• By now we have all heard about hurricane evacuees being raped in emergency shelters. These most vulnerable people, seeking only shelter, food, water, and safety, became victims of a devastating crime of personal violence.
• Other refugees from the storm and flood were also traumatized by witnessing the rapes and being helpless to stop them.
• Many sexual assault survivors who lived in the affected areas before the storm had built communities of support through their local rape crisis centers. Now those support systems and services are gone.
• Staff members from the sexual assault crisis centers in the affected parishes have been displaced, many without homes and jobs.
• The rape crisis centers in the communities impacted by the Greater New Orleans evacuation have been deluged with additional need for their services, both from survivors who were sexually abused or raped before the hurricane and those who were attacked during its aftermath. Some cities in Louisiana and Texas have doubled in size due to the evacuations.
• For many survivors, the hurricane's impact - loss of safety, feelings of fear and helplessness, lack of control, not knowing if they would live or die - have triggered the same feelings that they felt during their sexual assaults, leading them to need counseling and support services now more than ever.

  Please take a moment to read a response to the sexual assaults occuring in the wake of Hurricane Katrina from Judy Benitez, Executive Director of LAFASA.

  How will relief funds be used?

  
  Relief funds donated through this site will be used exclusively for addressing the sexual assault related effects of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, as described above. Funds will be used:

  • to aid sexual assault victims who were assaulted during the hurricane's aftermath to make sure they get the services they need;
  • to ensure that sexual assault survivors whose base of support, their community-based rape crisis center, was lost to them are able to access services elsewhere;
  • to support the rape crisis centers impacted by the Greater New Orleans evacuation in making sure they have sufficient staff and volunteers to handle the increased demand for services;
  • to help displaced sexual assault center staff with their immediate housing and job search needs.

  Who will administer the money?

  
  Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault is a non-profit coalition of the state's community-based sexual assault crisis centers and other agencies and individuals concerned with ending sexual violence in Louisiana. Established in 1985, LaFASA serves as a funding conduit to the local rape crisis centers. LaFASA's mission is to work toward ending sexual violence in Louisiana, through education, program support, and social change.

  LaFASA is recognized as a 501(c)3 charitable organization through the Internal Revenue Service and is registered with the Louisiana Secretary of State. All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

  Click HERE to Donate!

  To learn more about LaFASA or its member sexual assault crisis centers, please visit our homepage or call 985-345-5995.

  More Information

  - Responding to the Needs of Hurricane Katrina Victims Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted, a letter from Joanne Archambault, Executive Director of EVAW International, outlining guidelines for advocates and law enforcement officers responding to victims who have been sexually assaulted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.http://relieffundforsexualassaultvictims.org/resources/Letter.doc

  - The Need for Courtesy Reports, a document from EVAW International providing guidance for police officers conducting courtesy reports of sexual assaults occurring outside their jurisdiction.http://relieffundforsexualassaultvictims.org/resources/Katrina policy.doc

  - Investigating Sexual Assaults Model Policy, the first national model policy on investigating sexual assaults for law enforcement, developed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.http://www.theiacp.org/documents/pdfs/RCD/InvestigatingSexualAssaultsModelPolicy%2Epdf

  - Sexual Assault Statutes in the United States, a compilation of sexual assault statutes throughout theUnited States developed by the National Crime Victim Law Institute
  http://relieffundforsexualassaultvictims.org/resources/sexualassaultchart_NCVLI-D.doc

© 2005, Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault
1250 SW Railroad Av Ste.170, Hammond, LA 70403
Phone: (985) 345-5995, Fax: (985) 345-5592, Toll Free: (888) 995-7273
E-mail: resource@lafasa.org