On Thursday the Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP) hosted a conference aimed at training law enforcement, prosecutors, advocates, educators, and other professionals on how to build a successful Sexual Assault Response Team in their county. Over 20+ counties were present at the conference including Washington County, with Police Chief Jim Lester speaking at the event.

Washington County Victim Advocate Deanna Hansen says that the training that these agencies received was not a one size fits all solution. “We had training working with survivors with disabilities, the LGBTQIA+ community and working with child survivors. Human trafficking was also covered and we brought in expert law enforcement to talk about how to deal with these cases.”

A former child victim, DJ Palmer, was the keynote speaker, and it was his personal experiences Hansen believes not only shined a light on child sexual abuse but also the sexual abuse of men. “Just being able to talk about his experiences was really important, especially for male survivors as well because there’s this stigma around male survivors because people think that they should’ve been able to fight it off.”

Washington County Attorney John Gish describes why it’s very hard for victims of sexual assault to go to the authorities. “Some of the reasons would include but are not limited to the fear of not being believed is a main one and when survivors see juries acquitting or being hung in sex abuse trials it’s a disincentive for them to come forward.”

If you would like more information about RVAP or any of their upcoming seminars or events you can find more information on the Rape Victims Advocacy Program website.