Building Connect Communities: Cambridge SART

Creating Networks of Support for Survivors

As Sexual Assault Awareness Month continues, BARCC is celebrating how our collaboration with partners helps us Build a Connected Community. The Cambridge Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is a great example of how BARCC and our community partners are working to create safer and healthier communities for survivors.

Start of SART

In 2017, a collaboration between BARCC, the Cambridge Police Department (CPD), and the City of Cambridge Domestic & Gender-Based Violence Prevention Initiative led to the formation of the SART. The goal of the group is to streamline survivors’ experiences and work towards more positive outcomes for survivors who choose to engage in the criminal legal process.  Each month, BARCC plans and facilitates a meeting between SART member organizations to strengthen multi-disciplinary collaboration, co-educate, and build a network of support for survivors.

SART has representation from a wide range of community-based organizations serving Cambridge, including: 

• BARCC
• Cambridge Police Department & Emergency Communications
• Middlesex District Attorney’s Office
• Massachusetts Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program
• Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS)
• Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DPPC)
• Transition HouseCity of Cambridge Domestic & Gender-Based Violence Prevention Initiative
• Victim Rights Law Center
• De Novo Center for Justice & Healing
• Saheli
• And others!

Through multidisciplinary discussions and training opportunities, the group focuses on where services need improvement to best serve survivors.  

“Start By Believing”

In 2019, SART first joined hundreds of other groups and communities in pledging to “Start by Believing,” a campaign launched by End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI) that aims to foster a safe and supportive environment for survivors to disclose. They have reaffirmed this pledge as recently as 2023.

Oppression is at the root of sexual violence. Acknowledging survivors’ identities is crucial to being a “Start By Believing” community. Every survivor’s experience is different. This partnership’s inclusive approach recognizes each survivor’s intersecting identities, including their race, sex, ability, sexual orientation, and immigration status. We continue to invite medical providers, local organizations, and leaders from diverse backgrounds and experiences to join SART and represent their communities. “As a group composed of law enforcement and community-based partners, SART is acutely aware of how a survivor’s identities may influence what resources they seek and feel safe accessing.  Commitment to representation, inclusion, and cultural humility is essential to this work,” says Karen Dahl, Legal Advocacy & Immigration Legal Services Program Director. 

Case Review

Cambridge Police Department (CPD) works to provide the best police and customized support services available to the survivors of sexual assault.  “We conduct thorough and detailed follow-up investigations of all sexual assaults reported to CPD, “ says Family & Social Justice Section Deputy Superintendent Steven Magalhaes. “Our approach emphasizes sensitivity to survivors’ needs by understanding the difficulty and trauma caused by a sexual assault.”

With funding provided from the Law Enforcement Training and Technical Assistance Consortium (LETTAC), CPD and SART community partners came together to review closed, sexual assault cases and examine the investigation process. “We are incredibly grateful to our partners who participated and made this effort a success,” says Systems Advocacy Director Dave Rini. “We look forward to the next steps to improve outcomes for survivors in Cambridge.” 

Training

The BARCC team has provided survivor-centric training sessions for local hospitals and providers, including Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. “It’s been inspiring to help lead trainings and build relationships with medical providers,” says Systems Advocacy Manager, Sandra Gold. “We know that historically the healthcare system has been a barrier to survivors seeking care. But together through SART, we’re creating more empathy, compassion, and empowerment for survivors in our community.”

How to Get Involved

You can help SART build more connected communities safe from sexual violence by:

1. Pledging to “Start by Believing”: Join SART and 1,000s of others in signing the pledge to validate survivor stories.
2. Requesting a Training: Want to request a training, workshop, or speaker from BARCC to work with your organization? We would love to work with you.
3. Volunteering with BARCC: Serve local survivors by becoming a BARCC volunteer.

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