BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph Staff Writer
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook joined other county officials and the staff of Quigley House to mark Sexual Violence Awareness Month during a news conference at Quigley House: the domestic violence and sexual assault center in Green Cove Springs.
“Every day, the men and women of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office focus our attention on sexual assaults, especially our investigators and our special victims and internet crimes against children units,” the sheriff said. “They have a job that isn’t easy to stomach, but they do it every single day and they do it exceptionally well.”
The sheriff added that educating the community about sexual assault and supporting survivors of the crimes is an essential part of her agency’s mission.
Jennifer Rodriguez, the CEO of Quigley House, said her nonprofit focuses on building awareness around sexual assault and breaking the stigmas and biases that surround the subject.
“Cultural norms have contributed to misunderstanding and confusion around sexual violence,” she said. “This makes it difficult for survivors to wrap their minds around their own personal experience, often leading to shame and guilt. At Quigley House, we work to educate survivors on the dynamics of sexual assault and provide intervention to heal so survivors can rebuild their lives and have a healthy and safe future.”
After the news conference, Rodriguez said many sexual violence survivors feel judged and are hesitant to report the crimes committed against them.
“Oftentimes, they’ve experienced ongoing abuse, so they’ve experienced child abuse, neglect and domestic violence throughout their lives,” Rodriguez said. “So, by the time that they are managing the aftereffects of a sexual assault, they’ve been groomed to believe that it’s their fault, that if they’d only been better, it would not have happened. And those thoughts really hold survivors back from coming forward.”
The Quigley House CEO added that her organization provides counseling to victims through a 24-hour crisis hotline: 904-284-0061, offering advice without getting law enforcement involved.
She said that victims are often manipulated by their offenders into not reporting the crimes.
“People do not realize that sexual assault is also about power and control,” she said. “Survivors are being led to believe that they’re responsible for what’s happened, and they’re being controlled either by being told that (offenders) are going to reveal something about them or they’re going to hurt their families. They’re threatened, and they’re scared to come forward. And so we really work to help them understand how they’re being treated, what those warning signs look like, and how not to fall back into those patterns.”
