Viewpoint: Crime Victim Advocates are here to help

Shantelle Gaynor

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. While we may not know it, we all likely know someone who’s been affected. In the United States, one in three women and one in four men will experience intimate partner violence at some point during their life. In Montana, intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence or stalking affects 37% of women and 35% of men.

The effects of intimate partner violence are widespread, impacting our city, county, state and nation. When accounting for medical costs, lost productivity, legal fees, and property loss and damage, intimate partner violence victims incur lifetime costs of nearly $82,000. However, we know these costs cannot measure the lifelong impacts on victims and their children.

The Missoula County Crime Victim Advocate Division is part of the community response, offering free and confidential assistance to victims of relationship violence, sexual assault and stalking. Our advocates serve everyone, regardless of whether a vi5ctim reports their experience to law enforcement or not. We understand the trauma that victims experience and are trained to guide people through the process.

We serve survivors and victims of relationship violence, assault, partner or family member assault, sexual assault, incest, sexual intercourse without consent, stalking and homicide. We can answer questions, assist in filing orders of protection, find appropriate treatment, navigate the justice system, and help design a safety plan for your home or if someone decides to leave a violent relationship. Leaving increases the chances of serious bodily harm or death, and we want to help keep everyone safe.

We know these words can be hard to read, but they are much harder to experience. This is why we work year-round to talk to the public about these issues. Education and awareness are the early steps to get to prevention as we work to eliminate this type of violence in our community.

Our civil advocates provide emotional support and crisis counseling to victims, friends and family. We help people file paperwork and make sure they get connected to community support and resources. Our criminal advocates provide support and information for those victims who decide to pursue legal remedies. They work to ensure that communication from the courts and lawyers is clear and that all options for protection and compensation are made available in an accessible way.

We are here to help, but we aren't the only ones. There are many organizations and agencies offering support. October's National Awareness Month designation allows us to join partners like the YWCA and SARC to invite the entire community in to learn about this issue and what we can do to move closer to reducing and eliminating intimate partner violence. We will be at events all month, answering questions, connecting people to resources, helping survivors tell their stories, seeking justice if they choose, and finding paths to recovery.

We all want a Missoula where everyone lives free from violence. Help isn't limited to October, but now is an excellent time to reach out to get help or simply ask questions. Missoula's resources are below:

Community Justice Department Crime Victim Advocate Division: 406-258-3830

Emergency: 9-1-1

YWCA Missoula Office: 406-543-6691

City Attorney: 406-552-6020

County Attorney: 406-258-4737

Montana Legal Services: 800-666-6899

Missoula Family Law Self Help Center: 406-258-3428

First STEP Resource Center: 406-329-5776

Child Abuse Hotline: 866-820-5437

Suicide Crisis Lifeline: 9-8-8

YWCA Crisis Line: 800-483-7858 or 406-542-1944

University of Montana Student Advocacy Resource Center (SARC): 406-243-6559