How a Mount Sinai Program Is Helping Survivors of Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a very different health crisis is continuing unabated—sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV). An experienced and compassionate team at Mount Sinai is there to help.

“It’s been a little bit challenging, but we do not want to let that stop us from providing very critical services,” says Angela Fernandez, Assistant Director at the Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention (SAVI) Program, a team that includes physicians, social workers, and advocates. “We’re still operational.”

Founded in 1984, SAVI has offered free services and support to survivors in New York City for more than thirty years. Its most visible program trains 100 people a year to provide emotional first aid and bedside advocacy to survivors in emergency rooms throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Volunteers undergo a 40-hour New York State Department of Health training and—following medical, background, and health screenings—commit to bimonthly, six-hour shifts in which they are on-call to be deployed when a participating emergency department has identified an instance of sexual assault or intimate partner violence. The volunteers are equipped to facilitate communication with law enforcement, counsel survivors on their rights, and help them identify and acquire basic needs like shelter. Ms. Fernandez sees advocates as a temporary best friend who can help survivors to navigate any uncertainty faced while in the emergency room.

This intimate, peer-to-peer service has been complicated by COVID-19, since in an abundance of caution, emergency rooms are barring most visitors. Fortunately, the Department of Health has mandated that all survivors are entitled to an advocate. SAVI began offering phone advocacy in mid-March to continue to provide this essential service while adhering to safety measures. Through phone advocacy, survivors can speak with an advocate—via a hospital line or their own mobile phone—to receive support, advice, and assistance.

“Our volunteers are still there. We are still responding to the need, albeit from a distance,” says Ms. Fernandez.

Fewer Domestic Violence Calls, but Not Necessarily Fewer Assaults

In early April, weeks after the “New York State Pause” closed most businesses and imposed social distancing, the New York Police Department released statistics showing a downward trajectory in crimes. For the month of March, domestic violence calls were down 15.3 percent.

“Sexual violence and intimate-partner violence was already grossly under-reported,” says Ms. Fernandez, who cautions that this downward trend does not mean that fewer assaults are being committed. “The fact that we are not seeing as many people making a police report is not surprising, because it’s already something that not a lot of people do.”

Additionally, survivors are not immune to troubling news reports about the pandemic. For a survivor, fear of contracting the virus when going to an emergency room may outweigh the need to seek help. This is particularly relevant for IPV survivors who, Ms. Fernandez notes, often do not seek medical care for the abuse itself but from underlying health conditions associated with abuse and trauma.

“It is in the middle of treating someone for a chronic stomach issue, an asthma attack, or a headache that will not go away in which it is disclosed that abuse is happening at home,” she says. “If a survivor knows that these symptoms cannot possibly be the virus, they may think—my issue isn’t serious enough.”

In fact, abusers may use the stay-at-home order, as well as the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, to further isolate survivors, forcing them to determine whether their home life is more or less threatening than potential exposure to the virus.

“It’s coming down to basic needs for many survivors, and an abusive person can exploit the situation, especially if they have food, shelter, and are even willing to pay someone’s phone bill,” says Ms. Fernandez.

SAVI employs licensed clinical social workers and mental health counselors who provide confidential, trauma-informed therapy to survivors who have left abusive situations as well as those currently in abusive situations. This service has largely shifted to HIPAA compliant virtual sessions—completed via phone or videoconferencing—although in-person sessions are available for emergency, high-risk cases.

“For some, the discussion is not about the abuse, it’s about survival. So many people have had to return to abusive situations, because they didn’t have anywhere else to go. Survivors are having to make really, really hard choices.”

Programs like SAVI hope to make these choices less daunting. Through phone advocacy, virtual counseling sessions, and ad-hoc in-person meetings, survivors can receive advice, assistance, and support from an experienced team dedicated to their physical and emotional safety.

“Survivors are very resilient,” says Ms. Fernandez. “This might not be the best time to make big decisions—like leaving an abuser. We understand that survivors know their situation best, and we are there for them every step of the way.”