual Assault Response Center (SARC) offers services to all community members in Benton and Franklin counties in Washington State. We provide 24-hour client services for victims of sexual violence, in addition to offering preventive education and awareness. SARC also seeks to identify gaps in services and works with the community to find solutions.
Crisis Program
SARC is here to help you. SARC is available 24 hours a day to assist anyone who has questions or concerns about sexual assault. SARC services are free of charge and are confidential. Please call SARC at 374-5391 for information or to access the following services:
Crisis Line: SARC advocates are available 24 hours a day to answer questions, or if you just need someone to listen. This line also serves as a point of contact for clients who may need immediate emergency assistance.
Crisis Intervention: Our advocates provide short-term crisis intervention to clients. Advocates provide information, support, and validation for the client's feelings. We strongly recommend that clients also seek sexual assault/abuse therapy.
Legal and Medical Advocacy: Our agency staff and trained volunteer advocates respond to hospital calls to provide medical advocacy for victims of sexual assault. We also provide legal advocacy at police interviews and court proceedings. Moral support and information is given to victims, families and friends.
On-Site Counseling: All clients are offered up to eight counseling sessions at no cost to the client. Research shows counseling can be helpful in preventing the onset of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and its debilitating symptoms. Also, the quicker counseling is begun, the better the prognosis. Every person experiences trauma differently. Six sessions may be all a client needs to integrate the trauma and return to his/her previous level of functioning. For others, the six sessions may bridge the time waiting for an intake appointment or insurance approval for longer-term counseling.
Therapy Referrals: We can assist our clients in the process of finding a counselor who has experience working with sexual assault survivors. We also have information regarding payment options such as sliding fee scales, medical coupons, and crime victims compensation. In addition, SARC provides financial support to clients who would not otherwise be able to seek professional mental health care.
Support Groups: Support Groups are offered free of charge. Each session typically runs for 6 weeks. We are currently offering groups for non-offending parents of abused children. In the Fall we will also be offering groups for teen-age victims. We are able to provide groups for adult survivors and male victims as the need arises.
Library: SARC has an extensive library containing a multitude of resources (including books and videos) which relate to sexual violence. The library is available to all members of the community.
Program Statistics: In FY 2007, SARC provided 5,544 services to 374 new clients. There were 500 calls for information and 216 crisis intervention calls. 4,397 follow up contacts were made to existing clients and 1,327 contacts were made to other agencies on behalf of SARC clients.
Approximately 50% of the clients were under the age of 12, 26% between the ages of 12 and 18, with the remaining 24% consisting of adult victims and adult survivors of child abuse.
30% of clients were victims of family molestation, 22% - acquaintance molestation, 19% - date/acquaintance rape, 8% - family rape, 10% - adult survivor of child abuse, 4% - stranger rape, 1% - marital rape, 2% - sexual harassment and 3% - stranger molestation.
Education Program
SARC believes that awareness, information and prevention are key in our quest to create a community without violence. Our Education Program is proactive and seeks to create social change in our community.
Community Presentations
All presentations are offered in an age appropriate manner and are directed toward the prevention of sexual violence.
Sunshine Puppet Theater: This live performance is geared to children ages 3 to 7 years old. The puppets interact with the children to teach them the skills to recognize, resist, and report inappropriate touches through the "Yell & Tell" rule.
P.S. Happy Bear: Happy Bear is the name of the main character in a play to teach personal safety. During the course of the play, children teach Happy Bear about welcome and unwelcome touches; personal safety zones (personal space); how to respond to unwelcome touches; who to tell, and, “It’s never your fault!!”. This play offers a way for adults to communicate with their kids about personal safety in a non-threatening, informative manner.
Personal Body Safety: For children ages 8 - 11 years old, this program includes discussion of safety rules, assertiveness role plays, and identifying adults children should go to when seeking help.
Parent Education: Parents are given information about child sexual abuse, offender behavior, signs of possible abuse and guidelines to responding to a disclosure of abuse. Parents can also preview the puppet program and discuss the principles of childhood personal safety the puppet show offers. Parents are given the tools to reinforce these concepts at home.
Sexual Harassment in Secondary Schools: Middle and high school students are informed of the definition of sexual harassment, legal issues, and how to respond if they are sexually harassed. Gender roles, attitudes and beliefs that play a dynamic part in sexual harassment issues are examined. Student participation is encouraged through class activities.
Date/Acquaintance Rape Prevention: This high school program includes discussions of gender stereotyping, societal attitudes and beliefs that contribute to sexual violence. The main focus is creating healthy relationships and how to recognize warning signs and abusive behaviors. Not only do we teach safety to potential victims, we teach students skills so they won^t become offenders.
