Please click below for the Community Needs Assessment that was completed in 2016. There was a 62% response rate. Every county in SD responded to the assessment. Needs, including risk factors, were identified in the assessment. The assessment helped identify barriers in the field of sexual violence prevention work.
The Blue Campaign is the unified voice for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts to combat human trafficking. Working in collaboration with law enforcement, government, non-governmental and private organizations, the Blue Campaign strives to protect the basic right of freedom and to bring those who exploit human lives to justice.
Please visit the link below to learn about DHS’s efforts to end Human Trafficking. There are tabs that provide definitions of Human Trafficking, identifying a victim, support for law enforcement, partnerships, and resource tools.
The following agencies have been trained in the following sexual violence prevention programs. If there is a checkmark under CDC EB. These programs are promising programs that have shown a decrease in sexual violence based on research completed by Centers of Disease Control
| Brookings- | SDSU√ |
| Union | USD√ |
| Pennington | BHSU√ |
| Lake | DSU√ |
| Pennington | SDSMT√ |
| Brown | NSU√ |
| Minnehaha | Child’s Voice |
| Minnehaha | Children’s Home Society |
| Minnehaha | Carroll Institute |
| Minnehaha | Network |
| Potter | SD Coalition of citizens with disabilities |
| Pennington | Rapid CIty High School |
| Davison | Abbott House |
| Pennington | WAVI |
| Potter | Missouri Shores |
| Buffalo | Wiconi |
| Yankton | River City Domestic Violence Center |
| Brookings | Boys & Girls Club-Brookings√ |
| Moody | Boys & Girls Club- Moody County√ |
| Yankton | Boys & Girls Club-Yankton County√ |
| Yankton | River City Domestic Violence Center |
| Yankton | River City Domestic Violence Center |
| Yankton | River City Domestic Violence Center |
| Codington | Beacon Center |
| Codington | Beacon Center |
| Codington | Beacon Center |
| Codington | Beacon Center |
| Codington | Beacon Center |
| Codington | Beacon center |
| Davison | Mitchell Area Safehouse |
| Davison | Ethan School Counselor |
| Davison | Abbott House |
| Deuel | Deuel School District |
| Minnehaha | Children’s Inn |
| Minnehaha | Compass Center |
| Minnehaha | West Central |
| Pennington | Kristin Kiner |
| Pennington | |
| Pennington | Youth and Family Services |
| Roberts | Joan White |
| Oglala | Adorned Campaign |
| Custer | W.E.A.V.E |
If you are interested to have an evidence-based, healthy relationship program be presented to your school, please do not hesitate to reach out to me to learn more about the program and bring a nearby licensed trainer to your 6th-12th school.
Cynthia
If you are a mandatory reporter in South Dakota, please complete this training to better equip you in identifying red flags of abuse among children. If you aren’t a mandatory reporter, it is still helpful information for you to know!
A Boulder jury convicted Wilkerson in May of one count of sexual assault of a helpless victim and one count of unlawful sexual contact for violating an unconscious classmate. His sentence this week of two years in jail under work release, 20 years of probation and a lifetime registration as a sex offender sparked an outcry from the victim’s supporters, who said the punishment was too lenient.
Two Stanford cyclists approached a suspicious situation where they eventually discovered that a man was raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. The perpetrator, Brock Turner, ran off but was tackled down by one of the two Stanford cyclists.
Luckily, bystander intervention proved to be beneficial in this situation.
The justice system has been facing heat due to the minimal sentencing that was given to the perpetrator. Turner was facing 10 years in prison but it was reduced down to 6 months in the county jail. The judge took in consideration Turner’s age and how detrimental it would be for the perpetrator to in prison that long
Turner’s dad wrote a public letter after the victim wrote a letter to the perpetrator, “A steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action”
The judge who sentenced Turner can only be recalled by registered voters in Santa Clara.The county district attorney who represented Turner’s victim tersely criticized Persky’s decision on sentencing, saying, “The punishment does not fit the crime.”
There are many factors that are shedding light on this issue. Not only is the judge facing heat but individuals are outraged about how a perpetrator who was African American faced the longer sentence. Brian Banks, an ex-NFL player, served 5 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit
When Brian Banks was asked about his opinion on this situation, he stated he was disgusted by this. The system boils down to privilege. It’s based on economical background, lifestyle, upbringing. Brock was sentenced based on his lifestyle (Brian Banks Interview)
The victim asked in her letter, “if the rapist was someone from a community college or from an underprivileged background, would the punishment be different?”
Jeffrey Toobin, a CNN senior legal analyst, stated “That’s the core of the outrage.A lot of People believe that sentences are too long. Criminal system should .treat similar offenders similar ways. If most rapists are getting 10 years, a Stanford rapist should get ten years”
Please see below for news coverage on the incident
Center of Disease Control just released the Sexual Violence Technical Package that includes information on best practices to sexual violence prevention and response.
Please click below
South Dakota Prevent 