This first episode of the 2021 Sexual Assault Awareness Month “mini-season” of the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ’s) Just Science podcast series presents an interview with author, nonprofit founder, and sexual assault survivor Natasha Alexenkoto, who discusses her book, “A Survivor’s Journey,” and the importance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Background information for the interview notes that Natasha Alexenkoto is committed to improving the response to sexual assault in the United States. She discusses the impact of her book and the introduction of new legislation to improve responses to sexual assault. Recommendations are offered for supporting sexual assault survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic. She advises that Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an important time to increase public awareness and knowledge of the needs of sexual assault survivors and the features of community services required to address those needs. She also discusses her work in the development of legislation in California that will address the needs of victims in the processing of sexual assault cases. She discusses efforts to obtain input from other countries through an international survey of the kinds of services and policies other nations have developed for preventing, investigating, and responding to sexual assault and its victims.