Statewide SART Advisory Committee

Statewide SART Advisory Committee 2012 Recommendations

The SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) Advisory Committee is a statewide group coordinated by the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence and comprised of representatives from a broad range of disciplines whose work brings them into contact with rape victims.  The committee works to assess and improve Florida’s response to victims of sexual violence at the state and local level.  In developing these recommendations and tools in this document, the members worked diligently to balance the needs of victims with the complex requirements of the criminal justice system.

Report Highlights

Walk in Their Shoes Act Recommendations

The SART Advisory Committee provides law enforcement agencies with recommendations for implementing the 2011 Walk in Their Shoes Act which allows victims of sexual battery to “review the final [law enforcement] report and provide a statement as to the accuracy of the final report” (794.052(1)(c), F.S.).

Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking

The SART Advisory Committee developed a new webpage dedicated to issues of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST). The webpage is now available at http://www.fcasv.org/child-sexual-abuse/domestic-minor-sex-trafficking and includes facts and statistics about DMST and links to resources and services in Florida. The webpage also includes special information sections focusing on faith-based community members, youth organizations, teachers, school resource officers and health care providers.

Fact Sheets on Sexual Violence and Rape Crisis Services Map

The SART Advisory Committee created three fact sheets for rape crisis programs to use as quick references on statistics of sexual assault in the United States, the needs of male victims of sexual violence, and the low incidence of false reporting of sexual assault. The committee also created a map of certified rape crisis center services and university/college counseling services by county. (See attached.)

Guidelines for Forensic Examinations for Sexual Assault Victims Not Reporting to Law Enforcement

The committee updated the Guidelines to account for changes in best practices for evidence storage.

Assessing the Effectiveness of the 2010 and 2011 Recommendations

In order to assess successes and gaps in the implementation of past recommendations, the committee surveyed the 30 certified rape crisis centers, 10 college and university victim advocate/counseling programs and law enforcement evidence storage personnel. Based on the findings, the SART Advisory Committee recommends that rape crisis programs continue pursuing protocol development to provide forensic exams to non-reporting victims, continue working to develop SARTs in counties that lack them, coordinate multidisciplinary cross-training annually, and include information on their websites about services for non-reporting victims.

2012 Statewide SART Advisory Committee Final Recommendations

2011 Statewide SART Advisory Committee Final Report

Elements of a Prosecutable Case Full Survey Results

2010 Statewide SART Advisory Committee Recommendations

Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Paperwork (Scroll down to find it on the A-Z Index)

Detailed Instructions for Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Paperwork (Scroll down to find it on the A-Z Index)

Sample Information Sheet for Non-reporting victims

Sexual Assault Response Team Resources