Funding granted to sexual assault prevention following community action

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — In an Executive Appropriations meeting on Thursday, $600,000 was allotted for statewide sexual assault prevention to be used during the next three years, equating to $200,000 a year.

This happening after the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault saw Friday that sexual assault prevention funding was absent from the budget. They then asked the community to reach out to their legislators.

“We are very grateful, both to the Legislature as well as the community,” Sonya Martinez-Ortiz, executive director of the Rape Recovery Center, expressed during an interview with ABC4.com. “It really is the community, that sort of collective response to our ask, for people to pay attention to this, that moved the needle.”

During the brief meeting of the Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC), Jonathan C. Ball, fiscal analyst for the state, didn’t mention directly the added funding but noted changes that had been made based off the priorities of the executive branch and subcommittee chairs.

“Also, on this list is a number of items that were priority for the executive branch that were negotiated by EAC chairs and included here,” Ball reported to lawmakers and other members of the EAC.

Though the funding had been passed in committee, chances for change are possible when the final appropriations bills, coined the “bill of bills,” is introduced to the House floor in tomorrow’s final day of the legislature.

Although funding was secured, members of UCASA are concerned how the cut in sexual assault prevention programs will have on the 13 existing centers who will now have to share that $200,000 a year.

“While we are very grateful to the community, and to everyone that helped to make this happen,” Bethany Crisp, systems director for UCASA, told ABC4.com. “That is still quite a cut from 1.1 million a year, down to that 200,000.”

Martinez-Ortiz expanded on this, saying that funding goes towards 13 separate centers across the state.

“There are 13 designated rape crises throughout the state,” Martinez-Ortiz explained. “So, this does mean that [money] will have to be split up between 13 organizations.”

The funding in question is funding used by these organizations in the prevention education efforts. These organizations use it to provide state approved curriculums to Jr. high and High school students about healthy relationships and how to seek out help. These also include programs for university students and other businesses and organizations.

“Taking this big of a hit, it does mean that many of [these organizations] will scale back programs, I can’t speak for the other organizations, but we will take the funding that is provided to us, and we will make it go as far as we can make it go,” Martinez-Ortiz stated.

Resources

If you or anyone you know may be a victim of sexual assault, Crips said to call UCASA’s helpline at 801-736-4356 for English or 801-924-0860 for Spanish.