OLYMPIA [Cassie Diamond] – As Washingtonians geared up to celebrate love in anticipation of Valentine’s Day, lawmakers highlighted how the state is addressing gender-based violence and supporting survivors.
During a press conference Feb. 13, Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, said we are facing a “worldwide reckoning” after the release of the Epstein files. She went on to denounce the federal government as being uninterested in believing or protecting survivors of Epstein’s sex trafficking.
However, she emphasized that Washington’s government is different, noting the state’s long history of helping survivors and delivering justice.
“Despite our state’s challenging budget situation, it is more important now than ever before that we continue this work,” Dhingra said. “When we say we believe survivors, it also means we must fund services and support to ensure survivors can address their trauma and be seen and heard.”
Colleen McIngalls, executive director of the Children’s Justice Center of King County, echoed this need for funding, saying Washington is at a “breaking point.”
She urged the Legislature to restore an additional $10 million in victim services funding, or risk programs across the state closing their doors.
Funds for these services, which come from fines, forfeitures and fees in certain federal cases, have been declining since 2018.
“Here in Washington,” McIngalls said, “we have an opportunity to send a clear message that crime victims will not be an afterthought.”
Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Shoreline, shared that she is “alive today” because of the crime-victim services she had access to while trying to escape two abusive relationships.
Davis said that one of the services she used, a victim advocate through the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, was eliminated in 2023 due to funding cuts.
“Victims in the state have rights,” she said. “And it’s the state’s obligation to uphold those in the form of fully funding community-based victim advocacy services, as well as system-based victim advocacy services.”
Yasmeen Waheed, a community outreach engagement specialist with the Silent Task Force and founder of Survivors Inspire Solutions, stressed how African American women are disproportionately victims of missing persons cases in Washington.
She voiced her support for Senate Bill 6070, a measure sponsored by Dhingra that would establish an Ebony Alert system designed to assist in the recovery of missing Black people.
The bill passed out of the Senate Feb. 12 with unanimous support.
Sens. T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest, and Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, also spoke at the press conference, along with Reps. Jamila Taylor, D-Federal Way; Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland; and Chris Stearns, D-Auburn.
Lawmakers said other legislation aimed at protecting survivors include a bill to provide remedies for survivors of violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, as well as a measure allowing children’s hearsay statements to be admissible as evidence in certain cases dealing with physical and sexual abuse to prevent further traumatization.
Kate Garvey, CEO of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, said Washington has made great strides to support surviors, highlighting the efforts made to end the state’s rape kit backlog and strengthen survivors’ rights.
But, in the face of the current funding crisis, she said more work still needs to be done.
“We’ve made too much progress as a state,” Garvey said. “We can’t slide backwards now.”
The Washington State Journal is a nonprofit news website operated by the WNPA Foundation. To learn more, go to wastatejournal.org.
Author: Washington State Journal
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