PAVSA: Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault

About SMART

Mission

To ensure a victim-centered community response to sexual assault with a culturally competent and multi-disciplinary approach.

Project Description

SMART (Sexual Assault Multi-Disciplinary Action Response Team) is a project designed to bring together community organizations in an effort to create a community response for responding to incidents of sexual assault. The five core areas of focus for SMART are: advocacy, cultural competency, law enforcement, medical, and prosecution. Representatives from these disciplines, in addition to representatives from other community agencies and organizations, form a multi-disciplinary team that has been using an eight-step protocol process to increase collaboration and to seek justice and healing for all victims of sexual violence.

Current Projects

The Southern St. Louis County SMART team is currently working on several projects, which include:

Sexual Assault Conference
College Protocol - Representatives from College of St. Scholastica, Lake Superior College, University of Minnesota-Duluth and University of Wisconsin-Superior are working collaboratively to create a protocol for responding to sexual assault and sexual harassment within the college and university communities.
Training - Those who work in advocacy, law enforcement, medical and prosecution are receiving multi-disciplinary training on using the new SMART protocols and working together to best serve victims.
Monitoring and Evaluation - The implementation of the SMART protocols is being monitored and evaluated for their affect on victims and on the systems that work with victims. The procedures outlined in the protocols will be updated as the need arises.
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program

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Law Enforcement Protocol

911 Emergency Dispatch

911 Emergency is often the first point of contact that victims of sexual assault have when accessing the criminal justice system. Dispatch personnel need to have a courteous, victim-centered approach when dealing with victims of sexual assault or the reporting party, since the way in which questions are asked/phrased can have a significant impact on the case and the victim.

Upon receiving a call that may be sexual assault, the dispatcher should:

Determine if the victim is injured and if medical attention is needed. If so, dispatch ambulance.
Get the reporter's name, address and phone number.
Obtain the victim's name, address and phone number.
Determine where and when the assault happened.
Determine if suspect is still present and if so, if suspect is armed.

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Medical Protocol

This protocol applies to victims aged 12 and older.

There are two main functions performed at the hospitals for sexual assault victims:

Medical treatment -Treatments are provided for injuries, pregnancy testing and prevention, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
Evidence collection - Evidence is collected from the body using the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit.

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Prosecution Protocol

Sexual Assault Prosecution Goal

The goal of the St. Louis County Attorney's Office in the prosecution of sexual assaults is to serve the people of St. Louis County and to protect public safety by vigorous and just prosecution of juveniles and adults who commit sexual assault in the county; to provide compassionate support and assistance to victims of sexual assault; and to collaborate with other agencies in the county which investigate sexual assault, supervise offenders, or provide services to its victims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of St. Louis County's response to sexual assault.

"Sexual assault"

for purposes of this protocol includes any of the following acts, or any attempt to commit these acts, involving a person who does not consent or who cannot consent:

Sexual penetration however slight
Sexual contact (intentional touching by the defendant of another's intimate parts, or the clothing over the intimate parts for sexual or aggressive purposes; may also include inducing or coercing another to touch the defendant's intimate parts)
Sexual contact or penetration of a child by an older child or an adult if the statutory age difference or position of authority exists

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Advocacy Protocol

Mission Statement

PAVSA is dedicated to the elimination of sexual violence in Southern St. Louis County.

Advocacy Services

All victim services available through PAVSA are:

Free and accessible
Victim-centered and victim-directed
Non-judgmental and confidential

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Duluth SANE Program Overview

A SANE is a registered nurse (R.N.) who has advanced education and clinical preparation in forensic examination of sexual assault victims. In the 1990s, sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs sprang up in hundreds of communities across the country to address the inadequacy of the traditional model for sexual assault medical evidentiary exams. Those who work with sexual assault victims have long recognized that victims are often re-traumatized when they come to hospital emergency departments for medical care and forensic evidence collection. Not only have victims had to wait for a long time to be examined, but those who perform the exams often lack training and experience in working with sexual assault victims and in gathering forensic evidence. The SANE program provides a victim-sensitive solution to systemic gaps in the medical-legal response to victims.

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Cultural Competency

The SMART team has a focus on providing a culturally competent approach to victims. To this end, the team has written protocols for working with people who are at higher risk for being victims and/or who face additional barriers in the systems. Cultural competency protocols have been written for: