”We all know people who have been victimized,” said Julie Kasak Chase, coordinator of Victims Services for the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, Du Page district.
”You might think you don`t, but you have to with the high rate of sexual assault against women and children. They just aren`t telling anyone,” Chase said.
This number of victims reluctant to seek help concerns Chase.
”They don`t have to live with pain forever,” she said. ”There have been thousands of women who have walked in the same shoes and will be there for them.”
More than 60 trained advocates provide volunteer assistance for the YWCA`s sexual assault services, a full-service rape crisis center for victims, their significant others and their families.
Trained advocates are available 24 hours a day through Du Page Women Against Rape (708-971-DWAR) for counseling and offer further information in regard to other programs and the risk and signs of AIDS.
If the victim should cooperate with police after an assault, advocates support victims throughout the lengthy and tedious process of police investigation, hospital examination and court proceedings.
”We do a lot of hand holding, listening and reassuring,” said Chase, who has worked as an advocate since she was in college.
That TLC is reflected in victims` eyes and confirms the significance of advocacy, said Chase.
”Unlike the police or medical staff who must obtain evidence, we don`t want anything from the victims. We don`t have to know their story if they don`t want to talk. They don`t have to convince us they were not at fault. We believe them unconditionally. We empathize and understand.”
A woman`s trust and security is shattered after an attack. She often finds it difficult to live independently, continue career goals or resume loving relationships, said Chase.
”Her world is turned upside down, but she doesn`t have to go through this alone. We are here to help her let go of the painful past and move on to a future of healing.”
