November 11 is Veterans Day, a day in which we honor the brave men and women who have served our country through military service.

Every year, thousands of men and women across the country make the decision to join the military. There may be a multitude of reasons driving this decision. Many feel a calling to serve their country and be part of something larger than themselves. Others are motivated by the numerous opportunities afforded by the military, such as education benefits and job training. Some are drawn to the possibility of adventure – a way to see the world beyond the parameters of the communities where they grew up.

Regardless of the motivation to join, no one anticipates experiencing sexual trauma while serving our country.

Unfortunately, one in four women and one in one-hundred men report to their Veteran Affairs (VA) health care providers that they have experienced military sexual trauma.

Military Sexual Trauma (MST) is a term used by the VA to refer to sexual assault or threatening sexual harassment that occurred while someone was serving our country. In the Central Florida area alone, there are nearly 4,000 men and women who have reported MST to their VA healthcare providers. We also know that there are many others who have not yet come forward.

MST can affect one’s physical and mental health for years afterwards. Common effects include unwanted memories, distress related to reminders of the trauma, anxiety, depression, a sense of always being “on guard,” difficulties with trusting others, and problems in relationships.

Fortunately, people can recover from experiences of MST. The VA is committed to ensuring that veterans who are survivors of MST have access to the help they need to recover.

Treatment for physical and mental health conditions related to MST is available at every VA facility and provided at no-cost. Veterans may be able to receive these services even if they are not eligible for other VA services. They do no need to be service connected or receive VA disability compensation. Also, it does not matter how much time has passed since the trauma or whether they reported the trauma to authorities (as the VA recognizes that many individuals do not report sexual trauma).

For more information, veterans can speak with their existing VA health care provider or present to the enrollment department at the nearest VA facility to start the process of getting connected to services. In addition, each VA Medical Center has a designated MST Coordinator who can provide information on MST related services and help veterans get connected.

I am happy to serve as MST Coordinator for the Orlando VA Medical Center and surrounding outpatient clinics, including facilities at Lake Nona, Lake Baldwin, Crossroads, Clermont, Deltona, Kissimmee, Tavares, Viera, and Daytona. I can be reached at 407-646-5500, extension 28442.

Veterans can also learn more about VA’s MST-related services online at www.mentalhealth.va.gov/msthome.asp

If you served our country and are a survivor of MST, please understand that you are not alone. We understand that it can be difficult to reach out for help. When you are ready, the VA is committed to help you in your journey of recovery.

Ashley Arens, Ph.D., ABPP

Clinical Psychologist

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) report of 2013, indicated 108,030 domestic violence incidents were reported in Florida. Additional data suggests, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. Furthermore, when considering SV and DV victimization, between 14% and 25% of women are sexually assaulted by intimate partners during their relationship. (NCADV, 2015)

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Statistics, specifically the report for Osceola County; in 2017, there was an incident rate of 1,941 Domestic Violence cases and an approximate of 144 Sexual Assault related offenses. (FDLE, 2017)

Due to the reported incidents and recurrent concern from community leaders, agencies and individuals, VSC partnered with a group of professionals to provide information related on DV and SV awareness. Most recently, in 2017, a group of Hispanics including Puerto Ricans were impacted by a natural disaster that influenced the need of seeking shelter in the state of Florida. As a result, numerous individuals including men, women, elderly and children have been temporarily residing in local hotels. Some community concerns have developed including: financial hardship, homelessness, fatal and non-fatal cases related to domestic violence, and other crimes. Ultimately, distressing the functionality and mental health of the Puerto Rican families.

One of the most significant points discussed was the importance of Roles and Ethical implications when witnessing a crime or supporting a survivor. VSC Advocates informed community leaders on the various responders that can assist in the event of a crime or crisis including: Law Enforcement, Victim Advocates, Crisis Counselors, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), EMT’s, Fire Fighters and other agencies that may support further needs of victims. As social science professionals, is imperative to highlight the roles of specialized teams and community leaders. Thus, an open communication was developed in the importance to understand limitations and strengths, displayed by individuals, in the event of working a crisis. Some guidelines were exposed such as: trauma focused professional intervention, ethical code for social science practice, mandatory reporting, vicarious disorder, secondary victimization and awareness of community resources.

