HOUSTON – The Harris County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) has released its inaugural Biennial Report on the state of sexual assault in Houston and Harris County.
SART includes members of law enforcement agencies, medical providers, community-based advocates, labs and criminal justice systems within Harris County. Its mission is to provide a multi-disciplinary collaborative response to all survivors of sexual assault that is individualized, trauma-informed, increases safety, promotes continuity of care, and supports and empowers survivors while holding offenders accountable in a fair and just system, according to a release.
The Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC) reported a public health crisis with sexual violence, stating that most perpetrators of sexual assault are no strangers to the victim.
HAWC is leading its team to help bring survivors out of the shadows to receive the services they need to report the crime to law enforcement and has released its own hotline to report sexual assaults.
“Many survivors do not seek either services in the community or oftentimes don’t navigate that criminal justice system because perhaps they’re not aware of services, they fear the system will not be helpful, or somehow it might be harmful to their well-being and they may not be believed – that’s one of the biggest ones, is that survivors feel they’re not going to be believed as they access these systems,” said Sonia Corrales, Deputy CEO for HAWC.
Officials said there were at least 4,000 sexual assaults reported in 2021 in Harris County, noting that the number is not accurate because of underreporting. The data shows less than 10% of sexual assaults are reported.
Officials also say victims are scared they will not be believed or think their perpetrators will not be held accountable.
Survivor Marlecia Price echoes the frustrations.
“There were times in this process where I felt belittled, discouraged, and treated like a nuisance,” Price said. “I am speaking from personal experience when I say walking the justice system in its current state is like walking nude and exposed down a long hallway paved in thorn bushes.”
But Price is optimistic with the release of the report.
“I just think that there’s definitely a need for reform that we definitely need the victim at the center of everything we do when it comes to reporting and treating victims and how we create laws that should be supportive of victims,” said Price.
Corrales said its team has submitted its first report required by legislation SB 76 and submitted it to Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday.
Here’s what the first report included:
- Protocols and agreements between all of the agencies involved about the provision of services that are very specific to sexual assault survivors and roles and responsibilities of each of their members.
- The state of sexual violence in the community and region by showing statistics provided by each one of the members.
- A set of recommendations that will guide the team in its effort by implementing the expansion of policies and practices.
- Creating a lot of changes in laws and increasing the efforts of rape crisis centers.
- College campuses will now be required to have sexual assault information to be included as part of the orientation.
- Creating specialized units in law enforcement and prosecution offices.
Corrales said that we are living in a culture that still places blame on survivors and refuses to hold perpetrators accountable. The team will continue to gain trust of the community to help bring survivors forward and advocate for victims.
By the numbers
Here are the following number of sexual assaults that have been reported in the Houston area, Texas and across the nation:
Houston/ Harris County
- 3,779 sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement in Harris County in 2021, according to Texas DPS.
Texas
- 14,972 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2021, according to Texas DPS.
- Less than 1 out of 10 sexual assault survivors report the crime to law enforcement.
- 6.3 million women and men or 1/3 of adult Texans experience some form of sexual assault over the course of their lifetime, according to a 2015 Texas Statewide Prevalence Study on Sexual Assault.
Nationally
- Every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted, and every 9 minutes, that victim is a child.
- 8 out of 10 rapes are committed by someone the victim knows, according to RAINN.
- 97 out of every 100 rapists will not spend a single day in prison for the felony they committed, according to RAINN.
HAWC in 2022
- 6,436 calls for help answered through HAWC’s Sexual Assault Hotline.
- 311 survivors accompanied to the hospital.
- 9,498 services provided to sexual assault survivors.
- 33 survivors used HAWC’s free legal advocacy.