The Attorney General's Office in Washington announced a new tool for reporting sexual assaults, marking Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April. A new website, www.seekthenspeakwa.com, has been launched in collaboration with End Violence Against Women International and the statewide Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Best Practices Advisory Group. The platform provides information on responding after a sexual assault, connecting to local resources, and reporting incidents to law enforcement.
Attorney General Nick Brown emphasized, "Our work to eliminate the backlog of sexual assault kits statewide means more evidence has been tested and more crimes have been solved. People who experience sexual assault are not alone in Washington. We are launching the Seek Then Speak website to make sure survivors of sexual assault can access local resources and reporting tools as they seek justice."
The tool acknowledges the hesitation many survivors have in reporting assaults. Sergeant Ryan Yates from the Yakima Police Department noted, “There are many reasons that survivors may be afraid to disclose a sexual assault, Seek Then Speak offers an additional opportunity to learn about resources and report their experience to law enforcement."
The office has specialized units to support sexual assault cases. The Sexual Assault Support Team helps local agencies test old sexual assault kits and uses grant funds for forensic analysis, solving numerous cold cases. The Sexually Violent Predator Unit handles civil commitments of offenders likely to re-offend, except in King County. Legislation was recently passed to enhance supervision of offenders post-release.
Another arm, the Sexual Assault Forensic Examinations Best Practices Advisory Group, works to ensure justice for survivors and support best practices in case management. The advisory group includes broad representation from survivors to medical providers.
"The Attorney General’s Office facilitates the statewide Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Best Practices Advisory Group, which the Legislature founded in 2015. It is meant to bring justice to sexual assault survivors, reduce the number of untested sexual assault kits, and to review best practice models for managing all aspects of sexual assault investigations."
More information about these initiatives and teams can be found on the Attorney General's official website.