The Crime Victims Assistance Center (CVAC) provides resources and support to victims within Broome and Chenango County. They try to tackle the issue of sexual assault and human trafficking in many different ways in the free services that they provide: crisis line, counseling, legal aid, educational workshops, child advocacy, etc. CVAC’s generally serves 1,500 community members per year. Their mission is to provide compassion and comfort to community members that have been wronged by crime and in a time of need. The help survivors on their journey to find peace and open a dialogue about assault/abuse within the community.
CVAC is involved in the four local university’s but I think especially Binghamton. They table at many events on campus for the CCE to provide information about their programs. As well as a special tabling event, to reduce the stigma of survivors and resources on how to get help. They have helped the SA President in developing a sexual assault survey for on campus which will be released later this year. I have seen the support that CVAC has provided to peers at the university as is not something that is always received at home. When one of my friends told their parents their first response was ‘I don’t believe you’ which was heartbreaking. CVAC provides resources on how to help survivors and up to 12 free counseling sessions. It truly is about helping people when they are in distress and in dire need. Victims of rape are more likely to commit suicide, develop PTSD, depression and anxiety.
Overall, CVAC is incredibly dedicated to the community as a whole. Last semester, I worked with CVAC to have an event on campus about human trafficking in the Binghamton area. Salaka shared her story about the trafficking she faced as an adolescent. In doing so we had meetings with Jessica Hyatt about issues surrounding trafficking and assault in the area. I went to a couple of CVAC’s task force for Assault & human trafficking meetings which united many community partners together to combat the issue. The council of churches, caseworkers, Rotary, college students, etc. were all eager to help. The council of churches asked what type of donations were needed for victims and typically help shelter victims. They wanted to learn more about Internet safety for at-risk youth in the area.
They have many programs to attack the issues from multiple sides. CVAC offers 6-12 free counseling sessions for survivors which is incredibly beneficial to them. The area is medically underserved in mental health professionals. There is a subsection of CVAC that is a Sexual Assualt Response Team (SART) that brings professionals together to research contributing issues and solutions to sexual assault. Last year, CVAC provides legal aid for 400 victims. They have a Safe Harbor program that deals with local youth sex trafficking. It has become more prevalent with predators to contact children online via games or social media. The Broome County Child Advocacy Center provides a safe space to neglected children and conduct CPS interviews. In the past 3years, CVAC has had 9 community trainings and 15 community presentations.
I think that the class should contribute to this organization because they are tackling a national issue at a local level. There are many statistics that demonstrate the prevalence of sexual assault in the nation. For instance, In the United States alone, every 73 seconds an American is assaulted. One in 6 American women are the victim of assault. (https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence)Men represent one out of every ten victims. These numbers represent human lives and it is imperative to treat them as such. Survivors are our family members, our friends, our peers, etc. CVAC works to support survivors in any capacity possible when they can feel completely alone or distraught.
Bridget Flynn
Bridget Flynn
The mission of the CVAC is extremely important, as human trafficking and sexual assault are prevalent in society today. 23.1% female students and 5.4% of male students in college experience some form of sexual assault—up to and including rape—through physical force, violence, or incapacitation but only 63.3% of students believe that a report of sexual misconduct or assault would be taken seriously by campus officials (https://www.aau.edu/key-issues/aau-climate-survey-sexual-assault-and-sexual-misconduct-2015). This is because rape, or even ‘mere’ sexual harassment is a taboo subject regularly swept under the rug, particularly in the university system. That’s why it is so important that organizations like CVAC exist—they help open the dialogue in the community about these horrific events and help survivors in the aftermath.
ReplyDeleteBridget mentioned that when one of her friends told their parents about being sexually assaulted, they were told by their own flesh and blood ‘I don’t believe you,’ which is sadly a normal response to this situation. I had a friend in high school who’s ex-boyfriend emotionally abused her and repeatedly stalked her around school after their break-up, and that same boy had previously dated another one of my friends and had pressured them into sexual experiences they were not ready for. My friend sexually pressured never reported the occurrence, but my friend who was abused and stalked told the school who refused to do anything about it until her parents threatened to make the situation into a huge deal. That’s why it is so important for organizations like CVAC to work with universities, and I am grateful that Binghamton takes its mission seriously, with the SA President planning to release a sexual assault survey across campus. It is so important for schools, especially universities, to listen to survivors—to ensure they feel safe, they are heard, and to prevent there from being more victims in the future.
The programs CVAC offer are why I support donating to this organization, since a mission alone is not enough assurance that an organization is worthwhile. The counselling they offer truly helps survivors process and learn to live with what happened. However, the most important thing they do, in my mind, is the 9 community trainings and 15 community presentations they have held in the past 3 years. The media of today is normalizing sexual assault and rape to the extent that a multitude of people, including parents and teachers, trivialize it and harming the recovery of survivors. By educating the public, CVAC is ensuring that survivors are not left to their own devices and they are upheld by their community.
Sabrina Reba
Bridget, I appreciate you bringing awareness to the organization Crime Victims Assistance Center and its support for victims of sexual assault, and human trafficking. What struck me the most was the organization’s alliance with schools especially Binghamton University because in a setting so fast-paced and eccentric, incidents are more likely to occur. As students moving out of our parents’ homes for the first time, we immediately sweep our issues under the rug and fail to reach out to our loved ones to admit defeat. Yet, this assistance center offers a home to those away from home and provide the reassurance that what happened was true but shouldn’t define you.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, there is a misconception that sex trafficking is only centered around urban areas because of the increase in population and cover for such crime. However, as you mentioned, in the age of the internet and video games, its easier for victims to be lured in by such predators. Thus, it’s important that the strategies of promoting awareness and providing aid evolve with the tactics of predators in society. The various ways this organization provides assistance is important in eliminating the concept of victim blaming as the counseling, workshops, and advocacy all support the voices of the victims and empower them.
I was appreciative to see you decided to choose an organization dedicated to this issue. Sexual assault and harrassment issues are as prevalent today as ever, despite the efforts of the Me Too movement. In fact some of the backlash has led to certain people being less likely to believe and support survivors. It is unbelievable to me that this is a mentality people have, even though research has shown that only 2-7% of accusations are false. Even though this percentage is already very small, this data is extremely skewed because many studies that perform this research include all allegations that didn’t end in a conviction. It is much more likely that this could be attributed to a lack of evidence or a tendency to not believe victims rather than to allegations being false. This is also not even taking into consideration that the majority of assaults are not reported. The social climate and stigma that surround matters of sexual assault are very problematic and supporting organizations like CVAC is an important way to change this. After these traumatic encounters, people need to have a place to go where they will only receive support, not mistrust, and CVAC seems to offer that support.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Stern