VSC Advocates offered the following information and strategies:

• Definition: What is a Crisis?
• Learning how to identify indicators present in crisis situation.
• CRISIS Intervention strategies: assessment of a situation, things to consider when approaching a victim-survivor, Proactive verbal intervention towards a victim (tone, volume, and language) and body language awareness.
• Physical and Emotional Common Reactions to Victimization
• Victimization in a different culture
• Empowerment skills: Appropriate approach to be conducted in a crisis situation (verbal phrases, validation of emotions and victim emotional regulation to assess needs. In the effort to empower a victim-survivor.
• Safety tips and planning (injunction process & reporting to LE)
• Types of Victims, Victims’ rights, and Mandatory Reporting
• Community Resources: Response from Agencies when working with DV & SV incidents, Information and contacts of services in the event of a crisis.
• Role & Ethical implications

 If you or a loved one is experiencing consequences associated with being a Victim of a Crime, reach out to Victim Service Center through our 24/7 Crisis Helpline (407) 500 – HEAL. You can also reach the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or through their online chat.

At VSC we care for Victims, contact us, we would love to be part of your healing process!

ROSA M. ABRAHAM, MS | Victim Advocate & Crisis Counselor

References:

Domestic Violence national statistics (2015). Retrieved from www.ncadv.org

Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Florida Uniform Crime Report (2017) Retrieved from www.fdle.state.fl.us

In 1996, the Board of County Commissioners agreed that a portion of the jails’ proceeds needed to be allocated to recovery services for crime survivors in the community and decided to allocate the funding from payphones in the jail to create a support agency. Commissioner Mary Johnson helped lead the charge for victims’ rights and the need for community services. By 1999 the Victim Service Center had opened its doors in the heart of downtown Orlando and was ready to help victims on their journey to healing.

In 2001, the Victim Service Center was incorporated as a nonprofit organization and became Victim Service Center of Orange County, Inc. That same year we opened the Sexual Assault Treatment Center (SATC), providing forensic examinations and medical intervention to sexual assault survivors. VSC ultimately became the only certified rape crisis program in Orange County through the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence (FCASV) just four years later in 2005.

2012 was a big year for for VSC; we became the Victim Service Center of Central Florida, Inc., moved to our current home on Michigan Street, and expanded to Osceola County offering all of our same services out of the Care Center. We also expanded our client offerings to include a full-time in-house therapy program to help clients dive deeper into their healing.

In the summer of 2014, VSC developed partnerships with the local detention centers in Orange and Osceola County to provide inmates with access to VSC’s sexual assault helpline directly. This effort assisted the detention centers in meeting the Prison Rape elimination Act requirements and allowed inmates who have experienced sexual assault while in detention the opportunity to speak with experienced Victim Advocates trained in the area of sexual violence and crisis intervention. In January 2015, VSC was contracted to provide in-person Sexual Trauma Services at the Orange County Detention Center. Services include Education and Awareness groups as well as individual and group Therapy aimed to assist female inmates with addressing emotional issues resulting from sexual trauma.  The program offers the opportunity for the participants to identify and replace dysfunctional coping patterns with appropriate coping skills, which is essential for long-term change and recovery to occur.

In 2016, we proudly expanded with a third office in Longwood to serve Seminole County, further extending our reach and providing services to more victims in need.

In order to keep up with our growth we actively began  fundraising to enhance our opportunities as a center with our first event at the Orlando Science Center in 2007 and later moved to the Mennello Museum of Art where we officially launched our signature event, Cheers to Change. [Some might remember our Executive Director, Lui, hanging signs off the edge of the museum.] Now five years later, Cheers to Change has grown into a highly anticipated 400+ person event, which is in large part due to our loyal and generous supporters who came out to make a difference in the lives of victims in our community.  Thank you for always making joining us at Cheers to Change a priority year after year.

Outreach and prevention has always been part of our work, but in 2015 we officially launched an education training program. We offer training’s on bullying as well as sexual harassment and assault to organizations and businesses. Our anti-bullying youth focused trainings cover the understanding that while it is never okay to bully another individual often times the bully is also being bullied. Our educators discuss how to stand up and be an active bystander for someone in these situations with direct, distract, and delegation options. Recently, we have been having a lot of conversation around our healthy relationship trainings, which can be adapted for any age where the conversation revolves around boundaries, trust, and consent.

With such a strong seventeen year history you might ask what could be next for VSC? While we have grown as an organization, there is still so much work to be done to help victims and spread the message of prevention. Nationally, according to RAINN, every 98 seconds another individual experiences sexual assault, and out of those, two out of three will go unreported. It is our responsibility as an organization, and as a community to help bring healing to those individuals by letting them know it is safe to seek help. With your help we can continue to bring healing to those who need it most.

I am writing to express my sincerest gratitude to the Victim Service Center of Central Florida and most particularly, my Therapist, Theresa. I would be remiss if I did not take the time to say “Thank You!” Theresa proved to be God-sent to me during a most difficult time in my life. She was professional, attentive, warm, caring and effective as she walked me out of the darkness and back into the light. I will be forever grateful for her and your organization!

