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Though all three women hail from very different backgrounds-Huenann’s is in criminal justice, Her’s is in psychology, for example- all agree that sexual assault victims are often misunderstood and in need of guidance.

“Rape is not sex, sex is not rape,” Huenann said. “[Sexual] assault is somebody wanting to hurt another person. It’s a way to humiliate, shame, and harm a person or a community in the most intimate way.”

“The most important thing is that we’re the person there that’s on the [victim’s] side,” Siegel said. “Our job is to say, ‘How can I help?”

Because Huenann, Siegel and Her cannot assist victims round-the-clock, volunteers step in to take calls and make hospital visits in off-hours.

“We couldn’t do the volume of work that we do if we didn’t have our volunteers,” said Siegel. “Quite frankly, we would have to close our doors.”

Here’s how S.O.S. works: When a sexual assault victim calls the organization’s 24-hour hotline, a
volunteer or full-time employee relays the support and information he or she needs. S.O.S. is also connected with five area hospitals, and if a victim of sexual assault is treated at one of those five hospitals, a representative visits and offers the same services.

“Every time a sexual assault victim walks in to one of those five hospitals, we get called,” Siegel said. “It doesn’t make a difference if it’s one in the afternoon or one in the morning, our job as advocates is to be a support system to folks, whether it’s on the phone or face-to-face.”

Hospitals involved with the program include Regions, United, and St. John’s.

It’s no matter S.O.S volunteers and employees are strangers to the people they work with-sexual assault victims often just need to be educated about their options, Siegel said, although S.O.S. representatives are not trained to encourage victims to report sexual assault incidences.

Every victim’s needs are different, and reporting the crime is not the best option for everyone, according to S.O.S policy.

“It’s their rape,” Siegel said. “It belongs to them.”

Besides offering general legal information about rape and other forms of sexual assault, S.O.S. volunteers are the emotional support systems for many victims.

“People often blame themselves,” said Huenann, who is the organization’s director. “But any responsibility the victims take takes some [responsibility] away from the offender.”

Many sexual assault victims do not come forward or report an incident because of shame, especially when male victims are concerned. Social constructions tell men that they need to be ‘tough’ in order to be masculine, and men do not want to show physical or emotional weakness by reporting sexual assault, according to Siegel.

“Many men would walk around with injuries before reporting a rape,” she said.

Victims of sexual assault experience so much more than just the trauma of the initial attack. In addition, they also might face harsh criticism from the public, or even from their own friends and family.

“It’s important how police, family and schools respond to the victim,” Huenann said.

This is particularly true when dealing with victims who belong to marginalized groups, according to Siegel.
S.O.S. recently added additional information to their volunteer training program, so that volunteers will be able to better deal with transgender rape victims.

S.O.S. sees increasing numbers in transgender sexual assault victims each year. Siegel insists this is because the transgender community is responding to their positive reception by law enforcement officials and advocates in the area.

“Ramsey County was given a grant to write a culturally sensitive, victim-centered sexual assault protocol,” Siegel said.

The Ramsey County response to sexual assault, she explained, has proved helpful for the GLBT community.

“For a GLBT person to call the police and say [rape] happened to them, it’s a huge risk,” said Siegel. “So if a police officer that responds is halfway decent and treats you with respect, when you go back home you tell the folks in your community.”

Her, who is the volunteer coordinator for S.O.S., said she is always open and willing to accept new volunteers.

Training is a mandated 40 hours.

According to Her, almost anyone makes a good volunteer. “We’re not looking for somebody who is a graduate in law or somebody who is a nurse,” she said. “We have volunteers who are students, volunteers who are grandparents.”

But S.O.S has turned down volunteers in the past, mostly because of a lack of moral cohesion between the crisis center and the volunteer. S.O.S has a hard time, for example, working with volunteers who will not willingly discuss the option of abortion with a victim.

Most people usually know after they begin training, Her said, if volunteering at S.O.S is right for them.
Siegel said that most people aren’t too shocked if they are told they are not a good fit for the organization.
“Nobody likes to be told ‘thank you, but no thank you’,” she said. “Volunteering is not a right, it’s a privilege.”

Recently, S.O.S.’s funds were cut, along with two full-time staff positions, because of changes in the political system. “Federal priorities have shifted significantly,” Huenann said. “We’re just trying to stay afloat. [Sexual assault] numbers are up, and funding is down.”

S.O.S., unlike many rape crisis programs, is funded by Ramsey County, and is not a stand alone, non-profit organization.

-For more information, please call the S.O.S 24-hour hotline at (651)-643-3006 or the S.O.S. business line at (651)-643-3022.