Newsletter: Winter 2002: A Separate Reality

Straddling the worlds of child and adulthood, adolescents inhabit a distinct reality and have specific developmental needs. When they are victims of sexual assault or abuse, teens are generally treated in programs that focus on either children or adults because there are very few specialized treatment programs for that age group. A commitment was made by the specialized sexual assault/abuse treatment programs to look at ways to customize their services for adolescents. Considering their vulnerability to sexual violence, the Alliance applauds this effort.

The Alliance is committed to strengthening the larger anti-sexual violence movement by bringing together natural allies. Our Director's Forum on September 25th was a successful endeavor to bring together child advocacy centers and rape crisis programs to look at the similarities and differences in their services. Titled, "Our Common Ground: Rape Crisis Programs and Child Advocacy Centers," this was a first in New York City. Despite their common ground, adult and child programs rarely meet together. This has prevented a unified voice in legislative and policy matters from growing.

Rape crisis programs and child advocacy centers cater to distinct clienteles, and therefore have some different concerns. Adult survivor services include date rape drug testing, contraception concerns, and helping survivors choose whether to report to the police. ChildrenŐs services include providing whole family interviews and handling cases in which it is unknown whether abuse occurred. But the programs also share similar experiences, such as interaction with the criminal justice system and working in interdisciplinary teams.

All programs expressed a need for ongoing funding for medical services and follow-up counseling. Fundraising is a challenging task and is necessary to enable programs to continue to provide core services. Many similarities were also identified in reference to the criminal justice system legislation. Provisions for stronger sentences and longer probation and parole periods, evaluation of sexual offender treatment programs, a reassessment of the standards for prosecution and cross-trainings with criminal justice workers and agency personnel, and of course, the need for legislation that recognizes the high risk of sexual violence for adolescents are some of the programs' shared requests.

Most significantly, programs identified adolescents as a common population. Programs discussed their successes and challenges in this area and recognized that they will need to work together to address the specific needs of adolescent survivors. Data collection, the creation of specific standards and development of linkages with youth service programs were all mentioned as important. It was decided that this group would convene, at a minimum, twice a year, to address these issues collaboratively.

The Alliance would like to thank the four panelists from different programs who came to share their goals, methods, and service delivery models: Dr. Linda Cahill from the Montefiore Child Protection Center, Susan Xenarios from the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Program, Jacqueline Winston, from Safe Horizon's Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center, and Carla Brekke of Bellevue Hospital's Rape Crisis Program. The forum was a success because of their efforts and the efforts of all the participants. The Alliance appreciates the growing interest and support throughout the city in rediscovering our common ground.

Ms. Lessel is Executive Director of The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. [[2] more]

[3] ← previous article | [4] next article →

[1]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_author_3.html
[2]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_author_3.html
[3]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_article_101.html
[4]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_article_107.html

Copyright © 2000-2008 by The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault