TRENTON
-- Attorney General Peter C. Harvey was
honored this week by the New
Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault
(NJCASA) for his efforts in combating
sexual violence and violence against women,
and for his commitment to encouraging
public discourse on those and related
issues.
During a NJCASA-sponsored ceremony held
Thursday evening in Princeton, the coalition
awarded Harvey its “Let’s
Talk About It” award for his “unwavering
dedication to speaking out against violence
against women, and for increasing awareness
about the importance of eliminating sexual
violence in our communities.”
Based in Trenton, NJCASA is a statewide
advocacy organization dedicated to combating
sexual violence, promoting the compassionate
and just treatment of sexual assault victims
and their loved ones, and to raising public
awareness about issues relating to sexual
violence and the victimization of women.
“I
am honored to have been recognized by
the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual
Assault, an organization that is doing
vital advocacy work on behalf of many
people in need of help throughout our
state,” said Harvey. “April
is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, so
by calendar standards, this is an appropriate
time to be talking about sexual violence
and violence against women. However, the
reality is that any time is the right
time to be talking about these critical
issues. Sexual violence and violence against
women occurs around the clock and, at
the Attorney General’s Office, our
commitment is to not only encouraging
frank public discussion about the problem,
but to doing something about it.”
Earlier this week, Attorney General Harvey
announced that more than 100 county Sexual
Assault Team Advisory Board members from
throughout New Jersey have completed a
mandatory training session regarding the
newly-revised “standards for providing
services to victims of sexual assault.”
The new standards for providing victim
services were created based on recommendations
made by the Coordinating Council of the
Attorney General’s SART/SANE (Sexual
Assault Response Team/Sexual Assault Nurse
Examiners) program. The coordinating council
includes representation from the Division
of Criminal Justice, the County Prosecutors
Association, the New Jersey Sex Crimes
Officers Association, Sexual Assault Nurse
Examiners, New Jersey Board of Nursing,
NJ CASA, and the New Jersey Division of
Women.
The SART/SANE program is a unique rape
and sexual assault response initiative
involving the work of sexual assault nurse
examiners, rape care advocates, and law
enforcement officers who provide compassionate,
coordinated services to victims of sexual
assault.
“The
new set of standards is more victim-oriented,
and contains expanded protocols for such
areas as rape care advocacy, sexual assault
forensic evidence kits and specialized
services for child and adolescent victims,”
said Attorney General Harvey. “With
these new standards and expanded protocols,
New Jersey has taken a significant step
forward by training SART/SANE personnel
and hospitals on how best to assist the
victims of sexual assault.”
The SANE/SART concept of aiding victims
of sexual assault includes a “team”
approach, ensuring that every victim of
sexual assault has access to the best
possible care and services available from
health care, law enforcement and rape
care advocacy agencies throughout the
state. Since its inception in 1996, the
state-wide SART/SANE program has received
more than $3 million in funding from the
Division of Criminal Justice through the
Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy.
According to Attorney General Harvey,
statistics indicate that an increasing
number of people are drawing on the services
provided through SART/SANE.
In 2004, he said, the 21 county-based
SART/SANE rape care programs served 3,539
new victims, 1,215 new “significant
others/family members,” and fielded
13,640 hotline calls.
“The
statistics tell two stories,” said
the Attorney General. “One is that
more victims are reaching out, and that
is a good thing. The other story is that
the violence continues, and that is unacceptable.
The time has come for us to give our individual
and collective attention to stopping sexual
violence and violence against women now.”
In addition to Attorney General Harvey,
two other persons were honored Thursday
by NJCASA for their efforts on behalf
of sexual violence victims. The honorees
were Carole Vasile, Supervisor of the
Office on the Prevention of Violence Against
Women within the State Department of Community
Affairs’ Division on Women, and
Lisa Diamond Rosenthal and Patricia E.
Berry, both of Montclair, who work on
behalf of Teresa’s Truth and Courage
Fund, a fund to aid the victims of sexual
violence.
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