Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill highlights sexual assault statistics and low reporting rates in the U.S.
- Victims fear blame and shame; awareness events urge community support and education.
- Gill urges full funding for victim support; recent laws increase penalties for offenders.
SALT LAKE CITY — Sexual assault occurs every 68 seconds in the United States.
That's according to national data, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said on Thursday. However, for every 1,000 sexual assaults committed nationally, 975 of those perpetrators will walk free — in part, because nearly 700 of those 1,000 victims won't report the crime to police.
Gary Sheller, associate director of the Rape Recovery Center in Utah, says the No. 1 reason victims don't report being sexually assaulted is because of "blame and shame."
"The No. 1 fear of victims coming forward, above pregnancy and getting AIDS, was family and friends finding out," he said. "They don't want to be blamed. They don't want to be shamed. They see what happens in the news to people who do (report it), and they want nothing of it. So they suffer in silence. So that's our plea: Please come forward."
On Thursday, as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Gill and members of the Rape Recovery Center held a joint press conference to continue the effort to raise awareness, give a message of hope to survivors and strengthen community response.
"This is not only something we need awareness for, but we as a community need to take responsibility for," Gill said.
Sheller concurred that events like the one held Thursday are a call to action for the community to start challenging the myths and behaviors surrounding sexual assault.
"What can we all do? We can listen to survivors. We can believe them, and we can support them. We can talk to our kids about consent and healthy relationships in very simple terms, like: We don't borrow other people's stuff without their permission. We don't get in their space without their consent," he said. "Let's evolve into a society where everyone understands that there is only one, and one thing alone, that contributes to our causes of rape and sexual assault, and that is an individual willing to make the decision to behave in that way. It has nothing to do with what somebody is wearing. It has nothing to do with what somebody drank or where they're at."
Locally, one in every three women and one in six men in Utah will experience sexual violence at some point in their lifetime, Gill said.
In addition to community members doing their part, Gil encouraged policymakers to fully fund institutional and community partners. He noted that a 2022 report found the average cost to help one victim of sexual assault in Utah was a little under $5,100. Yet, the report found that the state, at that time, was contributing just $20 to help per victim.
Sheller said the month of April is not only about honoring the strength and resilience of survivors, but also making sure processes are in place for accountability.
"Prevention education works. It can change the way individuals think. It can change the way communities interact. It changes relationships. Yet it is the least funded source of service for victims in the state of Utah and pretty much nationally. That is something that has to change," he said, speaking directly to lawmakers. "What you fund reflects your priorities."
Gill on Thursday also pointed to several successes over the past year, including the passage of HB207, which increases the penalty for repeat sexual offenders, and the passage of Ashley's Law, which also increases the minimum mandatory sentences for certain sexual offenses committed against people with disabilities.
Gill said his office in 2024 filed more than 1,000 special victims' cases and sent more than 33 perpetrators to prison and 42 to jail.
