GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Law enforcement and community leaders are encouraging victims of sexual assault to come forward in order to hold those responsible accountable and help stop the vicious cycle of abuse.
The entire month of April has been designated “Sexual Assault Awareness and Child Abuse Prevention Month,” which brought a number of officials together on Wednesday at Family Services in Green Bay.
Brown County Sheriff Todd Delain was present and pointed out that they are accustomed to working with victims where an incident took place decades ago.
He says they are equipped to assist in those situations because they have individuals designated to work with the victim and start the process of validating the information.
“Often times, especially if it’s been several years, the victim may not know exactly where that incident occurred,” says Sheriff Delain.
For their department, several years could mean a couple of years or a couple of decades.
In either scenario, they encourage the victim to reach out so they can start the process.
“Even if it’s been a long time and the individual does not remember all of the specific details, we do have individuals that will help them get through that,” he says.
The importance of making that brave first step, according to Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith, is that it’s vital in ensuring that the guilty party is put behind bars.
“The only way that this is going to stop is if we bring perpetrators to justice and hold them accountable for what happened,” explains Chief Smith.
Verbalizing a traumatic incident can be incredibly difficult, but the gathered officials agreed that they are experienced in this field and are waiting to help.
For Chief Smith, he wants anyone nervous about the process to know that they’ve been through this countless times in the past.
“It’s heartbreaking to listen to the stories that have happened, but the stories that are still out there are nothing new in our community and nothing new to our investigators,” he explains.
In the end, he says the department simply wants to offer help and begin the process of putting an end to this issue.
“It’s something that’s been going on for far too long,” says Chief Smith. “It’s something that’s far too pervasive in our community.”
Another focus was on the community partners in place to assist victims.
Tana Koss is the Division Director of Crisis & Counseling at Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin.
She also oversees the Sexual Assault Center, which stands ready to help victims, no matter how long ago an incident took place.
“The Sexual Assault Center is here for victims who may still be feeling the impacts of sexual assault from twenty-five years ago, as much as we are here for someone who has recently experienced this trauma,” says Koss.
