“The Women’s Center of Jacksonville plays a crucial role in the treatment and recovery of crime victims. Their dedication and commitment to professional treatment and compassionate care also helps bridge the gap of trust between victims and police. We are grateful for this agency and our valued relationship.”
-Sheriff Mike Williams, Jacksonville Sheriff
What is the Women’s Center of Jacksonville Rape Recovery Team (RRT)?
Survivors may call the Women’s Center of Jacksonville’s 24-hour Rape Crisis Hotline, may visit the center’s main office at 5644 Colcord Ave. or may go directly to the organization’s safe center at 403 W. 10th Street. Many survivors also elect to speak to religious leaders, medical personnel or contact law enforcement after suffering a sexual assault. Survivors may choose differing ways to report their attacks, as sexual assault is a very personal, emotional and confusing crime.
Whether or not a sexual assault survivor elects to report the crime to law enforcement, the Women’s Center of Jacksonville offers advocacy and a forensic medical exam after an assault. Exams are conducted by a licensed Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) who documents all injuries and collects and maintains all forensic evidence.
Evidence is stored with the Women’s Center of Jacksonville until law enforcement collection. When a survivor chooses to report to law enforcement, evidence is given to the appropriate law enforcement agency for processing. If the survivor elects not to report, the evidence is stored by law enforcement for at least two years.
The Women’s Center of Jacksonville has experienced an increase in the number of sexual assault survivors seeking help and has run out of space to offer support to them.
The Women’s Center of Jacksonville’s Rape Recovery Team of trained personnel includes a licensed medical doctor serving as the medical director, licensed sexual assault forensic examiners and certified advocates who provide comfort to survivors while assessing their current needs and explaining their options.
The Women’s Center of Jacksonville provides rape survivors with crisis intervention and advocacy, forensic exams and counseling.
1 in 6 women in Florida are raped*
To educate our community about rape and the effects of sexual assault, the Women’s Center of Jacksonville provides sexual violence prevention programming, educational presentations on sexual assault and relationship violence prevention to college and university students. The Women’s Center also offers training for professional staff from colleges and universities, medical facilities, social service agencies, judges, attorneys and law enforcement personnel.
The Women’s Center of Jacksonville’s rape recovery crisis intervention and advocacy services include:
- 24-hour, 7-day a week on-call advocates
- Advocates to inform survivors of their rights and options
- Crisis intervention and emotional support for survivors and their loved ones
- Information, referrals, outreach and long-term support
- Peer-led, empowerment based support groups
- Assistance navigating the justice system for survivors who have reported to the police
- Advocacy services in a variety of languages for survivors of different backgrounds.
8% of rapes or sexual assaults involve a male victim.**
*https://www.fcasv.org/information/sexual-assault-statistics **U.S. Department of Justice