SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE TEAM (SART)

The PVAMU Sexual Assault Response Team is committed to creating a culture of safety through a more compassionate and streamlined response to sexual assault. SART intervenes in a way that speaks to the context of each victim’s circumstance and respects the unique roles of the different professionals involved in responding to sexual assault. Our SART consists of a group of institutional leaders who partner together to provide interagency, coordinated responses that make victims’ needs a priority, promote safety, and encourage significant prevention and education initiatives concerning sexual assault.

SART MEMBERS include representatives from each of these specific areas:

  • College of Agriculture and Human Services
  • College of Business
  • College of Engineering
  • College of Nursing
  • College of Education
  • College of Arts and Services
  • College of Education
  • College of Juvenile Justice
  • Dean of Students
  • Health Services
  • Student Counseling Center
  • Women’s Center
  • Athletics
  • University Police Department
  • Office of Title IX

HOW SART HELPS

SARTs can diminish the short and long term impacts of trauma by mobilizing interdisciplinary expertise to assess and address victims’ needs from the acute stage to recovery. The cooperative partnerships formed by SARTs can validate victims’ concerns, inform victims of available options for addressing their concerns, and improve service accessibility for diverse populations. More specifically, SARTs help victims by, among other activities:

  • Supporting victims during invasive medical procedures and difficult interviews.
  • Supporting victims emotionally as they navigate the criminal justice system.
  • Designating specific facilities for forensic medical exams that make timely responses a priority and offer victims privacy.
  • Providing medical assessments and prophylactic treatment for sexually transmitted infections and addressing reproductive health concerns.
  • Ensuring that medical and legal providers collect evidence effectively and follow a chain of custody so that it stands up in court.
  • Building a network of community referrals to meet victims’ practical, emotional, spiritual, and economic needs (e.g., temporary shelter, transportation, employment intervention, home security, assistance with restitution, and victims’ compensation claims).
  • Minimizing the re-traumatization of victims, often through joint or coordinated interviews to reduce the number of times victims must tell their stories.

WHAT SART DOES

There are 5 core areas of focus for the team:

  • Support victims’ rights.
  • Commit to meeting victims’ needs.
  • Organize service delivery to enhance evidence collection.
  • Educate the community about available intervention and prevention services.
  • Take action to create a culture absent of sexual assault and violence.

WHY SART MATTERS

Cases that involve SARTs—

  • Are reported more quickly.
  • Have more evidence (in particular, DNA evidence).
  • Are the strongest predictor that charges will be filed in sexual assault cases with adult female victims.
  • Yield more evidence on average than cases in which no SANE or SART intervention occurs.
  • Are more likely to lead to arrest than cases in which there is no intervention.
  • Have personnel who keep victims better informed and engaged throughout the criminal justice process.

Want to collaborate with us? JOIN OUR SART by contacting us at titleixteam@pvamu.edu.