PETERSBURG – Medical staff, an advocacy group and the police station in Petersburg have created a three-pronged approach to sexual assault cases.
“Understanding what sexual assault is, it’s kind of eye-opening,” said Annette Wooton, the executive director of a Petersburg advocacy group called WAVE, or Working Against Violence for Everyone. “For a lot of people, when you look at the statutes, you realize ‘oh, I’ve been assaulted.’”
The Sexual Assault Response Team, or SART, is headed by local police, medical professionals and WAVE. Wooton said the first step for anyone, let alone investigators, is to believe someone who says they were assaulted.
“Support them,” Wooton said. “Don’t tell them that they have to report or they have to do this or they can’t do this. Connect them to WAVE. Let them know that we are here to support them and we are not going to force them into doing anything that they don’t want to do.”
And when a person does report to WAVE, to the police or to the hospital, all three will be prepared with a coordinated response, she said. What’s more, those who have been sexually assaulted can report to virtually any Petersburg department, and he or she will be connected to SART with complete anonymity, Wooton said.
“Instead of going to the police to make a report, and the hospital for an exam, and then having to tell the story again at WAVE,” Wooton said, “we all meet together and respond together.”
According to the 2015 Alaska Victimization Survey, 50 percent of adult women in the state have experienced sexual assault or intimate partner violence. Jared Popp, a police officer in Petersburg and investigator with SART, said the station gets about one case of sexual assault per year. But with SART created, Popp said it could help those who might be reluctant to report.
“We aren’t always able to tend to the emotional side of the trauma,” Popp said on police officers. “Our job is to interview, gather evidence and arrest the bad guy.”
Now that WAVE is involved, an advocate could be there to explain the reporting process. And if a report is submitted into the Petersburg Medical Center, Jennifer Hyer, a physician, would likely be the one who responds.
“When that happens, then we say, ‘is that a process you want to move forward with?’” Hyer said. “Rather quickly, within 10 to 15 minutes, we can have our team assembled.”
Medical staff would complete a forensic exam, while a police officer would ask questions and gather evidence — all with the advocate present, Hyer said.
“As a member of this community, as a mom and a physician, I want this community to be the safest, healthiest community in Alaska, if not the United States,” Hyer said. “A part of that is owning up to what is happening in our community, recognizing it and making this a safe place for people to come forward.”
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