Sexual Assault Response Team

Only one in 10 sexual assaults are reported. Victim advocates say this is at least partly because survivors must endure a medical examination and legal investigation that can add to the trauma of the attack. The process usually begins in the harsh and harried surroundings of a hospital emergency room and can leave victims regretting that they've reported the crime and medical staff upset that they couldn't provide compassionate care.

The Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence is seeking volunteers to serve as crisis intervention counselors. The coalition is accepting applications for its next volunteer training session, which starts June 3. The training will be held Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through July 20.

The Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence is seeking volunteers to serve as crisis intervention counselors. The coalition is accepting applications for its next volunteer training session, which starts June 3. The training will be held Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through July 20.

To help emergency room workers document sexual assault evidence, the Assistance League of San Fernando Valley recently donated a digital camera to Northridge Hospital Medical Center. The camera, worth $700, will be used by the hospital's Sexual Assault Response Team, said Althea Kapur, the league's public relations chairwoman. Photographs taken with the digital camera can be downloaded to a computer more easily than those taken with other cameras.

To help emergency room workers document sexual assault evidence, the Assistance League of San Fernando Valley recently donated a digital camera to Northridge Hospital Medical Center. The camera, worth $700, will be used by the hospital's Sexual Assault Response Team, said Althea Kapur, the league's public relations chairwoman. Photographs taken with the digital camera can be downloaded to a computer more easily than those taken with other cameras.

Her pager's piercing sound tells her another victim has arrived. Within an hour, Rochelle Juran will meet the woman in a small, wallpapered room at Mission Community Hospital and guide her through an intricate rape examination. Juran will take swabs of the victim's mouth, vagina and rectum. She'll take pictures. And along the way, Juran will try to calm the victim, gain her trust and tell her what's happening next.

Riverside County officials will hold a community forum in Murrieta today to discuss sexual assault and assistance available to victims, officials said. The forum, held in conjunction with sexual assault response team Circle of Safe-T, will be at the Rancho Springs Medical Center's administration conference center, 25520 Medical Center Drive, from noon to 2 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) delivered a check for $500,000 to Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City on Friday to create the first rape treatment and services center in the San Fernando Valley. The Legislature funded the Sexual Assault Response Team last month. "Right now, sexual assault victims have to be treated in downtown L.A.," Katz said.

Holding placards and chanting, about 55 women rallied outside the Long Beach City Hall Friday to protest violence against women. Citing a rising number of rapes in the city, the group called for Police Department to establish a sexual assault response team. "Long Beach has become a violent place to live and it's not OK," said Julie Dodge, executive director of the Sexual Assault Crisis Agency, a nonprofit organization that operates a rape hot line in Long Beach.

I was pleased to read that Northridge Hospital Medical Center will continue to treat victims of sexual assault until the Mission Community Hospital Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is up and running ("Sexual Abuse Center Will Be No Cure-All," Aug. 25). I'm sure that Dr. [Ed] Lowder would agree that we should expand services to victims of sexual assault in the San Fernando Valley beyond those he provides. His distinguished record of service indicates he puts the interests of his patients ahead of his personal aggrandizement or enrichment.

Her pager's piercing sound tells her another victim has arrived. Within an hour, Rochelle Juran will meet the woman in a small, wallpapered room at Mission Community Hospital and guide her through an intricate rape examination. Juran will take swabs of the victim's mouth, vagina and rectum. She'll take pictures. And along the way, Juran will try to calm the victim, gain her trust and tell her what's happening next.

Only one in 10 sexual assaults are reported. Victim advocates say this is at least partly because survivors must endure a medical examination and legal investigation that can add to the trauma of the attack. The process usually begins in the harsh and harried surroundings of a hospital emergency room and can leave victims regretting that they've reported the crime and medical staff upset that they couldn't provide compassionate care.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) will deliver a check for $500,000 to Mission Community Hospital today for the creation of the first rape treatment and services center in the San Fernando Valley. Funding for the Sexual Assault Response Team, or SART, was approved by the state Legislature last month. Advocates for victims of sexual assault say that team programs--comprising social workers, doctors, nurses and police--increase the speed and efficiency of treatment for rape victims.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) toured Mission Community Hospital on Friday and delivered a check for $500,000 to be used to create the first rape treatment and services center in the San Fernando Valley. The state Legislature approved funding for the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) last month. "Right now, sexual assault victims have to be treated in downtown L.A.," Katz said.