NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Sexual assault survivors can have their voices heard this weekend.

The Walk In Their Shoes will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Peninsula Town Center in Hampton.

“We are walking with them. [To show] that we believe them,” said Xiomara Harris, executive director of the Center for Sexual Assault Survivors. “This is a safe space for them to come and talk. We will walk this journey with them. It’s not a stop sign. It’s a place of hope, a place that we will nurture you. We will walk with you through this unfortunate incident that has happened to you.”

The Center for Sexual Assault Survivors serves as the Peninsula’s “only rape crisis center” providing free individual crisis counseling, support groups, a 24-hour crisis line, advocacy and violence prevention efforts.

“The hardest part is picking up that phone and making that phone call … making yourself vulnerable,” Harris said. “What you expect is a listening ear, a person that cares, a person that is going to advocate for you and walk with you through this journey.”

The Center’s new office is in a more discrete and trauma-informed location at 11838 Rock Landing Dr., Suite 220, Newport News, VA 23606.

“We need volunteers to be advocates for our clients,” Harris said. “We do have a training that you have to go through. We do need people to help us. We are a small team with a big footprint in the community of Hampton Roads.”

Since July 2023, the staff has noticed a disturbing trend — including an increase of sexual violence among women 18 to 20, often in the dating phase through social media apps. 

“We’ve taken almost 300 hotline calls,” said Stacy Moran, program manager for the Center for Sexual Assault Survivors Victim Services. “Out of those hotline calls, a majority are our younger population, those recently out of high school, those [are] newly in college, those who’ve been in college for a year or two, who are finally coming forward with their assault.

“We have those young ones who are exploring themselves. They’re trying to figure out who they are. They want to impress others. Or sometimes it’s just a simple as, you want someone just to like you.”

Harris added: “Eighteen, 19, those teenage years where young people are looking for connection, especially after COVID. They’re looking for love. They’re looking for a relationship. They’re looking into the different media aspects … just for connection or relationships. We’re seeing that trend, unfortunately.”

The Sentara Peninsula Forensic Nurse Examiners program is also taking note of what is happening.

“We’ve seen an increase in our young adult population, young females, particularly 18 to 20 years old, have seemed to be more of a trend,” said Sarah Brogan, program coordinator for the Sentara Peninsula Forensic Nurse Examiners program. “That’s been more of a change from pre- and inter-pandemic levels where we were seeing more older women who were coming in for services. I’ve had several cases where the trauma or the assault happened on the Southside, but they live here on the Peninsula, so they come to us seeking those services.”

The Peninsula Sentara hospital locations include Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton, Sentara Port Warwick in Newport News and Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center. The emergency department offers on-call services for adult patients. 

“They are in complete control of what happens to them from the moment that they walk in through our door … to try to give that semblance of control back to them,” Brogan said.

Following the passage of Article 8 ‘Services for Survivors of Sexual Assault’ in July 2023, all healthcare facilities must include treatment or transfer plans for those under 18. 

This year, more male patients are seeking services with Sentara and the Center.

“We’ve had more male patients come in seeking services than we have in any other prior years,” Brogan said. “That’s been a result of more community awareness and acceptance throughout. They feel comfortable seeking services after a traumatic event in their life.”

Harris added: “Men do get sexually assaulted, they do get raped. We want to let the public know that we are here for men, children, LGBTQ.”

The Center offers free virtual support groups for women and men.

“We discovered through the pandemic that men did not want to walk into the building that said sexual assault,” Harris said. “They were more comfortable at home. We decided, let’s do all of our groups at home.”

The Center also offered resources to the family or friends of the survivors.

“Not only does it affect someone mentally, it affects your nervous system,” Moran said, “which in turn, will affect behaviors. You may see people become secluded who are once extroverted.”

Learn more

To sign up or donate to Walk In Their Shoes, click here.