Advocates provide helping hand in times of need

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ross Tweten
  • 5th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (AFPN) --  “No questions. No doubts. We’re here for you.”

The job of a victim advocate is not to ask questions or doubt the victim. Their job is to help the individual through the process, said Staff Sgt. Holly Lucas, a Minot Air Force Base sexual assault victim advocate.

Victim advocates are active-duty military personnel and Department of Defense civilian employees selected by the base’s sexual assault response coordinator to provide essential support, liaison services and care to a sexual assault victim.

Victim advocates are volunteers who must possess the maturity and experience to assist in very sensitive situations, said Marilyn Nurnberger, the SARC here.

Responsibilities of a victim advocate include:

-- Providing crisis intervention, referral and ongoing non-clinical support. 

-- Providing information on available options and resources to assist the victim in making informed decisions. 

-- Continuing services until the victim states support is no longer needed. 

-- Accompanying the victim, at their request, during investigative interviews and medical examinations.

However, victim advocates do not provide counseling or other professional services to a victim.

“Victim advocates are important because we’re not there to judge the victim,” Sergeant Lucas said. “We’re more of a friend to the victim, rather than someone who is there to figure out the story. We just care about the victim’s well-being.”

“For too long the victims of sexual assault have been made to feel ashamed,” said Master Sgt. Peter Hart, victim advocate. “The advocate is there to assure the victim it’s not their fault.”

Victim advocates are the backbone of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program, Ms. Nurnberger said.

“Being a victim advocate takes a lot of your time,” Sergeant Lucas said. “You have to be 100 percent into the program. At anytime we could be called to go meet a victim. It’s not beneficial to anyone if you’re just doing it for an enlisted or officer performance report bullet."

Those looking to become a victim advocate need to ask themselves how they would react when faced with the victim of a violent sexual assault, Sergeant Hart said.

“Could you put your personal needs aside to help the victim? Could you talk to this person without making them feel they are guilty of something? If the answers are 'yes,' you could be right for the victim advocate program,” he said. 

If people want to become a victim advocate they shouldn’t look for public adulation, convenient hours, high pay or any pay, Sergeant Hart said.

“The biggest benefit would be the feeling of helping someone in dire need,” he said.