When I first visited VSC for my first appointment, I felt so helpless, overwhelmed and confused about how to overcome the aftermath of sexual assault and harassment. I had undergone victim blaming and had started succumbing to all the emotional and psychological pressures. Theresa validated that I was the victim and helped me understand and cope with the situation. So many blessings and so much healing came with every session until I felt strong again. She also prepared me for any triggers that could blind-side me and send me back into emotional turmoil.

In addition to my healing concerning sexual assault and harassment in the workplace, Theresa was instrumental in encouraging a conversation with my younger sister who had been sexually assaulted as a child. After I left my session with Theresa on that particular day, I called my sister. I was finally able to understand her pain and why she had not fully healed after 30 plus years. Some of her behaviors and attitudes toward men were harsh, even if they loved her dearly. Most importantly, my sister lived with the fact that I did not fully understand how traumatic the experience was for her, and that in itself was a burden she was still carrying. That day on the phone, we cried and cried as we shared our feelings and experience. God was in the midst because we realized in that moment a heavy weight caused by misunderstanding and resentment had finally been lifted. I truly thank Theresa for being a vessel and having the insight to know my sister’s situation was not so unique to my own. What was meant for bad turned out to be for our good. I am confident Theresa can relate to this statement on a spiritual level.

I engaged in my final session with Theresa last week. It was indeed bittersweet. I will miss her and our sessions. I so enjoyed having her as my therapist. She was absolutely awesome. I wish her all the best with her future endeavors and her life. Please share this letter with her and her colleagues. I hope all can exemplify the wonderful work she performed in my life. She was truly a blessing!

As a token of my appreciation and special donation, please accept the enclosed check for $500.00. God bless you all and the wonderful service you provide!

Sincerely,

A Former VSC Client

The Victim Service Center operates the 24/7 Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline which not only serves victims, but also  professionals in the community. Occasionally, we receive calls that require a Victim Advocate to provide services to both the victim and also first responders.

Following a sexual assault, a victim may not know where to go for help which may lead them to the nearest hospital emergency room where they are met by a nurse and hospital staff. Once the nurse becomes aware a sexual assault has occurred, the critical management of the victim’s care becomes the utmost importance. During this time, we will receive a call through our Crisis Hotline from hospital staff who may be uncertain of how to properly preserve forensic evidence, care for the patient’s emotional needs, and advise them on legal options. At this point, the VSC Team is alerted, and our Crisis Response Team steps in.

On one particular night, I received a call on the crisis hotline after an elderly woman disclosed to hospital staff that she had been the victim of a sexual assault. The nurse at the hospital was struggling with how to care for the patient. The nurse, who was nervous and eager to follow proper protocol, contacted the hotline with the victim nearby and asked if I would walk them both through the process of what to do next.

With careful consideration, I assisted the nurse by answering all questions and concerns, explaining the current forensic protocols, and assured them the victim would receive all the care she needed that evening. I then spoke with the victim directly and offered support. We talked about common feelings and reactions, options with regard to reporting to law enforcement, and what to expect for the rest of the evening. I assured the victim that I would be the person meeting her at our confidential site. The victim was relieved not to have to tell another person her story.

The victim then came to VSC’s confidential forensic exam site where I met her, along with our Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. On this night, I was called to assist not only the victim, but also a professional. The victim received forensic collection, a shower and a new change of clothes, provided safe transportation home and follow-up services.

The hotline helps many victims directly, but we are proud to be able to offer services and support to first responders as well.  We are grateful that professionals in Central Florida recognize the importance of such a valuable resource, like the sexual assault hotline, where they can be connected and receive support from Victim Advocates highly trained to respond to sexual assault victims.

No one expects to receive a phone call like this… one that instantaneously turns your world completely upside down, chews it up, then spits it back out into a million pieces.  For the rest of my life I will be able to pinpoint the exact location on the planet from where I received such a call.  The human brain has an innate ability to burn a location into your memory forever when it is given information that is so devastating.

I’ll never forget the sound of her voice… “Something happened…” I tried to steady myself as the words came from the phone.  A myriad of emotions hit me simultaneously – a haze of disbelief bundling immense heartbreak, sympathy and anger.  What do you say at a moment like this?  I remember trying to say words of comfort and reassurance just to get to give her any kind of relief.  I didn’t want to hear the details only because visualizing such atrocious acts happening to someone so wonderful and dear would break me, but I had to hear everything.  Nothing prepares someone for a moment like this.  These things only happen to someone else, right?  We all see the news, with all of the terrible things devastating lives with those whom you are not engaged in.  It’s always someone else…. Why her?  Why now?

