Sexual assaults increase in Rapid City

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - According to rainn.org every 68 seconds a person is sexually assaulted in America, and every 9 minutes that person is a child. In Rapid City, for the first quarter of 2022 there were a total of 37 sexual assaults. This year that number is 44, a 19 percent increase from last year.

In 2021, Working Against Violence Incorporated, better known as WAVI, saw 85 sexual assault clients. That number almost doubled the following year, with the organization seeing 143 cases.

WAVI, which began in 1978, helps survivors of not only sexual assault but domestic violence, human trafficking and even stalking by providing emergency shelter, and food to those in need.

“It’s not uncommon for when we see domestic violence cases increase that sexual assault cases increase as well because they are intertwined. Sexual abuse is another form of power control especially in intimate partner violence,” said Kristina Simmons, development director for WAVI.

WAVI is currently expanding their shelter to offer more beds for both men and women and is looking for donations.

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