With sexual violence among the most underreported crimes in the nation, St. Paul and Ramsey County are taking a new approach to letting victims make reports on their own terms.

Megan Rae, an advocate who works with survivors of sexual violence, looked at what other states are doing to help and worked with St. Paul police to craft a program she didn’t find elsewhere: If people want to report, they can start with a sexual assault advocate who delivers the report on their behalf to law enforcement.

Called On My Terms, it’s a program of St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health’s SOS Sexual Violence Services in partnership with St. Paul police that gives people more options — and control — over how and when they report sexual violence.

“After they didn’t have control over what happened to them and their body, it allows them to make the decision about what their healing looks like,” said Rae, legal services coordinator at SOS Sexual Violence Services.

On My Terms is intended for people who aren’t in immediate danger — anyone who is in danger should call 911. But if they’re not and if the crime occurred in St. Paul or Ramsey County, people can contact SOS Sexual Violence Services and talk with a sexual assault advocate.

If they want to use On My Terms, they work with Rae and she gets basic information about what happened to write a report.

“Then we talk about, ‘How far do you want that report to go in the system at this time?’” Rae said.

The victim/survivor decides on the next step:

They can give permission for their report to be forwarded to police for documentation, but not a formal investigation.
They can ask to talk to a police investigator about their case and possible next steps.
They can request a formal investigation by law enforcement.

People can also change their mind and ask for an investigation later, and having some information already documented can be helpful, said Sgt. Vlad Krumgant, an investigator in St. Paul police’s sexual violence unit working with On My Terms.

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“It lets victims/survivors seek appropriate care, and it also gives the St. Paul Police Department and the criminal justice system a chance to hold perpetrators accountable,” he said.

National statistics indicate that more than 60 percent of people don’t report sexual violence. Some possible reasons: survivors worry about retaliation, fear they won’t be believed, don’t want to go through a long process with the criminal justice system or may have had past negative interactions with law enforcement, Rae said.

Overall, “it’s traumatizing to report,” Rae said. “You’re telling many people a really horrific thing that happened to you.”

In 80 percent of cases that are known about nationally, the victim/survivor knows the person who assaulted them.

Information could help other investigations

Of survivors Rae has talked to so far about On My Terms, some people have wanted to report sexual violence but did not move forward with a formal investigation. But their reports still have value.

“They feel that they don’t have the information that might be needed or they just don’t want to have to continue to talk about what happened,” she said. But she’s also heard them express: “If I don’t tell someone what happened to me, what is the potential of this person hurting someone else? What is the potential of this being a repeat offender?”

Megan Rae (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

If they choose to report and not ask for an investigation, the suspect’s name is still documented by law enforcement, which “they’re finding healing in the fact that if there’s other reports or other victims, they’ve contributed” information that could help authorities in other cases involving repeat offenders, Rae said.

SOS Sexual Violence Services received a two-year, $300,000 grant for the On My Terms program. Rae worked with law enforcement and prosecutors about the information she would collect in reports, and started taking reports in July.

She’s talked to about a dozen survivors about whether they wanted to use the program and, as of Friday morning, had taken seven reports. By getting out the word more broadly, she’s hoping more people will be aware of their options for reporting.

The report that Rae takes is “not a replacement for an investigator” because that’s not her role, she said. It’s a report that, if a victim/survivor signs permission to release, she provides to law enforcement. If the reporting person is seeking an investigation by law enforcement, they’d talk to an investigator for a more thorough report.

“We know through research that for victims/survivors that want to go through the criminal justice system, one of the strongest ways to support them through that process is to connect them to advocacy right away,” she said.

SOS Sexual Violence Services offers support groups, a crisis hotline, safety planning and referrals to community resources, among other services. People don’t need to report a sexual assault to law enforcement to get help from SOS Sexual Violence Services, Rae noted. They worked with about 800 people last year, which includes both victims/survivors and their families.

On My Terms is for people who are 18-plus, though Rae said it’s possible they’ll look at expanding it in the future.

Improvements to investigations, prosecution rates

A study released by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office in 2018 showed that of 646 sexual assault cases reported to east metro law enforcement between 2013 and 2016, only about 30 percent of cases were referred by investigators to the county attorney’s office for possible charges. And just 11 percent resulted in charges.

The findings resulted in changes, including adding two more advocates to SOS Sexual Violence Services, two additional investigators to the St. Paul police sex crimes unit and one additional sex crimes investigator to Roseville police; securing an additional grant-funded investigator in the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office; and assigning a Ramey County prosecutor to work full time on sex crimes cases, according to the county attorney’s office.

Since then, the number of sex assault cases that law enforcement forwarded to prosecutors has increased, as has the charging rate, said Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. Last year, based on preliminary information, 167 cases were presented of which 57 percent were charged, according to Choi.

Sexual violence services

People in St. Paul and across Ramsey County can call SOS Sexual Violence Services’ 24-hour resource line at 651-266-1000 or they can email asksos@ramseycounty.us for help or to find out more about On My Terms.

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