SEX ATTACK PREVENTION PROPOSED

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 8, 1993                   TAG: 9301080151
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: STATE   
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium
SEX ATTACK PREVENTION PROPOSED
A commission voted Thursday to seek $15 million from the General Assembly for programs to prevent sexual assault and to treat victims and offenders.
Lt. Gov. Donald Beyer, commission chairman, said squeezing the money out of the already-tight state budget will not be easy. But he noted that the amount being sought is a minuscule portion of the next fiscal year's $14 billion budget.
The General Assembly convenes Wednesday for a 46-day session.
Sen. Edward Houck, a commission member, urged sexual assault victims and counselors who testified at public hearings to help lobby for the programs.
The commission's spending recommendations include:

$2.7 million to expand the state's 23 rape crisis centers and start new ones in localities that need them.

$3.6 million for victim-witness assistance programs that help victims and their families through the legal process.

$1.6 million to hire 40 therapists to work with sexual assault victims.

$500,000 for programs to educate new parents about sexual assault prevention.

$200,000 to pay for 340 performances of "Hugs and Kisses," a child sexual abuse prevention play by a Richmond theater group.

$2.5 million for one year of treatment for 100 juvenile sex offenders.
The commission also recommended several bills to crack down on sexual assault, including a proposal to eliminate a two-year statute of limitation for filing lawsuits in child sex abuse cases. The commission says the change is needed because child victims often suppress memories of abuse until they are adults.
NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB