Kenosha---Advocates for sexual assault victims got a powerful lesson Thursday night as to why their work is so important.
They heard from Jerilyn Dietz, a former Kenosha County prosecutor who, as a college student in the 1980’s, became the victim of a sexual assault.
Speaking in a Kenosha courtroom, Dietz described how she’d been assaulted in her Madison apartment by a stranger, and the less than helpful reaction she received from some police officers and school officials at the time.
Dietz spoke about going to a UW-Madison dean for help, who admitted weeks later that she had forgotten to follow through on getting the help Dietz needed to cope with the traumatic aftermath. "I tired to be understanding but this is my life," Dietz said. "I'm thrilled that things are changing--it just gives me so much hope."
These days many communities are improving the level of services for assault victims by adopting multi-agency, coordinated game plans that are developed by Sexual Assault Response Teams, or “SART” for short. A new “SART” plan for Kenosha was formally signed by representatives of participating agencies following Dietz’ presentation. It tweaks an existing plan in part by pulling Gateway Technical College, Carthage and UW-Parkside into the fold by having trained counselors on the campuses.
By the way, Dietz currently works for a Manitowoc law firm. She’s still affected by her experience as a victim, saying she has nightmares now over her own daughters’ safety. The offender in the Dietz case was arrested and convicted soon after the crime and remains in prison.
It's one case that Dietz continues to follow.
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