Small Town News

DOH supports sexual assault prevention activities

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Public agencies and community organizations have joined together to raise awareness about the importance of preventing sexual assaults in New Mexico. They are sponsoring a variety of activities throughout the state during Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April. The activities begin with a three-day conference, Advocacy in Action, April 7-9 in Albuquerque.

Governor Bill Richardson proclaimed April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month due to the seriousness of the problem. In New Mexico, one in four women and one in 20 men will be raped during their lifetime, according to reports from the Survey of Violence Victimization in New Mexico, law enforcement, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner units and service providers.

"We all need to work together to respond appropriately to victims of sexually assault and to prevent abuse from occurring in New Mexico," said Health Secretary Alfredo Vigil, MD. "We are especially concerned with the number of children and adolescents who are sexually assaulted. They are disproportionately victims of rape, and they are more likely to be sexually assaulted in the future."

The conference features nationally recognized speakers and has workshops on sexual violence, domestic violence, childhood victimization, managing personal, family and public emergencies, workplace safety planning, enforcing protection orders, system accountability through court monitoring, and developing protocols to improve an intervention response in child abuse and neglect cases in New Mexico. For more information, look up http://www.kessjones.com/AIA2010Agenda.html.

Sexual assault awareness activities are being held in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Silver City, Taos, Farmington and Portales. For a list of scheduled activities, look up http://nmhealth.org/sexual_assault.shtml. There will be a town hall meeting in Santa Fe, nationally recognized CNN youth presenter in Portales, high school presentations in Taos, community gatherings, fundraisers, and trainings for law enforcement and medical professionals

New Mexico sexual assault statistics:

Victims are overwhelmingly female and are most often victimized by age 12.

Seventeen percent of rapes are reported to law enforcement.

Average length of sentence for rape conviction is 62.5 months.

More than half of sexual assault victims were victims of a prior sexual assault.

More than half of survivors and three-quarters of offenders had a history of domestic violence.

The Department of Health Office of Injury Prevention's budget includes $1.9 million of federal and state funding this fiscal year to contract with organizations that provide outreach, training and prevention programs for children, adults and professionals; diagnose and investigate cases of child sexual abuse and sexual assault of adolescents statewide; and develop and implement a bi-lingual sexual violence curriculum and educational materials. The Department is finalizing a strategic plan for addressing sexual assault and helps fund an annual analysis of sex crimes in New Mexico.

Reports on sexual assault and domestic violence in New Mexico can be found on the Office of Injury Prevention website: http://www.health.state.nm.us/Injury/injury_reports.shtml and on the NM Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs website at: http://www.nmcsap.org/reports.html



Copyright 2010 Hidalgo County Herald, Lordsburg, New Mexico. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 Hidalgo County Herald Lordsburg, New Mexico. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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