Sexual-Assault Survivor, Legislators, Advocates and Nurses Launched
" Sexual Assault Awareness Month" at Statehouse Press ConferenceSurvivor’s story deeply tied to legislative initiatives that aim to continue providing local victims with necessary services and resources

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Boston, MA—“This crime took less than one hour, yet has deprived me of the innocent outlook on life and my freedom. I'm the person that you read about in the newspaper. I'm the one that you hear about on the news and consciously or unconsciously say it's just somebody else, and it will never happen to me. But today or tomorrow, you or someone that you love could be that someone else,” avowed Debbie Smith, a survivor and national activist in the movement to end rape and sexual assault.

Debbie Smith and her husband Rob have traveled an incredible journey since 1989 when Debbie was raped in her own backyard. The Smiths told a Statehouse audience their powerful story about the pain and terror of sexual assault, as well as their resiliency and ultimate survival, at a joint press conference that was co-sponsored by Jane Doe Inc. and the Massachusetts Nurses Association on April 1. The event, which was held at the Grand Staircase in the Statehouse was used to launch Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Lt. Governor Kerry Healey kicked off the press conference by issuing a proclamation declaring April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Senator Joan Menard (D-Somerset), Senator Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge), and Representative Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham) outlined a series of legislative and budget measures currently before the Legislature, including one that aims to restore funding to the state’s rape crisis centers, one that aims to codify the state’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program (SANE) and one that encourages and supports the education and training of health professional students regarding sexual and domestic violence. Lisa Hartwick, LICSW, Clinical Director at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC), Lucia Zuniga, Director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health SANE Program, and Donald Hayes, Director of the Boston Police Department’s Crime Lab will spoke about the cutting edge work being done in Massachusetts to provide victim services, to hold offenders accountable and, ultimately, to make our communities healthier and safer.

“It's easier to think that sexual violence is someone else's problem. It isn't. Sexual violence affects countless women, men and children in the Commonwealth every single day; and in turn, every single one of us has a role to play in ending this devastating crime and the stigma associated with it,” stated Nancy Scannell, Director of Government Affairs of Jane Doe Inc.

Scannell highlighted the critical and often life-saving work of the 18 DPH-funded Rape Crisis Centers in Massachusetts that are members of Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. In FY2003, these Centers responded to 15,424 hotline calls, provided 2,662 individuals with 12,947 sessions of counseling and advocacy and provided assistance to 533 individuals having forensic evidence collected, despite the severe reduction in funding for Rape Crisis Services in the FY04 budget. Scannell points to the exemplary private-public partnerships and the incorporation of volunteer support to illustrate the efficient and effective use of public funding by rape crisis centers.

“Registered nurses in the Commonwealth are often the first to work with victims of sexual assault, but it is the expertise provided by nurses affiliated with the SANE program and counselors at local rape crisis center that truly makes a difference in the lives of survivors,” said Karen Higgins, RN and President of the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA). “This difference is exemplified in the story that Debbie Smith will tell today, because her positive outcome ties directly to the core services she received from her local rape crisis program. The availability of these types of programs in Massachusetts is essential for victims like Debbie, and state government must be dedicated to keeping these programs in place.”

The launching of Sexual Assault Awareness Month brought attention to the continued partnership between Jane Doe Inc. and the MNA to urge lawmakers to adopt legislation that would codify the SANE program in Massachusetts; to secure funding for the comprehensive services provided both by SANE and Rape Crisis Centers; to advocate for resources for DNA testing and oversite at the state and Boston Crime Labs; and to support the introduction of the first Pediatric SANE protocol in the country that has been developed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s SANE Program.

Jane Doe Inc. is the statewide coalition of more than sixty domestic violence and sexual assault programs in Massachusetts. Jane Doe Inc. advocates for responsive public policy, promotes collaboration, raises public awareness, and supports our member programs to provide comprehensive prevention and intervention services. We are guided by the voices of survivors.

Founded in 1903, The Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest professional health care organization in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 22,000 members, working in 85 health care facilities, advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing and by lobbying the legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Toni Troop at Jane Doe Inc. by phone at 617.212.7571 or Jennifer Johnson at the MNA at 781.830.5718 or e-mail her at jjohnson@mnarn.org. For additional background on Jane Doe Inc. or to learn more about sexual assault and domestic violence, visit our Web site at www.JaneDoe.org.