Advocacy Center for Victims of Intimate Crimes

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• Advocacy Center for Victims of Intimate Crimes

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Facts about Sexual Assault

• 1 out of every 3 American Women will be sexually
  assaulted in her lifetime.
• 1 in 7 women will be raped by her husband.
• More than half of sexual assaults go unreported
  (58).
• A female child victim is 7 times more likely to
  be re-victimized as an adult.

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Facts about Child Sexual Abuse.

• 1 in 4 girls is sexually abused before the age
  18.
• 1 in 6 boys is sexually abused before the age 18.
  
• 1 in 5 children are solicited sexually while on
  the internet.
• 90 of children are abused by a family member,
  someone they know, or an older child they know.
• An estimated 39 million survivors of child sexual
  abuse exist in America today.
• Two thirds of sex offenders in prisons victimized
  a child.

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Advocacy Centers in Indiana

• Currently there are 13 advocacy centers in the
  state of Indiana.
• Vanderburgh County is the largest county in the
  state without an advocacy center.
• We are modeling Hollys House after the Casie
  Center in South Bend, Indiana.

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Adult Side

• Domestic Violence
• Sexual Assault
• Plans call for an advocate in-house to counsel
  victims of both types of crime.
• Future plans to have an exam room in-house to
  assist victims.

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Child Side

• Child sexual abuse
• Child neglect
• Child abuse
• Multidisciplinary team approach
• Will act as a true Child Advocacy Center
• Over 2200 investigations last year in Vanderburgh
  County

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Multi Disciplinary Team

• Vanderburgh County Prosecutor
• Evansville Police Department
• Vanderburgh County Sheriffs Office
• Child Protection Services of Vanderburgh County
• Albion Fellows Bacon Center

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The Need For Change for Adults

• Victims feel ashamed, want privacy.
• Victims feel everyone they come into contact with
  knows their secret.
• Existing Domestic/Sexual Violence Unit is inside
  the Evansville Police Department. Police
  Department is a busy place, not comfortable for
  victims.
• Victims have to wait alongside people there to
  file complaints, make reports, bond out inmates.

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Need For Change for Children

• Child Protection Services is a multifunction
  facility, people are there for several purposes.
• Victim and family wait in lobby with people
  signing up for other social services.
• Victim walks the length of a football field
  through a maze of cubicles to get to the
  interview room.
• Bathroom is far away, a problem for young kids.

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Dynamics of a Child Advocacy Center

• More Private Setting.
• More comfortable for children.
• Child First Principle
• Child Sex Crimes Prosecutor, EPD VCS Sexual
  Violence Detectives, and CPS work together as a
  multidisciplinary team.
• All work together to achieve success.

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Benefits of a Child Advocacy Center

• Child only has to tell their story once before
  trial.
• Less traumatic environment.
• Instant help for the child and the childs
  family.
• Results!

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Location

• Still currently searching for a location for
  Hollys House.
• Waiting to see if the Library Board will donate
  the Old North Park Library for Hollys House.
• The sooner we secure a location the sooner we can
  start helping victims in this community.

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Hollys House Funding

• Hollys House is entirely funded through grants,
  private donations, and fundraising programs.
• To make a donation online visit
  www.hollyshouse.org

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How can you help?

• Donate to the Capital Campaign
• Join our list of volunteers for future volunteer
  opportunities with Hollys House
• Recommend grants or monies available for purposes
  such as ours
• Plan and organize a fundraiser for Hollys House