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Sexual assault victim advocates - Advocates of hope

  • Published
  • By Scott Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  In the U.S., 1.3 rapes occur every minute. Even with this statistic, I never thought a minute would make such a difference in my life. The minute I didn't read the obvious signs or the minute I didn't use good judgment. More specifically, the minute I became a statistic. 

Broken, ashamed and feeling so dirty, I found myself sitting in an emergency room overwhelmed with feelings of guilt coupled by shame and confused about the event that brought me here.....rape. I could barely say the word when a stranger walked into my room. Little did I know it at the time that this person was going to become my lifeline. 

She introduced herself to me as a sexual assault victim advocate and immediately began to comfort me. She reassured me that no one deserved to be violated in this way regardless of the circumstances and it wasn't my fault. She explained, with my permission, that she was going to assist me by ensuring I understood the medical and legal processes and all the resources that would be available to me. What impacted me most was when she said although the journey ahead was going to be difficult, she was going to be with me every step of the way. 

This is an example of how many victims feel after experiencing sexual assault but not all are fortunate enough to receive a caring advocate. 

Led by Col. Stephen W. Oliver, 375th Airlift Wing vice commander, getting victims of sexual assault immediate assistance is the primary goal of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program Office. To help meet this goal, JTF Scott has 20 trained sexual assault victim advocates who have completed 40 hours of training and are available to provide 24/7 advocacy support. They are all volunteers who give of themselves without expecting anything in return though often receiving priceless hugs and heartfelt thanks from those whom they have helped. 

How do they help? They give hope. Hope in believing they will recover. Hope in a system that has been established to pursue justice on their behalf. And most importantly, hope in knowing one day they will see themselves as survivors. 

We are fortunate to have committed advocates assigned to the following units at Scott: Master Sgt. Crystal Amos, 375th AW Contracting Squadron; Master Sgt. Sedric Anderson, 375th Dental Squadron; Master Sgt. Suzette Brown, 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center; Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Blyden, 375th Communications Support Squadron; Tech. Sgt. Theresa Bradley, 375th Civil Engineer Squadron; Cynthia Burney, U.S. Transportation Command; Tech. Sgt. Carrie Davis, 3rd Manpower Requirements Squadron; Tech. Sgt. Andrea Decker, 932nd AW; Tech. Sgt. Stephanie Deve, 54th Airlift Squadron; Staff Sgt. Nicole Hicks, 375th Mission Support Squadron; Sandra Highsmith, Air Force Communications Agency; Maj. Vanessa Hill, 932nd AW; Staff Sgt. Karen Ibarra 54th; Capt. Breea Lisko, 15th Operational Weather Squadron; Capt. Tiffany Madison 375th Medical Group; Debbie May, AFCA; Patricia Mineer, AFCA; 2nd Lt Adrian Peppers 375th Computroller Squadron; and Senior Master Sgt. Suzanne Signore-Hayes, 375th CPTS; Linda Thomas, U.S. TRANSCOM. 

If you or someone you know has experienced a sexual assault, encourage them to contact the SAPR Office at 256-4196 or the 24/7 helpline at 256-SARC (7272).