A.G. Gancarski
Jacksonville is determined to do whatever is necessary to help victims of sexual assault.
That was the message Tuesday from three of the most powerful politicians in the city: Mayor Lenny Curry, Sheriff Mike Williams, and State Attorney Angela Corey.
Jacksonville, of course, has been active in working against that scourge for a while. The Sexual Assault Advisory Council was established via executive order in 1998.
However, there is still work to do. One example is the untested sexual assault kits that have accumulated, in Duval County, throughout the state, and throughout the country.
On Tuesday, Jacksonville’s leaders came together to deliver a message: The kits will be tested. The victims will find redress.
Curry framed the issue with his commitment to public safety, and discussed the need to show support for victims and to bring awareness to the community.
State Attorney Corey, meanwhile, said Tuesday’s event was a fulfillment of a 2-year-old dream.
In April 2014 “our team began the process of identifying untested rape kits,” she said.
To that end, Corey said, the SAO worked to secure funding, and in September, a $1.9 million federal grant was approved to facilitate the process of finally stemming the backlog of test kits, some dating back more than two decades.
Now, Corey said, over $3 million is earmarked for the process. And a memorandum of understanding was reached with the SAO, area law enforcement, and the Women’s Center of Jacksonville, which assigned roles in ensuring justice is served on behalf of sexual assault victims.
Among other things, the MOU dedicates an assistant state attorney to dealing with this category of crimes, as well as a dedicated victim advocate and investigator. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, likewise, will devote resources, including a monthly report on progress, as well as two dedicated, grant-funded cold-case detectives.
Corey also announced that a Victim Hotline (904-255-3076) is in place, where victims can call and talk to advocates to help them through the process.
Between local measures and legislation on the state level requiring timely tests of kits, Corey says progress has been made.
Sheriff Mike Williams, for his part, noted that evolving technology presents new challenges, including social media and Snapchat, and other location sensitive apps which could make the unwary easier targets.
Williams urged that parents and guardians have a “serious conversation with [their] children, especially preteens.”
Vigilance is the key to prevention, he said.
However, Williams also noted that those at greatest risk are those without supervision. Runaway youngsters are at the highest risk of assault. The sex trade and human trafficking likewise present real challenges.
The model in Jacksonville to combat the scourge of sexual assault is a multidisciplinary team that has explicit buy-in from leaders at all levels.
It’s the only one of its sort in Florida. It could be a model for initiatives elsewhere in the state, where 1.3 million women have, at some point, been victim to sexual assault.
After the event, we spoke with Corey, who has seen her primary opponent bring up the rape test kits as an issue in his campaign.
Corey, when asked, said that the actions of her office “should retire [the issue] if the truth matters” to her opponent.
However, it was not a day for political positioning. It was the day to speak about those who matter most.
The victims.
