INDIANAPOLIS— More than 230 detectives, prosecutors, victim advocates, healthcare professionals and campus investigators are gathering at the University of Indianapolis this week to get trained on how to better investigate sexual assault allegations.
A recent Call 6 Investigation found Indiana teens felt unsafe after reporting they’ve been raped, and girls said they were re-victimized by the criminal justice system.
The Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault organized a 3-day training, which runs May 21-23 at UIndy, to address misconceptions about sexual assault.
National sexual assault expert Andrew Pari said he was shocked at how judges and prosecutors handled the Indiana cases exposed by Call 6 Investigates.
PREVIOUS | Hendricks county teen says she was treated like criminal after reporting rape
“It’s actually very common for people to delay in reporting and they often don’t resist because they’re too terrified to do so,” said Pari. “Victims do a freeze response where their bodies freeze up or collapse and not be able to fight back.”
ICESA says the solution to mishandled sexual assault cases is trauma-informed training for all involved in an investigation, from police and prosecutors to the victim advocates and judges.
Trauma-informed, victim-centered training focuses on what trauma does to a victim’s brain.
“We have a number of clients who report I wanted to do something, I wanted to say something but my body just wouldn’t respond,” said Pari. “I educate on the basis of neurobiology and what happens to the brain during a sexual assault. I think getting that information from the people who know to the people who need to know is really the gap that needs to be bridged.”
Another focus of the training is for investigators to start by believing the victim.
“The number one key to healing is to have supportive people who believe the victim, whether that’s law enforcement, family, parents or significant others.
Trauma-informed interviews instead focus on the victim’s experience, emotions, and senses.
“It tends to pull out more information as opposed to asking questions based on a timeline,” said Detective Minors. “It’s paramount that everyone is trained in trauma. Not only should officers be trained, but the prosecutors and judges need to understand the trauma and what it does to the brain.”
Detective Minors said sexual assault victims may not behave the way you would expect. They may alter their version of events or delay coming forward.
“Often what appears to be a victim changing their story, it's not necessarily them changing their story, it's how they are recalling the information," said Detective Minors.
Call 6 Investigates spoke with several teenagers, one from Noblesvilleand another from Hendricks County, who said they were sexually assaulted by a classmate and the alleged perpetrator was not criminally charged.
Cloey and Alyssa felt the criminal justice system questioned their every move including what they said and did after the alleged assaults.
Two separate magistrates recently denied both teens’ requests for protective orders against their alleged rapists.
PREVIOUS: Court denies a protective order for teen who reported rape
Meanwhile, the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault is working to change the definition of rape in Indiana to sex without consent.
Indiana state law says the perpetrator has to use force or the threat of force for it to be considered rape.
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