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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Mackenzie Aranda, Public Policy Fellow from New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, on Sexual Assault Services in NYC Hospitals
2:24:56
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128 sec
Mackenzie Aranda from the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault highlighted significant gaps in sexual assault services and prevention programming in NYC hospitals, particularly outside of Manhattan. She requested an increase in funding for the Sexual Assault Initiative to address these issues and improve support for survivors.
- Over 50% of sexual assault survivors in NYC are not seen by trained forensic examiners, and many face a lack of advocate services in hospitals.
- Survivors experience long wait times, multiple hospital transfers, and insufficient staff training, leading to further trauma and service dropouts.
- The alliance is requesting an enhancement of the Sexual Assault Initiative funding from $2,075,000 to $5,000,000 to address these critical gaps and implement systemic changes in hospital systems.
Mackenzie Aranda
2:24:56
Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to speak here today.
2:24:58
My name is Mackenzie Aranda.
2:25:00
I use she, her pronouns.
2:25:01
I'm here on behalf of the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault.
2:25:04
The alliance is a member of the Sexual Assault Initiative, a coalition of five sexual violence intervention programs that has built a citywide network of advocates, counselors, providers serving thousands of survivors from under resourced communities.
2:25:17
Over the last two years, the alliance conducted a mapping project revealing significant gaps in services and prevention programming for communities experiencing the highest rates of sexual violence.
2:25:27
I'm here to highlight these gaps in New York City hospitals and ask for your support to enhance the sexual assault initiative to $5,000,000.
2:25:34
Through the sexual assault victims bill of rights, every survivor is entitled to an advocate support from the local rape crisis program and the ability to receive medical treatment and forensic evidence collection from any hospital emergency department.
2:25:46
However, despite this, over fifty percent of survivors in New York City are not seen by a trained sexual assault forensic examiner, and many survivors in hospital emergency departments also face a lack of advocate services with many hospitals citing no advocate availability at all.
2:26:00
These become increasingly true the further one goes from Manhattan.
2:26:04
We have survivor stories highlighting wait times up to six hours for safe examiners, survivors being transferred again and again to multiple hospitals, and insufficient hospital staff training resulting in survivors dropping out of services altogether, or rape crisis advocates having to guide medical practitioners.
2:26:21
With this, pediatric survivors are among the most impacted.
2:26:24
It is clear that these gaps have deeply traumatizing and far reaching effects on survivors.
2:26:29
As a member of the sexual assault initiative, the alliance trains medical and human service professionals to provide trauma informed support to survivors of sexual assault.
2:26:37
Our initiative is funded at $2,075,000, and due to an increase in the number of survivors and the increasing gaps that we've highlighted here, we're asking for an enhancement to 2,500,000.
2:26:48
The data from our mapping project and the survivor testimonies show the urgent need to close these critical gaps and implement systemic change in our hospital systems to better serve New Yorkers and the communities that have borne the consequences of the system's failure.
2:27:01
Thank you for your time and commitment to this critical issue.
Mercedes Narcisse
2:27:04
Thank you.