The concept of anonymous reporting was first introduced to Cambria
County’s STOP Violence Against Women Task Force during a monitoring visit by
the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency in 2009. A committee was formed, comprised of
representatives from the Cambria County District Attorney’s office, Conemaugh Memorial
Medical Center, Victim Services Inc., Johnstown Police Department and the
Women’s Help Center. This committee
would later expand and become the county’s first Sexual Assault Response Team. Cambria County applied for and was granted
funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to develop and
implement a protocol that would allow for anonymous reporting of sexual
assault. Through this grant the District
Attorney’s office was able to hire a Development Director who exhaustively
researched sexual assault protocols throughout the United States and in other
countries. She worked with all of the
agencies involved in responding to sexual assaults in our county and helped us
to create a comprehensive and effective victim-centered protocol that was
implemented in July 2011.
Anonymous reporting is one solution to the forensic
compliance provisions of the 2005 Violence Against Women Act which requires
that victims be able to have a medical forensic sexual assault examination
without being forced to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate
with law enforcement. Anonymous
reporting provides for the collection and documentation of forensic evidence
while allowing the victim time to recover, consider his or her options, seek
support and guidance, and/or arrange for safe accommodations and economic
provisions in cases of intimate partner sexual violence/domestic violence. In our protocol the victim is able to remain
completely anonymous to law enforcement.
The victim’s name is connected to the evidence only through their
medical record number given to them by the SANE program. The evidence is stored by the largest police
department in our county for 180 days.
When and if the victim decides to speak to law enforcement, his or her
name is reconnected to the evidence by the SANE program and the evidence is
transferred to the police department with jurisdiction over the crime, at which
point the investigation begins.
In our first year with the new protocol the number of
hospital accompaniments by our victim advocates more than tripled; this
includes both standard and anonymous reports.
Many factors played into this increase including better recognition and
understanding of the needs of victims and a clearer message within the protocol
that requires an advocate be called in every case of sexual assault. We have seen an incredibly strong,
cooperative, and victim-centered response to sexual assault victims by all of
the key players in the county. Although
we always worked cooperatively in Cambria County, the new protocol provides a
greater understanding and appreciation for the role played by each responder
which allows us to focus all of our energy on helping the victim right from the
start. During our first year with the
new protocol we had four anonymous reports.
At this point, two victims have chosen to have their evidence destroyed and
two are still weighing the option of speaking to law enforcement.
We quickly learned that our protocol would be an
ever-evolving work in progress. Through
Sexual Assault Response Team meetings, case reviews, and ongoing suggestions
from the field we have continued to improve the functionality of our
protocol. At this time, we’re in the
process of revising it for the second time this year. One of the revisions that our team has been
discussing is extending the holding period for anonymous sexual assault
evidence from 180 days to 2 years, or possibly more. With the help of End Violence Against Women
International, we are working to improve the protocol so that it can be shared
with others in the field as a model.
Erika B. Jugan, is the Supervisor of Direct Services at
Victim Services, Inc. in Cambria and Somerset Counties. Erika is a founding
member and the coordinator for Cambria County's Sexual Assault Response Team.
In addition, she has been a member of the Keystone Crisis Intervention Team
since 2010.
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