Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill was joined by the Rape Recovery Center to talk about Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Nationally, every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted, according to RAINN. In addition, 1 in 5 women experience rape, and 25 percent of the men in America experience some form of sexual violence as well, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. In Salt Lake County, in 2024 alone, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office filed more than 1000 special victims’ cases. As those prosecutions move forward, the SLCo DA’s office sent 33 perpetrators of a special victim case to prison and 42 to jail in 2024.

 

Our office does more than prosecute, though; we also have a special victim’s unit that goes to court with the survivors to help them feel not just legally supported by this office but emotionally supported as well. In addition, our office works to support the passage of laws like the recently passed HB 207, which makes a five-year increase in the mandatory minimum penalty for second and third-degree felonies if an offender has a prior conviction for a sexual offense and the current conviction is for a sexual offense. Our office worked on the passage of Ashley’s Law this year as well, a law to increase the mandatory minimum to 10 years to life in prison for specific sexual offenses against an incapacitated individual.

 

“I am proud of the work the people in this office do every day to hold offenders of sexual assault accountable in the courtroom. Our Survivor and Victim Services Division works hard every day with survivors as they go through the court process. It is an important function in our office because it shows the community that we are not only here to provide legal support in the courtroom, but we provide emotional support through our counselors and social workers,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “If you are a survivor of sexual assault and have not come forward, we want you to know that we have a system in place to help support you through the process so you can get the justice you deserve.”