As a professional victim’s advocate, I spend a lot of time around trauma. I received my training from a domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center under the umbrella of Utah Domestic Violence Coalition and Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
I am grateful for the federally recognized and evidence-based training programs which are the result of intensive research and fine-tuning. They are the gold standard for best practices in trauma-informed crisis response. I do not represent these organizations in any official capacity but speak from my experience as a victim’s advocate.
Whether it be on a crisis call to an emergency room or forensic exam, a crisis phone call or intake into shelter, my job is to listen, believe and empower. I listen carefully for damaging messages and expressions of self-blame. I educate the survivor and their family on trauma response.
Many survivors know of fight or flight, but most do not know about “freeze,” which can feel like the ultimate betrayal of the body and make them question if they did everything they should have, if they did something wrong or even if they were “asking for it.” I hold space for the emotional responses to trauma, watch for signs they may need to take a break, distract them with talk, sit in silence, hold their hand and, sometimes, in the middle of probably one of the toughest and most traumatic experiences of their lives … we laugh.
I assist the client in filling out the Crime Victim Reparation Form to be filed with the Utah Office for Victims of Crime. I explain the services we offer, including therapy and advocacy navigating the criminal justice system. I help them develop a safety plan and advocate for their safety and emotional health with health care providers and law enforcement. I help them understand the grieving and trauma response they may experience over the next few days and months. Many of them are in shock and are dissociated from the experience. But I also validate that every response is normal and to be kind with themselves; that they are worthy of healing and that nothing they have done could ever justify them having their choice and dignity taken away from them.
I have had the great honor of working with forensic nurses, law enforcement officers, family, friends and, most importantly, the survivors themselves. Having a state-supported multi-disciplinary approach to trauma-informed justice will benefit the entire state and create a more cohesive movement toward addressing and diminishing the higher than national average rate of domestic violence and sexual assault in the state of Utah.
The recently passed HB177 creates a state-led study researching trauma provisions within the criminal justice system. This will create a consistent trauma-response throughout the criminal justice system, from the first interaction with law enforcement and victims’ advocates through the court process, including keeping the survivors up to date on current status of parole hearings and release dates.
My hope is that community-based organizations that are already providing training to law enforcement and other entities will be a vital and integrated part of the research and implementation process. They are a valuable and expert resource with decades of experience in trauma-informed response and victim advocacy in the state of Utah.
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Tiffany Shapiro, Kaysville, is attending the University of Utah for a joint master’s degree in social work and public administration and graduate certificate in women’s health, volunteers as a professional victim’s advocate and sexual assault crisis counselor, and serves as the executive director of SMILE for Mom, a nonprofit dedicated to economic empowerment for women in poverty.