The Rape Crisis Center of Central New Mexico needs volunteers to provide information and comfort to survivors of sexual assault.
Advocates provide 24-hour counseling and education services, in person or by phone, for sex crime victims, said Rosanna Cordova, crisis services manager for RCC.
"We have hospital advocacy programs where advocates will go out and accompany a survivor during the process," she said.
The center has 55 volunteer and staff employees, she said. All
advocates must take a five-week, 40-hour course before they can start working with sexual assault victims.
"During those 40 hours, the advocates learn about how oppression works and how that intersects with sexual violence," Cordova said.
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Volunteers learn communication skills and how to deal with domestic violence victims.
Cordova said the center emphasizes informing victims of their options, rather than providing advice on their next course of action.
"It's like we're waiters," said sophomore Rachel Lenger, a volunteer at the center. "We present all these options, and then we just wait to see if anyone wants to do anything."
One of the primary options presented to victims is an examination by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, or S.A.N.E.
"What we do at Albuquerque S.A.N.E. is we provide services for sexual assault victims that would like to have an examination," said Lidya Vandiver, the clinical coordinator for Albuquerque S.A.N.E.
S.A.N.E. provides free treatments for victims, emergency pregnancy contraception, treatment for STIs and extra medications.
"The nurses also will testify, so if it gets to a point where it does get to court, the nurse goes to testify on the patient's injuries and the evidence we've collected," Vandiver said.
Lenger said victims need advocates to help them reduce anxiety and feel safe after they are assaulted or raped.
She said problems continue to rise even after an attack.
"It's important because when a person is raped, they have to deal with the police and then with doctors and nurses," Lenger said. "Often the authorities are not sympathetic, and because it's very hard to prosecute rape, part of being an advocate is being there and being someone who believes you."
Vandiver said emergency rooms don't provide immediate assistance for survivors of rape or sexual assault, and hospital visits can be humiliating.
"We take the sexual assault patient out of the emergency room, where it's not really a private location," she said.
S.A.N.E. nurses perform sexual assault examinations at their organization's center so fewer victims have to wait in emergency rooms for hours at a time, Vandiver said.
"In typical emergency rooms, there's a triage system where only the most critically injured patients are treated first, and only a small percentage of sexual assault victims have (emergency)-type injuries to be treated," she said.
Cordova said adults of all ages are welcome to volunteer.
"Our advocates range in age from people who are 18 to people who are retired," she said.
