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Awareness is key to sexual assault prevention

Sexual assault is one of the most under-reported, and most traumatizing crimes.

In 2019 more than 40 Marshalltown survivors were served by the Access Assault Care Center, 70 survivors were served in Marshall County.

The Access Assault Care Center is based in Ames. The organization helps survivors of sexual and domestic abuse. The Center also serves the counties of Marshall, Boone, Greene, Story and Tama.

In 2019, 59 sexual assaults were reported in Marshalltown and 13 were reported in Marshall County.

“The ones that are reported are just a small fraction of what is actually happening,” said Lydia Wolken, Marshall and Tama Counties sexual abuse advocate for Assault Care Center. “If we think about the numbers of reports Marshalltown takes versus the number of survivors that we serve in Marshalltown the numbers are usually quite different.”

More often than not victims know the perpetrators personally and it leaves lifelong scars forever felt. Access Assault Center works with victims and wants to destigmatize reporting of sexual assault.

Community Foundation Grant

In March, Access received a $3,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Marshall County.

The grant is going to help emergency financial systems for survivors, said Tess Cody, Access executive director.

A number of survivors encounter housing instability “what often helps is giving people a month of time paying their rent,” Cody said.

The grant helps provide support for victims which is a large part of what Access does.

“We serve any survivor of sexual assault,” Wolken said.

Access helps survivors of sexual assault as well as family members or anyone who was affected by the assault.

“We’re free and confidential to anyone who lives in our service area,” Wolken said. “If someone does not want to report to law enforcement they absolutely can still work with an advocate.”

A dark subject

The month of April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and it helps bring to light a crime often left in darkness.

“Knowing that sexual assault can impact anybody of any age, this particular month my heart is going out to survivors who, because of the COVID-19 crisis, are more isolated than ever,” Cody said. “Socially distancing is really physically distancing but we can be socially connected.”

It is important to look out for the most vulnerable of society, she said.

The pandemic has also left a lot of victims stuck inside with their abusers because of the quarantine.

“Nationally the domestic violence hotline has seen a huge spike in their calls for service,” Cody said. “The person who hurts them is usually a family member, a close friend.”

A major dynamic of sexual abuse is how it thrives in secret, secluded and quiet environments.

“Unfortunately, the way we’ve had to navigate distancing has created an environment of accidental secrecy,” Cody said.

MPD response

The Marshalltown Police Department takes sexual assault seriously and Sexual Assault Awareness month gives them a chance to communicate on an issue that is not talked about enough.

“I think it’s an opportunity to be deliberate in our efforts to talk to the community about sexaul assault crimes and how they impact our community and we can work together as a community to address these problems,” said Mike Tupper, Marshalltown Police Chief.

He echoed Wolken’s sentiment about the number of reported sexual assault cases not matching the number of actual assaults.

“About 20 to 30 percent of crimes that are occurring in your community are actually reported to law enforcement,” Tupper said. “A large number of cases are going unreported and there’s victims out there that are not receiving services and there are offenders that are not being held accountable.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented Tupper and Access from holding community events to spread the word about Sexual Assault Awareness month.

Tupper and the Marshalltown Police Department have put videos and posts on social media letting the public know about Sexual Assault Awareness month.

“It takes a multidisciplinary approach to address these problems; it’s not just law enforcement,” Tupper said.

The MPD works with Access and other groups to help victims and spread awareness.

“A lot of the sex crimes that we deal with involve children as victims,” Tupper said. “We have to work closely with a lot of groups to help victims, but also bring awareness to the issue and hold offenders accountable.”

Losing the stigma

Unfortunately sex crimes have a large social stigma surrounding them. Often victims will be accused of leading on assaulters or victims are blamed in some other fashion.

Tupper and the MPD have worked hard to lift that stigma and let victims know they can reach out to them.

“It all starts with communication,” Tupper said. “Things are getting better, but there are still a lot of folks that just have difficulty understanding how these crimes can occur and too often we’re still seeing victim blaming.”

For Tupper victim blaming doesn’t make sense.

“If your house gets broken into nobody’s going to blame you for that crime occuring, but too often when somebody’s been the victim of sexual assault there will be people who look for reasons to blame the victim,” Tupper said. “It’s the only crime that I’m aware of that we do to those victims. I think we still have some work to do to overcome the stigma.”

Tupper has been involved with investigating sexual assaults and its rare for him to encounter a false report.

“It’s still pretty common for people to try to blame victims,” Tupper said. “It’s a horrific crime. It’s something that impacts people their entire lives and I think as a society we need to do a better job to try to support victims and make sure they have the resources they need to recover.”

Spreading awareness

Access works with victims, regardless of how long ago they were assaulted.

“Sometimes their assault just happened and we respond to the hospital in real time,” Wolken said. “Other times they come to us 15 or 20 years down the road because they’re a parent now and they want to have an outlet to talk about their assault so they can better prepare themselves for when they have to talk to their children about things that could potentially happen.”

Awareness is, sometimes, the best way to prevent awful things from happening.

“If you’re not aware of something then you’re not aware of the movement to stop it,” Wolken said.

April was designated as Sexual Assault Awareness month as a way to help victims know they are not alone.

“People really gravitate toward having a day or a month to recognize things and if that’s the best way to get someone’s attention on the matter then that’s the way we’re going to continue to do it,” Wolken said.

April is also child abuse awareness month and often sexual assault and child abuse occur at the same time.

Sexual Assault Awareness month is also a good way to reach rural communities where there might not be as much awareness during the rest of the year, Wolken said.

“Having this month makes it an easier and more direct way to reach everyone,” she said. “Hopefully we’re able to keep that going throughout the rest of the year.”

Reaching out

Access is still providing support to victims.

“We’re still taking referrals, we’re still working with people,” Wolken said. “I know for sure in Marshalltown numbers of reports are down. We suspect the numbers of assaults taking place are higher than ever, because people are stressed and people are home and that is one of the things that generally causes an uptick in assaults happening.”

Wolken wants people to know that even if they aren’t accepting walk-ins their crisis lines are always open.

“People should definitely reach out if they’re needing support,” Wolken said.

Access is a non-profit and people are able to donate by visiting their website.

“Right now things are a little bit different with tangible donations because of COVID-19 and things that are shut down right now,” Wolken said.

There’s still help and the abused are not alone.

“Folks can still go to the police. Folks can still go to the hospital,” Cody said. “Our emergency shelter is still here.”

Cody hears about victims weighing their options of the fear of continued abuse versus the fear of the public health crisis.

“Survivors know the best path,” Cody said.

Victims of sexual assault can still reach out and they will still be heard by Access, the Marshalltown Police and others.

“Sometimes society doesn’t make it easy for victims to come forward,” Tupper said. “These are conversations we should be having throughout the year.”

CRISIS LINES:

Sexual Abuse: 1-800-203-4641

Domestic Abuse: 1-855-696-4641

Housing/Shelter: 1-855-696-2980

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Contact Thomas Nelson at (641)753-6611 or tnelson@timesrepublican.com

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