I was asked to prepare a 300-word response to goings on at the Utah legislature. Here it is.

Survivors do not bear the responsibility for eradicating or preventing future sexual violence in Utah.

Working with survivors has continually reminded me that the decision of whether to report to law enforcement is a difficult and fraught one. We know that approximately 88% of survivors in Utah do not report to law enforcement.

Whether a survivor reports to law enforcement is a personal choice that survivors must make for themselves. Survivors often choose not to report because of real safety concerns (particularly in domestic violence situations), fear of retaliation, fear of not being believed, and fear of being thrown into and retraumatized by an invasive and largely unsuccessful criminal system to name a few. 

We also know that in Utah a mere 8-10% of sexual assault cases where evidence is collected and the victim wants to move forward with the case are successfully prosecuted, meaning approximately 90% are not successfully prosecuted even when evidence corroborating their assault has been collected. 

Although we hope the state increases its funding for sexual assault survivors this year, we also know that the state contributes $20 per survivor of sexual assault, when the standard of care would be $5,087 per survivor, according to the Standards of Care and Core Needs Assessment presented to the legislature earlier this year. (Note: I can email you this pdf showing this. Also, the funding increased but not dramatically this year.)

And yet, legislative efforts around sexual assault in Utah continue to largely revolve around criminalization, prosecution, and law enforcement efforts rather than direct care for survivors or genuine preventive efforts. 

If the legislature wants to help survivors and eradicate sexual assault, it should focus more on passing and funding meaningful prevention and education efforts, and it should provide survivors access to direct care without attaching cumbersome and restrictive strings.