First Responders Day — Sexual violence training events planned for first responders

Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence (SEMO-NASV) and Safe House of Southeast Missouri have organized a training for local law enforcement, Missouri Children's Division, first responders, medical personnel, mental health professionals and others who may encounter victims of sexual or domestic violence.

The training is called "Working with Victims: Responding to Crisis in a Trauma-Informed Way". The training is being co-organized and hosted by Michael Bowling, MDT coordinator at SEMO-NASV and Becky Holloway, court advocate at Safe House.

SEMO-NASV and Safe House are part of a Community Coordinated Response (CCR) Team in Scott County. During a meeting with the team, comprised of law enforcement, prosecuting attorneys and advocates, discussions arose around providing training that focused on how to work with abuse victims, identifying it as a need in the area. From there, SEMO-NASV and Safe House officials decided to co-lead a training on understanding the dynamics of abuse and what victims face when they report.

Topics included in the training are medical exams, investigating and prosecuting abuse cases, the disclosure process, the advocate's role, and effects of trauma on survivors. The training will also have guest speakers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Agents Thomas Putting and Kim Stewart. They will be talking to attendees about human trafficking and how to respond to victims. Those who attend will also be able to receive POST certification credits for the training.

"We are glad we can get this information out there to those who are first responders working with abuse victims," Bowling said. "I'm so proud that we can present a unified front on the topic of abuse. The Safe House and SEMO-NASV have always worked together well."

Holloway knows the importance of trauma-informed training.

"I work with victims of abuse every day. It's so important that anyone that encounters a victim of abuse understand the dynamics of trauma to better investigate their case. Only then can victims move on from the experience and start the healing process of becoming a survivor. Our training will focus on this topic as well as other important areas in the investigation and prosecution processes," she said.

Two trainings will be held — Tuesday, Nov. 8, at Cape Girardeau Police Department and Thursday, Nov. 10, at Sikeston Department of Public Safety. Both trainings will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will be free of charge to participants. For more information about the training or to register, contact Holloway at (573) 335-7745 or Bowling at mbowling@semonasv.org.