When something horrific happens to someone you love dearly, all you want to do is fix it and make everything go away – the horror, the fear, the disbelief, the chaos… I honestly didn’t know what to do, I acted purely on instinct, wanting nothing but to soothe the wonderful soul of my love.  Fortunately I wasn’t alone, I had the Orlando Police Department and the Victim Service Center there to help make sense of this nightmare and guide us with open and loving arms.  I will be thoroughly grateful for both of these entities as long as I stand on this Earth.

All of the focus belongs to the victim, it has to.  You forget about all of the trivial trials and tribulations that we have to endure daily, the only thing that matters is to help and do what you can to make anything better for them.  There is not just one victim, however – there is a vast array of those whose worlds are greatly impacted as well, even though they are much lower on the spectrum of receiving healing and support.  I suppose that my ramblings on this blog are directed towards those who hold the hand of the one they love throughout this entire ordeal.  The husband, the wife, the father, the mother, the brother/sister. etc.  You are not alone.  You deserve to share your experiences and grievances because you are going through this too.  The sleepless nights, the sadness, the anger not towards only the world around us but towards any deity that could allow this to happen, no matter what your faith may or may not be.  Honestly, I think one of the biggest struggles for me was the helplessness I felt that I wasn’t there to stop it.  What if I had stayed with her just a bit longer?  What if we went back to my house instead of her going home alone to be confronted with a monster?  What if I had gone with her?  Is it my fault that she left her apartment to meet me?  What could I have done differently?  I have spent countless hours asking myself countless questions about how I could have saved her from this. It is a harrowing feeling knowing that you can’t save someone from something that has already occurred, you are utterly helpless.

My heart goes out to anyone that is reading this that feels or has ever felt like I have.  You are not alone.  Hopefully we all have had the opportunity to talk to someone about this nightmare. Initially out of respect for my love, I only told a very few select close friends to share this with, at her insistence.  How do you even begin to share?  With whom could you possibly share this with? As helpful as it was to confide in two of my best friends, I really wish that I would have had someone to talk to that I could have related with, and I actually still do.  I want someone to be able to understand the level of my hatred towards the scumbag that hurt my love so badly.  I want to share with someone who has also had to look at the man in the eyes that did these terrible things.  The hatred has been so hard to deal with… I still have it and I think that I always will.  Because of this man, I have had such evil thoughts that I never thought that I could be so capable of having. Even though he will be in prison for the rest of his life (even if he lives to be 100 years old he will still be behind bars), sometimes it doesn’t feel like it is enough.  It’s never enough… I can’t even begin to relay how many horrific dreams I have had about being behind a closed door alone with him.

Fortunately there is support out there.  One thing that I find helpful in dealing with such vile hatred towards someone is the love that I have for her, to protect her and support her even after all of these years.  Another thing that puts my soul at ease is knowing that an incredible organization such as the Victim Service Center exists, and is here to help victims every step of the way.  I don’t know what we would have done without the VSC, but I needn’t worry because they are here, and they need to be here.  Not just for the victims themselves, but for people like me.

Forever Grateful,

David Sines

Rachel, David’s Wife, was a victim of a sexual assault and received VSC services following the assault. Rachel is currently an active volunteer, member of VSC’s Speakers Bureau, and  advocate for victims of sexual assault in our community.

Law Enforcement Responding to Sexual Assaults

By: Sergeant Rich Mankewich, Major Case/Sex Crimes, Orange County Sheriff’s Office

For years, law enforcement officers have never been fully trained to recognize and address the psychological and emotional trauma associated with a sexual assault.   During initial interviews, victims often are inconsistent, not showing emotion and unable to provide detailed information when describing the sexual assault they have suffered.  Investigators often mistake these inconsistencies and lack of emotions as either lies or attempts to cover up what has really occurred.   Learning how trauma affects the brain during a sexual assault is the first step for an investigator.   As investigators, we must be able to recognize that certain behaviors and actions are directly related to trauma caused by the sexual assault.  Once we learn how to recognize trauma, we then must then learn how to ask questions in such a manner as to gain the most detailed memories from the victim and, more importantly, not cause any more harm.

Trauma informed investigations using the Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview (FETI) was developed to uncover what victims are able to remember using questions that trigger recollections related to sensory memories recorded during the assault.  The Statewide SART (Sexual Assault Response Team), took on the project this year to develop a day long training to teach investigators this new interview technique.   The Orange County Sheriff’s Office was one of three agencies selected to be a pilot site to train and implement the FETI trauma informed investigation model.  As the new style of interviewing begins, we look forward to successful intervention, investigations and prosecution of sexual assault cases.