Safe Homes, Safe Streets Awareness Day press conference
Comments by Sandy Barnett, Executive Director of KCSDV
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Good morning and welcome to the third annual Safe Homes, Safe Streets Awareness Day press conference. I'm Sandy Barnett, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence or KCSDV. I'm excited to see you all in the audience. Every year the Safe Homes, Safe Streets event gets bigger and bigger and it's thrilling to see you here on behalf of victims.
After I'm finished with my comments, I will introduce our speakers. In order to save time, the speakers will speak one right after the other with no additional introductions.
I'd like to thank Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas and the Shumaker Family Foundation, for their support of Safe Homes, Safe Streets. Thanks also go to KCSDV member programs. I know many of you traveled across the state to be here. And I'd like to recognize the Kansas Association of Centers for Independent Living, and Marcie Briner-Merrill and her colleagues with the Business Professional Women, who are all participating in today's events.
KCSDV, its 30 member programs, and our allies work for safety, accountability and justice for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in Kansas. Programs have served thousands of victims this past year, and today is their opportunity to tell those stories to their legislators. The stories of the thousands of victims who have found help speak to the success we have had, but because there are still thousands of stories it also speaks to the opportunity we still have before us to do more toward achieving safe homes and safe streets in Kansas. We must do more and we can do more!
For those of us who have been working for many years to help create safe homes and streets in Kansas we could only have dreamt about the day when Kansas policy makers and state leadership would come together to act with such conviction and vigor to address the problems of domestic and sexual violence.
This year there has been much discussion in the legislature, in the media, and in the public about how we keep victims and communities safe from offenders, specifically sex offenders.
Recent proposed legislation is focused on enhancing penalties and oversight of convicted sex offenders‹today we focus on victims. 94% to 99% of all sex offenders have never been identified or brought to justice by the court system. By focusing on only convicted sex offenders we will NEVER achieve safe homes and safe streets. We must do more: we can do more!
We must create a safe and accepting climate from law enforcement and prosecution to courts and juries. For us to create safe homes and safe streets in Kansas we must identify and bring to justice those who perpetrate this violence. We must do more: we can do more
Every victim should have access to rape crisis services or safety from domestic violence. 62 counties in Kansas still do not have rape crisis services and 65 counties still do not have domestic violence crisis services. We must do more. We can do more.
Harsher punishments for convicted sex offenders will only work if there are victims willing to report and participate in the criminal justice system. Two of the greatest barriers for victims to report sexual or domestic violence are fear they will not be believed and fear of public exposure. We can create a climate more conducive to victim participation by prohibiting polygraphs being given to victims before investigating or prosecuting a crime. We can provide more privacy for them during trials. We can do more by providing additional training and resources to law enforcement and prosecutors, and increase the availability of sexual assault nurse examiners. We must do more. We can do more!
KCSDV and its member programs have learned throughout the years that victim and community safety is complicated. Achieving safety will require more than just legislation that focuses on convicted sex offenders. It will require a multi-faceted approach that centers on balance between serving victims, holding perpetrators accountable, and preventing this violence in the first place.
We must do more and we can do more to achieve safe homes and safe streets.
Now it is my pleasure to introduce our speakers to you.
Next you'll hear from Juliene Maska, speaking on behalf of Governor Kathleen Sebelius.
Then we'll hear from Attorney General Phill Kline.
Then we have the Reverend Al Miles, who is doing more for victims within the faith community. He is our honored speaker for Safe Homes, Safe Streets and you can hear his keynote address at tonight's reception that starts at 6 o'clock at the Ramada Inn.
And finally we have Graham Bailey, who is with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas, a company that is doing more for victims in the business community.
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