Joyce Joins Roundtable to End Sexual Violence

August 6, 2020 by Staff Report

Organizations tasked with combating sexual and domestic violence are facing new challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, Congressman Dave Joyce (R-Bainbridge Township) said after a July 29 virtual roundtable.

The event, hosted by Joyce and his fellow co-chairs of the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence, attempted to address how COVID-19 and racial disparities are impacting state and local organizations who tackle sexual and domestic violence, and to learn how these challenges are hindering survivors from accessing the care and support they need.

“As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s critical that we further our efforts to understand how it has impacted state and local organizations that tackle sexual and domestic violence so that we can properly support them at the federal level,” Joyce in a press release.

Americans at the greatest risk for such violence have lost access to the resources that are often vital to escaping abuse, he added.

“We must continue to improve our response to this pandemic, including efforts to combat crimes of sexual and domestic violence, provide survivors with access to the resources they need and bring perpetrators to justice,” Joyce said.

Roundtable panelists included Rosa Beltré, executive director of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence; Monika Johnson Hostler, president of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence and executive director of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault; Condencia Brade, executive director of the National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault; and Patima Komolamit, shelter program director at the Center for the Pacific Asian Family.

During the roundtable, Joyce asked the panelists about how the rape kit backlog disproportionally impacts minority communities and what types of policies can be pursued on the federal level to provide victims with better access to the justice they deserve.

His office said one of Joyce’s priorities has been addressing the estimated hundreds of thousands of rape kits sitting untested in crime lab storage facilities across the country. Joyce said the number of untested kids across the country is unacceptable.

“I know that healing from these terrible crimes is not a linear process for survivors — it’s often a lifelong progression,” he said. “But as a former prosecutor, I also know that bringing one’s assailant to justice can play an important role in this process. In Ohio, we’ve made a lot of progress at the local level in reducing this backlog, but much work remains to be done.”

Visit www.geaugamapleleaf.com for a link to the entire video roundtable.