1.9Resources Available to Address Sexual Assault
The Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board (MDSVPTB),1 and the Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence (MCEDSV) are organizations operating at the statewide level to address the prevention and treatment of domestic and sexual violence. Although these agencies do not provide direct assistance to persons experiencing domestic and sexual abuse, the agencies can provide local referrals, information about domestic and sexual violence, training resources, and technical assistance. There is a comprehensive Michigan-specific list of resources available from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).
A.Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board
“The Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board (MDSVPTB) was established in 1978 by state legislation that created a Governor-appointed Board responsible for focusing state activity on domestic violence.” Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS), About the Board. In addition, the MDSVPTB is tasked with developing and recommending policy, providing training and technical assistance to the criminal justice and child welfare departments, and distributing state and federal funding to resources providing services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Id. See MCL 400.1504.2 The MDSVPTB also coordinates statewide delivery of education to the justice system and other professionals. Id.
B.Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence
The Michigan Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence (MCEDSV) “is dedicated to the empowerment of all the state’s survivors of domestic and sexual violence.” MCEDSV, Mission and Vision. The MCEDSV develops and promotes efforts being made to eliminate all domestic and sexual violence. Id. The MCEDSV acknowledges that “[e]nding domestic and sexual violence against all survivors requires social change that promotes equality through individual, institutional and cultural changes.” MCEDSV, Goals and Values.
To see a list of resources available to the public, see MCEDSV, Public Resources.
Michigan domestic and sexual violence service agencies provide individuals who have been assaulted with help and support in the aftermath of an assault.3 For additional information, including a list of local domestic and sexual violence service agencies, see Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, Safety & Injury Prevention/Domestic& Sexual Violence.
Michigan resources are also available from the State of Michigan’s homepage under the topic of Sexual Assault & Abuse, including information about the VOICES4 hotline. Resources available there include a 24/7 Michigan hotline number, information concerning legal options and rights, health options for victims of sexual assault, and information about helping a survivor of sexual assault.
For information about services provided in each county throughout Michigan, see State of Michigan’s, Find Services in Your Area. Select the county in which services are sought, and the names of organizations, their services, and their contact information will appear.
D.National Judicial Education Program Publication: Judges Tell
Legal Momentum, the Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, as part of the National Judicial Education Program (NJEP), developed the publication Judges Tell: What I Wish I Had Known Before I Presided in an Adult Victim Sexual Assault Case from a nationwide survey of judges who had participated in NJEP’s Understanding Sexual Violence programs. The publication covers twenty-five points ranging from basic information about the prevalence and impact of sexual assault to pro se defendants seeking to cross-examine their alleged victims. Legal Momentum offers many educational resources available from the Legal Momentum website, including a webinar titled Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse Web Course: Adjudicating This Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence Cases.4
For additional information on NJEP and Legal Momentum, see Legal Momentum, Courts, The Justice System, and Women.
1 Note: The link to MDSVPTB’s website, and the links to the other resources cited in this section and its subsections, were created using Perma.cc and direct the reader to an archived record of the pages cited.
2 2018 PA 281, effective September 27, 2018, added sexual violence to the language of MCL 400.1504, where the language had previously been limited to domestic violence. MCL 400.1504 describes the MDSVPTB’s structure, its duties and the scope of those duties, and the proper performance of the duties. See MCL 400.1504 for the list of the Board’s duties prescribed by the Legislature. MCL 400.1504(a)-(j).
3 Within 24 hours after an investigating law enforcement agency has had initial contact with a sexual assault victim, that agency must provide the victim with a written copy of, or access to, information for contacting a local community-based program that offers services to sexual assault victims when such services are available. MCL 752.953(1)(a). The sexual assault victim’s access to justice act, MCL 752.951 et seq., contains a comprehensive list of information the law enforcement agency is required to provide to the victim as a matter of course, as well as information to which the victim is entitled upon request. MCL 752.953(1)-(2); MCL 752.955; MCL 752.956. Requirements governing a victim’s request for information are set forth in MCL 752.954. Additionally, “[a] police officer or prosecuting attorney may provide a domestic or sexual violence service provider agency with the name, demographics, and other pertinent information of, and information to facilitate contact with, a victim of domestic or sexual violence for the purpose of offering supportive services to the victim.” MCL 776.21b(1).
4 Other resources available from Legal Momentum include Human Trafficking, Violence Against Women and Girls, and Fairness in the Courts.