State
of New Jersey
Executive
Order #40
Governor
James E. McGreevey
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:
- 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.
- The Council shall consist of the following 25 members:
- 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.
- 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.
- The Chairperson of the Advisory Council on Sexual Violence shall
be selected by the Governor from among the membership of the Council.
- The Advisory Council Against Sexual Violence shall:
- 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.
- Develop specific protocols, standards and practices and recommendations
to provide for an ongoing review and improvement of services for victims
of sexual violence.
- Study the needs, priorities, programs and policies relating to sexual
violence throughout the state.
- Monitor the effectiveness of the laws concerning sexual violence
and make recommendations for their improvement.
- Review proposed legislation governing sexual violence and make recommendations
to the Governor and the Legislature.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
/s/ Paul A. Levinsohn
Chief Counsel to the Governor
|