Internet Safety: Children are taught how to safely use the Internet. Discussions include safety tips and rules in addition to real life examples of offenders preying on kids through the Internet.
General Sexual Assault: This presentation gives statistics and informs audiences about child sexual abuse, sex offenders, adult survivors, rape, social myths, laws and prevention. This presentation is offered to service clubs, businesses, churches, and to anyone interested in learning more about sexual violence.
Special Projects
Our Education Program continually looks for innovative ways to increase the communities awareness of sexual violence and to motivate our community to become involved in the fight against sexual abuse.
Little People Project: Each year SARC showcases little wooden, three dimensional, figurines that represent the number of child abuse cases that were investigated in Benton/Franklin counties, for that particular year. These "Little People" are put on display during Sexual Assault Awareness Week" in a variety of places throughout the community. This year, approximately 500 children will be on display.
Bookmark Program: SARC distributes bookmarks depicting sexual assault information to local book stores and libraries. The intent is to raise awareness and counter myths surrounding sexual violence.
Sexual Assault Awareness Week: SARC organizes a variety of activities for "Sexual Assault Awareness Week (SAAW)"; which occurs on an annual basis in April. The purpose of this week is to not only raise the awareness of sexual violence, but to also mobilize the community in the fight to end sexual assault.
Television Documentaries: SARC develops and airs two thirty-minute television documentaries each year. Past topics have included Internet Crime, Child Sexual Abuse, Date and Acquaintance Rape, Offenders, and our Kids Haven Program.
Sexual Harassment Intervention Program: This is an educational program for students who have a charge/complaint of sexual harassment against them by another student or teacher. The student is solely responsible for scheduling their own appointments. The program consists of three one-hour sessions and a two page typed paper. Information covered includes the definition of sexual harassment, victims (male and female), Impact vs. Intent, boundaries and gender stereotyping. A final paper is submitted to the school principal and SARC as a part of our follow-up.
Clothesline Project: During Sexual Assault Awareness Week SARC displays t-shirts that have been designed by survivors of sexual violence. Designing these shirts is therapeutic for clients as it provides an avenue to express their emotions. Displaying the shirts increases awareness in our community.
Newsletter: SARC develops and distributes a quarterly newsletter that discusses information pertaining to sexual violence, information on local sex offenders, community events, and provides a forum for individuals to voice their experience surrounding sexual violence. The newsletter is distributed to 1,250 individuals and agencies.
Community Development Projects
SARC strongly believes that communities are best equipped to understand what struggles they face and have the best insight on solving these problems. A “community development project” is one where first a community seeking to end sexual violence is identified e.g., a school, church, neighborhood. SARC then works with this community to provide education in order to empower the community to face their challenges. While the work is intensive at the beginning, ideally, SARC can then step back and provide updated education and support over time while the community is continuing to work on their issues on a daily basis. This approach empowers individuals to improve the quality of life in their community and allows SARC to reach many more individuals.
Program Statistics: In FY 2007 SARC provided 568 presentations reaching 16,763 individuals. An additional 330,241 people were reached through an assortment of outreach efforts.
Kids Haven
Kids Haven is a joint effort between SARC and our local city and county governments. It is a program designed to meet the needs of children who have allegedly been physically and/or sexually abused.
The goal of Kids Haven is multi-faceted:
Lessen the trauma to children when they disclose they have been abused: It is difficult for children to discuss the details of their abuse. It can be made even more difficult by going to a police station, courthouse or office that can even intimidate adults. Our center is a very child friendly facility designed to make the child feel as comfortable as possible.
When the child is interviewed, detectives, CPS workers and prosecutors all have the ability to observe the interview through a one-way mirror. This reduces the need for multiple interviews. Thus, the child does not need to relive the abuse multiple times to a variety of people in an assortment of settings.
Holding more offenders accountable: By having neutral, quality interviews, a higher number of child abusers are being convicted. The already small chance that someone may be wrongly charged is also reduced.
Offer comprehensive services to children and their non-offending family members: Child abuse is a horrific crime. Children and their non-offending family members deserve to receive services to assist them in the healing process. Benton and Franklin County Prosecuting Attorneys provide Victim Witness Coordinators to meet with the parents to explain the legal process. SARC offers support and advocacy and explains the many services we provide. Therapy referrals are also provided.
Structure
The Benton County Prosecuting Attorneys Office is responsible for the employment and supervision of the Child Interviewer and the financial administration related to this function. SARC is responsible for the employment and supervision of the Kids Haven Coordinator and the financial administration related to this position.
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