What is a SART?
A Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is a specific intervention model focused on immediate and consistent response to sexual assault victims with the goal of implementing and maintaining a comprehensive, coordinated, trauma-informed and victim-centered system of intervention and care, with a commitment to systems change and continuous improvement. The core membership of a SART includes law enforcement, medical providers, and community-based victim advocates. Additional essential members include prosecutors, systems-based victim advocates, mental health services, and other allied professionals.
In Virginia, sexual assault teams are mandated in the Code of Virginia:
Code of Virginia Mandate
Section 15.2-1627.4 Coordination of multidisciplinary response to sexual assault
The attorney for the Commonwealth in each political subdivision in the Commonwealth shall coordinate the establishment of a multidisciplinary response to criminal sexual assault as set forth in Article 7 (§ 18.2-61 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 18.2, and hold a meeting, at least annually, to: (i) discuss implementation of protocols and policies for sexual assault response teams consistent with those established by the Department of Criminal Justice Services pursuant to subdivision 37d of § 9.1-102; and (ii) establish and review guidelines for the community's response, including the collection, preservation, and secure storage of evidence from the Physical Evidence Recovery Kit examinations consistent with § 19.2-165.1. The following persons or their designees shall be invited to participate in the annual meeting: the attorney for the Commonwealth; the sheriff; the director of the local sexual assault crisis center providing services in the jurisdiction, if any; the chief of each police department and the chief of each campus police department of any institution of higher education in the jurisdiction, if any; a forensic nurse examiner or other health care provider who performs Physical Evidence Recovery Kit Examinations in the jurisdiction, if any; the Title IX Coordinator of any institution of higher education in the jurisdiction, if any; representatives from the offices of student affairs, human resources, and counseling services of any institution of higher education in the jurisdiction, if any; a representative of campus security of any institution of higher education in the jurisdiction that has not established a campus police department, if any; and the director of the victim/witness program in the jurisdiction, if any.
Sample SART Protocols, MOU's, and Brochure
Resources
Virginia Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Brochure
Virginia SART Google Group: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/sart-va
Recorded Webinar: Exploring the Implications of Virginia's SART Code Mandate
Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs): A Model Protocol for Virginia
Cultivating SART Efficacy: Insights of the Impact of Virginia Sexual Assault Team Code Mandate
Office for Victims of Crime: Sexual Assault Response Team Toolkit
National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) Sexual Assault Response Toolkit
Sexual Violence Justice Institute: SART Tools and Resources
End Violence Against Women (EVAWI) Resources for SARTs
To request to join the Virginia SART Google Group email: sart-va+subscribe@
For Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) consultation and technical assistance, please contact Andi Martin at (804) 371-0534.