Rape and/or sexual assault generally refers to any involuntary sexual act in which a person is threatened, coerced or forced to engage against her or his will. The Commission seeks to alleviate the impact of rape and sexual assault on Arkansans becoming involved in improving public policy, distributing funds to rape prevention programs providing prevention services, training on rape and sexual assault issues and conducting other community projects. The following is a summary of our activities.
Rape Prevention Grant
In 2007, the Arkansas Sexual Violence Primary Prevention Comprehensive Planning Team was formed by the Arkansas Commission on Child Abuse, Rape and Domestic Violence and the Arkansas Department of Health through the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Injury Prevention’s Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Cooperative Agreement. The planning team conducted a comprehensive assessment of sexual violence prevention efforts in the state to articulate a vision and broad goals for Rape Prevention in Arkansas. The result of this extensive process is an eight year plan that addresses societal and community levels of the social ecological model through strategies that have demonstrated the potential ability to prevent first-time perpetration and victimization.
Each year the Centers for Disease Control provides funds to states for Rape Prevention Activities. In Arkansas, those funds total approximately $300,000 and provide support to rape prevention programs around the state.
Sexual Assault Protocol Manual
The Commission also distributes a protocol manual and video related to forensic gathering of evidence after a sexual assault has occurred. Should your medical facility wish to receive a free copy, please email our project coordinator Myca Grant Hunthrop at mgrant@uams.edu or view the Sexual Assault Manual 2018 online. The manual is available to view as a flowchart as well. This flowchart provides a succinct description of the manual to view quickly. You can download the Sexual Assault Protocol Flowchart here.