A victim service provider in Indiana is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) public organization, or unit of a public organization, that primarily offers support and assistance to victims of crime (IC 35-37-6-5). These services may include crisis intervention, counseling, legal assistance, and advocacy to help victims navigate the aftermath of a crime. ICESA specifically works with sexual assault service providers.
There are many organizations that provide sexual assault (abbreviated as SA) prevention and response services throughout Indiana. Many organizations are also dual domestic violence and sexual assault service providers. Some of these providers also are part of medical or mental health care facilities. Not all these facilities provide the same types of services and not all can call themselves Rape Crisis Centers (RCC). ICESA created a set of RCC service standards, following Indiana state law and national service guidelines.
Indiana code (§5-2-6-23) defines a Rape Crisis Center as an “Organization that provides a full continuum of services, including hotlines, victim advocacy, and support services from the onset of the need for services through the completion of healing, to victims of sexual assault”. An additional definition provided by the National Sexual Assault Coalition Resource Sharing Project, provides a clearer picture of a Rape Crisis Center: “A community based, not-for profit agency whose major purpose is to provide advocacy and support services to sexual violence victims. They may be located within domestic violence shelters or other social service agencies and may provide more services than the core.
Each RCC and Sexual Assault Service Provider (SASP) partnered with ICESA developed to meet the unique needs of their community. Services and agency structure across the state vary, but at each rape crisis center the core services are available to survivors of sexual violence. Core services include:
24-Hour Helpline/Crisis Hotline
Hospital/Medical Advocacy (On-Site Response)
Advocacy
Criminal Justice/Legal Advocacy
Community Awareness/Outreach
Information & Referral
System Coordination, Collaboration, and Case Management
Support Groups
The following are recommended and encouraged services that are available at some, but not all RCCs:
Professional Therapy/Counseling
Primary Prevention Programming
SASPs offer many, but not all, core services. Not all sexual assault service providers are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Services at a rape crisis center are available to those who self-identify as victim/survivor of sexual violence, and their significant others. Services are available regardless of the type of sexual violence experienced, whether the survivor reported to law enforcement, and how much time has passed since the assault or abuse.
Victims are informed of and given choices of services available. No survivor is required to participate in any of the services. The RCC respects that the victim’s choices may be affected by their cultural and religious background experiences and individual circumstances and works with the victim to address identified service goals. The SA advocate shall foster maximum self-determination on the part of the victim, including choices regarding whether to participate in a forensic exam for evidence collection, file a police report, or engage with the criminal legal system.
As mentioned above, some rape crisis centers in Indiana exist under broader non-profit umbrella organizations that provide domestic violence services, many of which offer shelter services. Several rape crisis centers are part of large family services organizations or community mental health providers. Additional services may be available for individuals impacted by domestic violence and/or behavioral health needs. To understand the services available at the agency nearest to you, <contact the agency directly>. However, there are some small rape crisis centers that aren’t affiliated with anyone, have small staffs, and do the best they can to cover their community’s needs.
Despite the considerable need for sexual assault response services, availability remains a concern. Indiana has many counties without a dedicated community-based sexual assault victim service provider. Many of the existing agencies are working to cover large service areas. Most partnered organizations have few dedicated sexual assault response staff. To learn more about service availability in your local community, consult the staff at your local ICESA partnered organization.
SA Service Provider Structure
Each Rape Crisis Center or Sexual Assault Service Provider (SASP) has an organizational structure that works for them. Some of these providers include mental health professionals, but others may only have two or three professionals on staff. Here is a simplified structure:
Many SASPs don’t have full-time or dedicated SA advocates. Also, some service providers cover large regional areas. Read more about barriers to service in that section.
SA Advocate Role
Sexual assault advocates, also called community-based advocates, play a crucial role in supporting victims through various stages of recovery and justice. Here are some key examples of how they work with victims:
Emotional Support
- Crisis Intervention: Advocates provide immediate emotional support when a victim first reaches out, whether it’s through a hotline, in person, or online. They help calm the victim, listen to their story, and validate their emotions.
- Ongoing Emotional Support: Many advocates offer ongoing emotional support through regular check-ins or referrals to professional counseling services, helping victims navigate feelings of fear, guilt, anger, and trauma.
