Family Center hosts training session on sexual assault

In light of April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Family Center of Columbus held a training session Tuesday afternoon in the Mildred L. Terry Branch Library to address various aspects of sexual assault.

The nonprofit community service organization gives the presentation every month to its own members but thought it fitting to invite other professionals whose occupations call for awareness on the topic. Among the dozens of attendees were representatives with the Muscogee County Juvenile Court, the Sexual Assault Support Center and the Muscogee County School District.

“We thought fitting to make people aware of the sexual assault issues that go on in our city,” said Rachel Snipes, the director of the Family Center’s family counseling program.

According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, an American is sexual assaulted every 107 seconds. There are approximately 293,000 victims of sexual assault every year, with 44 percent of victims being under the age of 18.

“We are seeing more and more and more victims with mental health disabilities, some with physical disability and some with both,” said Kyle Bair, the executive director of the Sexual Assault Support Center and keynote speaker at the training session. “We are seeing a lot more homeless victims now as well.”

According to the network, sexual assault is one of the most under reported crimes, with 68 percent still left unreported. Bair said victims have a fear of embarrassment or blame that often times prevents them from reporting incidents.

Bair has high hopes that Tuesday’s discussion will lead more victims to get the help they need.

“Sometimes sexual assault is not talked about and it’s hard to be aware of some of the services that are available, but we work very closely with the family center and have for years,” Bair said. “This is a change to open doors for other professionals to let them know that we’re there.”

For more information, call the Family Center at 706-327-3238 or the Sexual Assault Support Center at 706-571-6010.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Family Center hosts training session on sexual assault."