PROGRAM OFFERS TRAINING FOR NURSE EXAMINERS

Whether it's at the grocery store, a repair shop or on official business, Tammy Gwaltney continues to hear stories from people who have been sexually abused and assaulted.

"Everybody has had an experience," she said. "It permeates our society."

Gwaltney is the director of the Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence (NASV), a nonprofit organization that began serving the area about three years ago.

As part of a continuing education program, the network has teamed up with St. Francis Medical Center to offer a training cource for sexual assault nurse examiners.

The course will be offered from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 14-15 and 21-22 and 29 at St. Francis Medical Center. Cost is $300 for the complete course or $75 per day. Scholarships are available through NASV. Registration deadline is Sept. 7.

"If someone in the community wants to come or volunteer we won't ask them to pay," Gwaltney said.

The idea is to help people, but registered nurses particularly, better understand the problems associated with sexual violence and how to prevent it.

The seminar is an annual event and geared toward nurses, social workers, counselors and criminal justice workers. Topics discussed in the sessions include identifying injuries, therapy and counseling, crisis intervention, perpetrator profiles, victim advocacy, legal processes and trials and the role of law enforcement and child welfare agencies.

The network is continually receiving calls for referrals from state agencies and people who suspect a child is being abused. Most sexual assault and abuse clinics are set up in larger cities and metropolitan areas, so many people are suprised to hear about a local network.

"We all knew there was a need out there," Gwaltney said. She has been speaking with several national foundations and organizations to find out about grants and other programs available.

Since the beginning of the year, 65 children have been treated at the NASV clinic. Fifty-five children were treated last year.

Gwaltney said the key to talking with children who have been sexually abused is getting them to accurately explain what happened to law enforcement officers. Problems arise when children are not able to appropriately identify body parts, she said.

"Teaching children the appropriate names of body parts so that they can say what happened when they are asked questions is invaluable," she said. Often, that information is essential in court.

The only way to prevent sexual violence is to educate children and adults about what it is. The issue isn't about sex but about sexual violence, she said.

Gwaltney would like to see NASV offer programs in area schools for teachers, principals and staff to educate them about the signs of sexual violence.

For information about the nurse examiner training or to learn more about NASV, call Gwaltney at 332-1900. University students should call Tammy Johnson at 986-6413 to register.

The program is approved for 45 hours of continuing education.