WHEREAS, females and males of all ages, racial, cultural and economic backgrounds are victims of sexual violence, which includes rape, incest, unwanted sexual contact, sexual harassment, prostitution or exposure to pornography and voyeurism; and

WHEREAS, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in the United States have experienced rape or attempted rape at some time in their lives; and

WHEREAS, women who are sexually assaulted as children and adolescents are at greater risk of being sexually assaulted as adults; women who were raped before the age of 18 are twice as likely to be raped as an adult; and

WHEREAS, in the United States, violence against women is predominately intimate partner violence; 76 percent of women who have been raped or physically assaulted since the age of 18 are assaulted by a current or former husband, cohabitating partner or date; and

WHEREAS, in New Jersey, 1 in 10 victims report their assault to law enforcement, and a total of 1,277 rapes were reported in 2001; and

WHEREAS, in New Jersey, over 18,000 victims and family members received services in 2000 from New Jersey's 21 county rape care programs; and

WHEREAS, a function of the Office on the Prevention of the Violence Against Women ("the Office") in the Division on Women within the Department of Community Affairs is to implement strategies to prevent violence against women and to explore prevention initiatives;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, James E. McGreevey, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

1. There is hereby established the Advisory Council Against Sexual Violence within the Office on the Prevention of Violence Against Women in the Division on Women within the Department of Community Affairs. The Council shall review and recommend policies, procedures, protocols, trainings and standards relating to sexual violence and recommend solutions in the prevention of sexual violence.

2. The Council shall consist of the following 25 members:
   1. The Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, the Director of the Division on Women in the Department of Community Affairs, the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services, the Commissioner of the Department of Education, the Attorney General, Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts with the approval of the Chief Justice, Superintendent of the State Police, the Chief of the Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy, the Supervisor of the Office on the Prevention of Violence against Women, the Coordinator of State Rape Care Program, or their designees.
      
      
   2. 15 public members appointed by the Governor shall include the following representatives: a county assistant prosecutor, assigned to prosecute sexual assault cases, a licensed social worker or licensed clinical social worker with demonstrated expertise in the field of sexual violence, a law enforcement representative with experience in sexual violence, a representative from the New Jersey Hospital Association, a representative of the New Jersey State Nurses Association, a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, a survivor of sexual violence, a representative from a New Jersey college or university, a representative from the Violent Crime Compensation Board, a representative with expertise in child sexual abuse and treatment, a representative of the New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women, and four representatives of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
      
      
   3. The Chairperson of the Advisory Council on Sexual Violence shall be selected by the Governor from among the membership of the Council.

3. The Advisory Council Against Sexual Violence shall:
   1. Review the effectiveness of the current protocols, standards and practices for the examination and treatment of victims of sexual violence and attempted sexual assault and review the implementation of the protocols, standards and practices.
      
      
   2. Develop specific protocols, standards and practices and recommendations to provide for an ongoing review and improvement of services for victims of sexual violence.
      
      
   3. Study the needs, priorities, programs and policies relating to sexual violence throughout the state.
      
      
   4. Monitor the effectiveness of the laws concerning sexual violence and make recommendations for their improvement.
      
      
   5. Review proposed legislation governing sexual violence and make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature.
      
      
   6. Ensure that service providers and citizens are aware of the needs of victims and services available to victims of sexual violence and make recommendations for community education and training programs.

4. The Advisory Council Against Sexual Violence shall report their progress to the Governor within one year of the effective date of this order, and thereafter, on a regular basis as determined by the Council.

5. On the effective date of this order, all of the records and files of the Sexual Assault Protocol Council shall be transferred to the Advisory Council Against Sexual Violence.

6. This order shall take effect immediately.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal, this 22nd day
of November in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand
Two, and of the Independence of the United States,
the Two Hundred and Twenty-Seventh.

/s/ James E. McGreevey
Governor [seal]

Attest: