Abuse Center Long Overdue

In 1993, the San Fernando Valley reported more child abuse cases than 47 other counties in the state. There were also more rapes than in 45 of the state’s 58 counties, and more incidents of domestic violence than in 43 California counties.

Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse suffer horrible physical and emotional anguish. Many of these victims must wait up to eight hours in emergency rooms before they receive treatment from medical personnel who are not specifically trained to conduct evidentiary exams. Those personnel often overlook or misinterpret vital evidence that makes cases of domestic violence, sexual assault or child abuse difficult, if not impossible, to prosecute.

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For example, while about half of the mothers of abused children report also being battered by the child’s abuser, most existing examinations and investigations of child abuse focus on adults or children, but not both. This makes effective family treatment and efficient prosecutions in cases of sexual or physical assaults difficult at best, nonexistent at worst.

Despite the statistically obvious and overwhelming need, Valley victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse have never had easy access to an integrated, multidisciplinary service center.

With nowhere nearby to go and a shortage of other options, many victimized women from the Valley do not seek immediate medical attention or report that an assault has been committed against them or their children. Beyond the original violent assault, an involuntary muzzle or bureaucratic boondoggle becomes, in effect, a second victimization.

This summer, I was able to secure $500,000 from the state budget for the creation of the San Fernando Valley’s first Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). SARTs bring together expert medical personnel, law enforcement officials, prosecutors and victims-service providers to ensure that victims of sexual assault receive prompt medical treatment and that the evidence is properly collected for use in prosecutions.

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A SART in the Valley will lessen the time a victim has to wait for medical treatment, evidence gathering, and psychological counseling. Having the necessary personnel coordinate and work together at one location, we will automatically increase the chances of putting the repulsive abusers of women and children behind bars. SARTs treating rape victims in other states have reported conviction rates as high as 100%.

I originally sought $1 million for this program to serve women and their children--twice the amount ultimately agreed to by Republican legislators and the governor (who vetoed similar legislation last year). Remember, these are the folks who stand on the platforms of “family values” and “tough on crime.”

While it is frustrating that the Republicans in Sacramento cut the funding, scope and number of potential beneficiaries from the Valley SART, its creation is nonetheless an important move in the right direction, and represents a significant victory for women and children, prosecutors and medical practitioners.

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The program will begin at Mission Community Hospital. In time, we hope there will be adequate funding to expand its services to other facilities in the Valley and throughout Los Angeles County.

The bad news is that there is a profound need for this type of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse response team. The good news is that the services they provide will, for the first time ever, be centrally located and readily accessible to abused women and children in the San Fernando Valley.