National SART Conference

Fifth National SART Training Held in Seattle May 27-29

The Sexual Assault Resource Service and Hennepin County Medical Center sponsored the Fifth National Training in Seattle with funding awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime . Program speakers came from throughout the United States and Canada and focused on this year's theme "SART: Our Community, Our Investment." Some of the keynote speakers included Rep. Dave Reichert, John Clune, Esq., Anne Ream, David Lisak, Ph.D., and Dorothy J. Edwards, Ph.D.

This conference provided allied professionals the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of sessions with topics including forensic interviewing, victimization and trauma, responding to victims with disabilities, internet crimes, stalking, drug facilitated sexual assault, media, and human trafficking. Speakers addressed the latest research available on sexual assault response, prevention, and research. FCASV was present to support our work on developing and maintaining SARTs.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) presented the forthcoming SART Toolkit that has been four years in the making. This interactive tool provides myriad resources concerning everything from research conducted on SARTs to direct activities that individual teams can engage in to further their efforts to maintain an effective team. Sally J. Laskey, associate director of the NSVRC, gave a preview of the materials including some of the online capabilities of the kit. Release of the final kit is scheduled to take place in the next few months.

In his keynote address, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert relayed his experiences as King County Sheriff and working for many years to solve the Green River Killer case. During his talk he discussed the many years of investigation that the case took as well as how methods and processing have changed dramatically with the evolution of DNA analysis.

John Clune, Esq., co-founder of the Victim Justice Initiative, gave a keynote address titled "Massive Media Makeovers: Lessons Learned from National High Profile Cases" in which he relayed his experience and advice after handling the legal representation for the survivor involved in the Kobe Bryant rape case. Among his many recommendations for handling big media is to have a media plan and be prepared to give responses and allow survivors to have and express their voice as they choose.

Anne Ream, writer and founder of The Voices and Faces Project, discussed the efficacy of the project that she created. This project began in 2003 in part as an effort for Ream to come to terms with her own rape and provide a voice for her and other survivors. The project has now grown into a national network that encourages survivors to share their stories and connect with other survivors.

Dorothy J. Edwards, Ph.D., closed the conference in an address on bystander intervention using a metaphor involving the "green dot nation." Envisioning a map of the United States in which each time an act of interpersonal violence occurs a red dot appears, eventually leading to a glowing red map, Edwards urged audience members to counter the red dots with "green dots" by confronting interpersonal violence in creative ways. For example, a person who witnesses a fight about to take place may choose to intervene and deescalate the situation by convincing one of the parties to leave before the fight goes any further, thereby replacing a red dot of interpersonal violence with a green dot of intervention. The green dot process can be very creative and does not have to risk the interventionist's safety. Edwards gave many examples of how to "do green dots" and left the audience members energized and ready to go out and try it on their own.