SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Police Department has implemented a new digital reporting system that gives sexual assault survivors more control when coming forward.
The platform, called Seek Then Speak, allows survivors to complete reports online at their own pace.
More than half of women and nearly one in three men have experienced sexual violence, according to the CDC. The CDC says those numbers are likely underestimated because many survivors don’t report.
“Because of the fear of what that may look like,” said Cheyenne Gillespie, a victim advocate with Spokane Police Department. “Investigative medical care or any of that. It’s a lot of unknowns that honestly scares a lot of people from wanting to make reports.”
The new tool aims to change that.
“It allows them to complete a self guided interview in a victim centered trauma informed way,” Gillespie said.
The free website can be accessed on computers or phones. Users can save their progress throughout the reporting process and decide when, how, or if they want to share their information.
“It could be something that they are just filling out for therapeutic purposes. It could be something that they maybe just want to have documented,” Gillespie said.
The Washington Attorney General’s Office launched Seek Then Speak statewide in April. They continue raising awareness so more agencies can adopt it.
“The tool is an incredible resource. It is really everything a survivor needs to know in the aftermath of an assault,” said Lauren Vlas, a senior policy analyst with the Attorney General’s office. So everything from what constitutes assault, how to how to kind of understand what has potentially happened, to the legal resources that are available to someone.”
For Gillespie, who has seen survivors retraumatized by the reporting process, the hope is for this tool to give survivors a stronger sense of control.
“I hope that this lets victims feel more empowered to come forward, to share their stories and and to feel, I guess, gratified in doing so,” Gillespie said.
For more information on Seek Then Speak, click here.
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