Staff opinion: The state should do more for victims

Immediately following an attack, survivors of sexual assault may exhibit the following reactions according to the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence: nausea, trembling, effects on eating and sleeping, and feelings of helplessness.

Long-term reactions can include flashbacks, decreased immune system, self blame, fear of large crowds and withdrawal.

The Florida Council told the Huffington Post that because of limited funding to rape crisis centers throughout the state, victims of rape and domestic violence often have to wait anywhere from several weeks to three months for services. This year the Council asked the state for a $1.5 million funding increase.

It is unfathomable to endure that kind of trauma and then have to wait weeks or months before gaining access to the services needed to cope.

A bill that would grant the extra money to 30 rape crisis centers throughout Florida made it all the way to Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s desk only to be vetoed this week. The kicker: it’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Scott’s office maintains that the state already contributes $6.5 million to rape prevention and sexual assault services and said that the $1.5 million would only pay for duplicative services, reported the Huffington Post. The governor also said that no one was able to explain to him why the additional funding was needed.

The Council’s executive director, Jennifer Dritt, said she outlined the increase in the number of victims in the state to Scott’s office. Someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted every two minutes and an average of 233,986 Amercians age 12 and older are victims of sexual violence every year, according to the Victim Service Center (VSC) of Central Florida.

VSC is the only rape crisis center in Orange County, and it offers a 24-hour sexual assault hotline, acute (less than 120 hours after the assault) and nonacute sexual assault services, which include an exam, forensic evidence collection and access to victim advocates, therapy, support groups, and outreach and prevention services.

Dritt told the Huffington Post that $1.5 million may seem like a lot, but that money was to be spread throughout 67 counties.

Some of the Council’s current $6.5 million goes to education and prevention programs, which are also very important in fighting sexual violence, but it doesn’t help cut down the waiting lists for crisis centers throughout the state.

Sexual attacks often change victims’ entire lives. We should do all we can to make sure they get crisis services in a more timely manner.