SOS Community Partnerships
SOS is engaged in multiple partnerships with community programs that aim to enhance services for victims/survivors, improve systems and prevent sexual violence.
Examples of partnerships include:
- Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.
- Law Enforcement.
- Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner programs at Regions, St. John’s and United Hospitals.
- Colleges and universities.
Professional training & education
SOS provides free professional training and education on topics related to sexual violence, trauma and how to support victims/survivors. Training can be tailored to audiences and take place in schools, community programs, workplaces and other
settings.
Topics include
- General sexual violence-awareness and needs of survivors (includes discipline specific roles).
- Child sexual abuse/mandatory reporting.
- Secondary victims of sexual violence.
- Sexual exploitation of clients by professionals.
- Professional ethics, roles and boundaries.
- Sexual harassment prevention for management.
- Cultural competency and oppression: relationship to sexual violence.
- Special issues for communities of color.
- Sexual exploitation by clergy/spiritual leaders.
- Workplace sexual harassment prevention.
- Sexual assault awareness/personal safety.
Schedule a training session
Call 651-266-1000 for more information.
Sexual Assault Protocol Team
The Ramsey County Sexual Assault Protocol Team (RCSAPT) works to improve the community’s response to sexual violence. The team’s mission is to coordinate and implement an interagency response to sexual assault victims which promotes consistency, respect and cultural competency.
Timeline
- 1998: The RCSAPT team was established and started meeting regularly.
- 2010: RCSAPT began monitoring and evaluation the effectiveness of established protocols.
- 2016: Ramsey County declared a Start By Believing Community.
- 2018 : Ransey County Attorney’s Office published the Ramsey County Systems review, which reviewed 640 cases over a 2 year period.
- 2019: Implementation Plan was signed by ever law enforcement agency in Ramsey County, Ramsey County Public Health and the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office.
- 2021: Ramsey County partnered with MNJRC to review cases and host focus groups for BIPOC victims/survivors. The recommendations from the study were published in a report titled “I Want to Be Heard.”
- 2025: Ramsey County recommitted to the work of ongoing improvement of community responses to sexual violence.
Protocol development and training
Written protocols have been developed for the handling of sexual assault cases, including how the work of each discipline intersects with the others. The protocols continue to be revised and training on the protocols is on-going.
Meetings and Membership
The team meets at least ten times per year and has members representing 7 distinct disciplines: Advocacy, Law Enforcement, Medical, Legal, Corrections, Social Services and Colleges/Universities. The team has provided multiple trainings for member agencies, including Ramsey County's first county-wide sexual assault investigator training and sexual assault nurse examiner training. The team receives technical assistance from the Sexual Justice Violence Institute at the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Through this assistance, the team stays connected with ten other Minnesota multidisciplinary teams with similar missions. The team is funded by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Justice Programs, through their MN SMART (sexual assault multidisciplinary sexual action response team) grant program.
Start by Believing
Inspired by the national Start by Believing Campaign, SOS Sexual Violence Services is partnering with community groups, Ramsey County Attorney's Office and Saint Paul - Ramsey County Public Health to improve prevention and responses to sexual violence victims. This compassionate response assists victims with healing and opens the doors, giving the criminal justice system a chance to hold perpetrators responsible.
On My Terms
SOS Sexual Violence Services and the Saint Paul Police Department have partnered to offer victim/survivors of sexual violence more choices when reporting an assault.