INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana has created a new services and outreach division intended to give advocates a boost in their work helping crime victims, including young girls who face a higher-than-average rate of sexual assaults.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced the new Victim Services and Outreach Division on Thursday, saying it would direct resources toward helping those victimized by domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual assault. Zoeller’s office also plans to offer training and information to victim services networks and victims in hopes of improving their access to services, counseling and referrals.
“Across our state, in domestic violence shelters, hospitals, police stations and courthouses, advocates for crime victims do brave, compassionate work in helping innocent people who have been traumatized by horrible crimes,” he said in a statement.
State Rep. Christina Hale, D-Indianapolis, told WXIN-TV that Indiana ranks near last in the nation when it comes to assisting crime victims.
“We have some terrible problems in Indiana. One in six girls, by the time they’re in high school, have been raped or sexually assaulted in our state. Children simply are not safe,” said Hale, who authored 2014 legislation that created a study of child sexual abuse in Indiana.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in December 2011 that 17.3 percent of Indiana girls between grades 9 and 12 have reported being raped; the national average was 10.5 percent. That report also found that 5.2 percent of Indiana males reported forced sexual intercourse during the same grades, compared with the national average of 4.5 percent.
The new division has launched an informal Victim Advocates’ Network that will provide hundreds of advocacy workers statewide and victims with access to services and counseling and referrals across county lines.
As part of the initiative, Zoeller’s office will publish a “Victim’s Rights Handbook” to advise Hoosiers affected by violent crime of their legal rights under the Indiana constitution.
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