The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council of Greater Miami Sexual Assault Response Team

The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Council of Greater Miami (DVSAC), is proud to announce the creation of the Miami- Dade County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) a national best practice model for first responders assisting adult victims of rape. The purpose of the SART is to provide a one stop solution immediately after the assault that addresses the needs of the criminal justice system while providing physical and emotional support o the victim. The SART approach will address the widening gap in services for adult victims of rape and sexual assault in Miami-Dade County.

The SART is a partnership between the Roxcy Bolton Rape Treatment Center, the Miami-Dade Police Department, the State Attorney’s Office and MUJER. For the past 18 months, these agencies, in conjunction with the DVSAC Sexual Assault Committee, have played a leadership role in the development of the Miami-Dade County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).

SART: WHAT IS IT?
Communities across the nation have developed Sexual Assault Response Teams [SART] to facilitate a coordinated community response to sexual assault that addresses both the needs of the individuals disclosing sexual assault (such as immediate medical care and victim support services) and the criminal justice system (such as criminal investigation, forensic evidence collection and documentation.)

SARTS include community based advocates law enforcement, forensic medical examiners: and prosecutors. The Miami-Dade County SART will be supported by a service partnership among 14 agencies that have collectively stepped forth to provide specialized follow-up services for victims. These agencies include: The Advocate Program, Inc.; The Center for Independent Living of South Florida; Miami-Dade County Department of Human Services; Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc.; Florida Freedom Partnership; Florida International University’s Victim Advocacy Center; The Journey Institute, The Kristi House, Inc.; Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center; MUJER; The Roxcy Bolton Rape Treatment Center; Victim Response, Inc.; WeCare of South Dade and Women’s Shelter of Hope.

SART: WHY DO WE NEED IT?
· Budget cuts at the Rape Treatment Center (RTC) at Jackson Memorial Hospital, have impacted social service delivery.
· There is a serious shortage of affordable, culturally appropriate community based direct services for adult victims of sexual assault and this shortage has not been adequately documented or addressed.
· Many unsupported choose not to report to law enforcement.
· Although Miami-Dade County Police Department and a few municipal police departments have specialized sexual assault units, there is insufficient advocacy support within the departments to meet the needs of every victim.
· The State Attorney’s Office also has a specialized sexual assault unit but its focus is sexually assaulted children and victims of serial rapists.
· Many victims are left to face the criminal justice system alone. Many of these victims overwhelmed and ultimately discouraged by the system drop out of the process.

SART: HOW WILL IT WORK?
A typical SART operates in this way: When law enforcement is called to the scene of a sexual assault they take a limited statement from the victim to determine if a sex crime was committed. If the SART is activated, the medical facility pages the on call Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner, locally from the RTC and a sexual assault advocate. All members of the team join together at the forensic facility to provide physical and emotional support to the victim and gather evidence for the purpose of arrest and prosecution of the perpetrator. Across the nation, this coordination of criminal justice partners combined with the provision of comprehensive immediate advocacy and follow-up social services has been critical to the effectiveness of the criminal justice response and emotional well being of the victim.