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Victim advocates give care for sexual assault victims

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. John Gordinier
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  There are many programs the military offers to its members to make sure they are taken care of -- financial, health, spiritual, and mental to name a few areas.

What happens when an Airman becomes a victim of sexual assault? Due to annual training, most know to call the sexual assault response coordinator or SARC for help. But how much help can one person give when there are more than 5,000 servicemembers on Shaw?

In fall of 2005, the SARC instituted the Victim Advocate Program, which educates volunteers through several hours of training to help the sexual assault victims, said Cynthia Evans, 20th Fighter Wing SARC.

Shaw presently has approximately 50 victim advocates to assist commanders and their units with SARC annual training as well as to provide support and comfort to all sexual assault victims, she said.

"It is unfortunate that sexual assault occurs sometimes in the military," said 1st Lt. Vanessa Vanden Bout, 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron section commander and 20th Maintenance Group maintenance officer. "I have been a VA since the program kicked off and wanted to do it because I wanted to make a difference."

A VA takes care of the victim, the lieutenant said. A VA meets the victim and talks with them and makes sure the victim is alright. It's all about letting the victim know that they are not alone and that the VA is there for them any time, day or night.

A VA will assist a victim until they are able to get back to a functioning state, she said.

"One time I assisted a survivor for about a year back in 2006," said Tech. Sgt. Michelle Huff, 20th Maintenance Operations Squadron Air Force Repair Enhancement Program manager and unit victim advocate. "The Airman was very distressed and I needed to be available for her anytime. I received phone calls from her at 3 p.m. and even 3 a.m.

"I wanted to be a VA to help people because sexual assault is not an easy thing for an Airman to go through," Sergeant Huff said. "It is important to me to be a part of the support system."

The ultimate goal of VA program is to have one available for each unit, Mrs. Evans said. VAs are a resource for the commanders and are very helpful in giving mandatory annual SARC briefings to their units.

"We could always use more SARC VAs," Lieutenant Vanden Bout said.

If a person wants to volunteer, they need to contact Mrs. Evans or call 895-1928.

"Hopefully, no Shaw Airman has to go through the ordeal of sexual assault, but if they do, they can rest assured there are 50 qualified victim advocates on Shaw that are available for support and nurturing," Mrs. Evans said.