Information and Education
- Explaining Rights and Options: Advocates educate victims about their rights, legal options, and available resources. They help victims understand the process of reporting sexual assault, including what happens in medical exams, police reports, and court proceedings.
- Safety Planning: Advocates often work with victims to create safety plans tailored to their individual circumstances, especially in cases where the assailant is known to the victim.
Medical Accompaniment
- Hospital Support: When victims undergo forensic exams (often called rape kits), advocates often accompany them to the hospital to provide emotional support, ensure their rights are respected, and explain the medical procedures.
- Health Referrals: Advocates can connect victims with healthcare providers for follow-up care, including physical health, sexual health, and mental health services.
Legal Advocacy
- Court Accompaniment: Advocates may attend court hearings with the victim, offering emotional support and helping them navigate the legal process. They can explain legal jargon and help victims understand what to expect at each stage of the proceedings.
- Assisting with Protective Orders: If the victim needs a restraining or protective order, advocates help them fill out the necessary paperwork and accompany them to court if needed.
Advocacy in the Criminal Justice System
- Working with Law Enforcement: Advocates often act as intermediaries between victims and law enforcement, ensuring that police take reports seriously, treat victims with respect, and follow proper protocols.
- Helping Navigate Prosecution: If the case goes to trial, advocates work with victims and prosecutors, explaining the legal process and supporting victims through testimonies, cross-examinations, and other court procedures.
Resource Connection
- Housing Assistance: Advocates help victims find emergency housing or shelters if they are unsafe in their current living situation due to the assault.
- Financial Support: Some advocates help victims apply for compensation through victim assistance programs, which can cover medical bills, counseling, lost wages, and other expenses related to the assault.
Empowerment and Advocacy for Long-Term Recovery
- Survivor Support Groups: Advocates may facilitate or connect victims with survivor support groups, which offer a space for sharing experiences, healing, and mutual support.
- Helping with Employment or Education Issues: Advocates assist victims with employment or education concerns that arise because of the assault, such as needing time off or academic accommodations.
Following an assault, the victim advocate response to the hospital is a critical component of the medical response, offering crisis intervention, support, and advocacy before, during and after the exam. In communities with a rape crisis center, sexual assault advocates are available to respond to the hospital 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
- It is both best practice and a right of the victim to have the advocate present and in the examination room during the medical forensic exam.
- While at the hospital, the sexual assault advocate supports the victim during the examination process, helps the victim understand the options available to them, and helps to provide and explain follow-up resources.
- Victim advocates should not participate in any evidence collection procedures, interfere with any medical treatment, or comment on the SANEs/healthcare providers work/treatment decisions while the victim is present.
- Contact the <ICESA partnered program nearest to you> to learn more about advocate availability.
Community-Based vs. System-Based Advocates
Under Indiana law (IC 35-37-6-3.5), only those public, non-profit organizations whose primary purpose is victim service provider can carry the title victim advocate. Victim advocate and victim assistant may frequently be used interchangeably in law enforcement, prosecutor, or other government or health care entities that frequently work with victims. These agencies’ victim assistance staff are referred to as system-based advocates.
Many law enforcement offices and prosecutor’s offices across the state employ victim assistance staff who can support survivors, if that survivor chooses to navigate the criminal legal system. Also, these services are typically only available while a crime is being investigated or prosecuted.
“Their roles and responsibilities will vary based on their governing agency, as will the term they use to describe themselves. Because of their status as government employees, system-based advocates often have better access to information regarding the criminal justice processing of the victim’s case.”
Typically, a survivor’s engagement with victim assistance staff in a law enforcement office or prosecutor’s office is ongoing only during the time of their engagement with the investigation and prosecution process.
Not all law enforcement or prosecutor offices have victim assistance offices. This is especially true for smaller communities.
A community-based advocate provides a greater breadth of assistance to survivors than systems’-based advocates.
They “generally, can assist victims even if a crime has not been reported; can assist before, during and after a criminal case; can provide holistic services aimed at victims’ broad needs; and, depending on the jurisdiction’s laws and funding source, can maintain privileged communications with victims”
Communities using both community-based advocates and systems-based advocates provide the most comprehensive assistance to victims.
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