NEEDS GROW FOR AID TO VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

The numbers are frightening almost beyond belief.

The FBI says one in four children in the United States is molested by the age of 18, some repeatedly, some only once. The number would be even higher if every case of child molestation were reported to authorities.

Based on those numbers, it is estimated as many as 55,000 children are sexually molested by the age of 18 in the nine counties of Southeast Missouri from the Bootheel to Perry County that are served by an agency here in Cape Girardeau that is trying to help young victims of sexual molestation.

The agency, the Network Against Sexual Violence, is in the process of making changes it hopes will expand its services not only to more children who need them, but to adults as well. The network, established in 1997, is all-volunteer but recently acquired a paid, full-time director because of the increasing demand for its services.

The network is run from a donated office at 63 Doctors' Park where specially trained nurses perform forensic examinations and law enforcement officers interview children in a private, comfortable setting. That is an important feature of the network's services. Otherwise, the victims would be examined in less-cordial hospital emergency rooms in St. Louis or Columbia, Mo., and then would be taken to several places for interviews with law enforcement officers, often having to tell their tragic stories over and over.

The new director, Tammy Gwaltney, a member of the network's board of directors since it was established, estimates the agency will serve about 120 children this year. She says she hopes to expand the service by not only handling additional cases, but by working with other agencies on follow-up and case management with victimized children. She also hopes to let more people know about the services so that more victims can be served and to expand the services to handle adults who are sexually abused.

Funding comes from local foundations, fee-for-service contracts with the state, Department of Economic Development tax credits and private donors, and the Areawide United Way will provide funding for the first time from its 2000 campaign.

The Network Against Sexual Violence is providing the necessary help to victims who have been traumatized by sexual assault and whose experiences can haunt them for a lifetime. These volunteers deserve the financial support of the entire area they serve.