Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind. --
April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and at Grissom the spotlight is on the volunteer victim advocates trained to support those in need if a situation occurs.
Volunteer victim advocates are a key part of Grissom’s efforts to prevent and respond to sexual assault and provide support to victims of sexual assault along with promoting awareness in the community.
VVAs are tasked with providing non-judgmental, supportive and empathetic regard, said Amy Little, 434th Air Refueling Wing sexual assault response coordinator. They must uphold impeccable personal standards as well as the standards of the Air Force when providing essential support.
“What the victim advocates do is much less administrative in nature than a traditional Sexual Assault Response Coordinator,” said Christy Shives, 434th ARW violence prevention coordinator. “This allows them to spend more time with the victim and interact on a peer-to-peer level.”
Their responsibilities include crisis intervention, referral and on-going non-clinical care to victims until advocacy is no longer needed. Every VVA must adhere to a professional code of ethics and treat all information, restricted or not, as sensitive personal information.
VVAs are a part of the community response and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program, often assigned immediately after a restricted or unrestricted report is made to the SARC with the victim’s permission. They are steady supports and present various options but ultimately allow victims to decide what course of action to take.
“Victim advocates go above and beyond to make sure the victim’s voice is heard, and that all of their wishes are respected,” said Shives. “They’re here to provide information and assistance where needed, and above all else, to listen and understand.”
The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Men and women from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.
Stay connected with the 434th ARW on Facebook and Twitter.