Sexual Assault Advocate Program Provides Support

“’I never thought it could happen to me’ – that’s the first thing a survivor always says when we sit down to talk with her after an assault,” said Candy Stallings, Executive Director of the San Bernardino County Sexual Assault Services (SBCSAS). Although the majority of people served by SBCSAS are female, men and transgender individuals are victims of sexual assault as well. SBCSAS has entered into an official Memorandum of Understanding with the San Bernardino Community College District (SBCCD), working with district staff and the district police department to assist in situations where a victim has intimated that sexual abuse, sexual violence or domestic violence has occurred. Victims may contact the police department on either the San Bernardino Valley College or Crafton Hills College campuses, or may contact the SBCSAS directly for assistance, whether the precipitating event has just occurred or is a past assault. San Bernardino Community College Chancellor Bruce Baron explained, “The expanded Title IX legislation, California Penal Code section 679.04, and the Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act have all directed colleges and universities to designate an advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response, and we looked to partner with the organization that has provided our campuses with professional services with great sensitivity for many years.” For over 37 years, SBCSA’s advocacy team has offered San Bernardino Valley College, Crafton Hills College, the University of Redlands and California State University, San Bernardino students and staff guidance and support through the legal, medical and psychologically challenging maze a survivor must navigate after reporting an assault. Since the expansion of the laws involving sexual assault prevention and advocacy, they now work with the high schools and middle schools, too. According to Pierre Galvez, SBCCD police chief, “Our informal arrangements have been formalized, and members of the SBCCD community have the assurance of the availability of SBCSAS advocates, should the need arise. Our officers work closely with their staff and understand the delicate nature of the circumstances. SBCSAS staffers also join officers on the campuses with workshops and onsite prevention activities.” “Because we are not college or district employees, we are independent advocates. As a result, we are able to offer legal confidentiality to the survivor of an assault,” Stallings noted. “In 2014 we responded to 438 calls for assistance in San Bernardino County, including 32 assaults in which drugs were involved – and those were just the ones willing to file reports.” Stallings, who has been with SBCSAS for 28 years, is responsible for 13 staff and a volunteer pool of about 25 in offices in San Bernardino, Redlands, Yucaipa and Victorville. Their three-tiered back up structure provides a 24-hour crisis line and on-site response. They also accompany survivors through court hearings and forensic examinations where evidence is collected, and to meetings with district attorneys. SBCSAS offers bilingual, no-cost counseling at their facilities. They listen, answer questions and attempt to allay myriad fears of the survivors, generated by having to face their attackers, to testify in court and, in many cases, from feeling like they should have been able to prevent what happened to them. “Education is the key to combating sexual violence,” Stallings said, and Galvez agreed. “It is vital to understand that surviving is the important thing. They survived, so by definition they did everything they could have.”