PDC Orenda Center and Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Sexual Assault Victims Advocate

Tuesday, October 21st, 2025 -- 2:01 PM

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Personal Development Center is a private, non-profit victim services agency providing case management, advocacy, and prevention education to individuals and families in the North Wood County and Clark County area.

Having served the community since 1977, the agency has a history of identifying and addressing needs within an atmosphere of confidentiality and concern and provides a wide variety of services. I spoke with Danielle, a Sexual Assault Victims Advocate, and she discussed her role at the PDC.

Listen to the interview with Danielle here!

We’ll hear from another employee from the PDC this Thursday and the final interview for Domestic Violence Awareness Month next Tuesday.

(AI assisted transcription by Otter.ai)

Danielle: "As an advocate, I work with victims of intimate partner abuse and support them through their healing journey in direct service with victims of sexual assault of all ages and genders."

This may include providing legal advocacy, medical advocacy, safety planning support groups, and referrals to other services in the community. These efforts are part of a healing journey, and each person's individual process is very unique."

"So, there's not one way that a survivor will proceed after either an isolated assault or years of abuse. So, as an advocate, I meet each individual where they're at and provide trauma informed care in order to empower them to move forward."

Riley: "What else would you like people to know?"

Danielle: "So, a little background on sexual assault. Sexual Assault includes a range of undesired and non-consensual, sexually related behaviors, unwanted contact, rape, harassment, sexual violence, child sex abuse, incest, reproductive coercion, trafficking, stalking, and intimate partner sexual violence are all examples of sexual assault."

"We also live in a digital era, so technology plays a large role in many sexual assault cases, including offenses such as sextortion and image based sexual abuse."

"And we may not know it, but we all likely know someone impacted by sexual assault, whether the assault has been disclosed to us or not. Data on sexual assault is challenging to collect, because many victims do not report their assault."

"So, the most recent data we have from the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault is from 2018 and, as of that time, one in four men and one in two women had experienced contact sexual violence in their lifetime, with the majority of perpetrators of rape being men, regardless of the gender of the survivor, also in Wisconsin, one in five women, so 20% are survivors of rape."

"So, if we think about women in our lives, moms, grandmas, aunts, sisters, friends, cousins, neighbors, teachers, babysitters, doctors, nurses, there's 10 people we may know, and two of them have likely been raped, which is a really staggering statistic, and it impacts that individual, but also our society as a whole."

"So, because sexual assault impacts so many people, another part of PDC's mission, and my role, is to provide education and prevention outreach. Sexual assault can be very difficult for people to talk about and survivors frequently experience shame and embarrassment."

However, since the majority of the population will experience some form of sexual assault at some point in their lifetime, 81% of women and 43% of men. That's why education and prevention is so critical. We need to not only support survivors in their healing journey, but also educate to prevent future assaults."

"So, in my role, I do outreach to community partners and schools to raise awareness through efforts such as the Domestic Violence Awareness Campaign. And then we also do sexual assault awareness during sexual assault awareness in April, and that helps reduce the stigma surrounding abuse and assault."

"We also do education efforts such as tabling events at resource fairs and individualized programming in schools and local businesses to better educate people for signs of assault or abuse, to help any potential victims seek resources that they may not know be are available."

"And we also do presentations on what sexual assault is victims rights when they are assaulted, and what each sexual assault survivors experience may look like."

"At PDC, we seek to be a safe, non-judgmental space for victims of intimate partner abuse. We serve people of all genders, races and socioeconomic status, we want people to know that they are not alone in their experience."

"So, as part of that effort, we also offer support groups, because being a survivor of sexual assault can be very lonely and isolating, and support groups are a way to know we're not alone and help us build strength through community in a safe and confidential space and we want people to know that it's never too late to seek services or support."

"So, whether the assault just happened and they need an advocate present during a forensic exam or speaking with law enforcement, are seeking emergency shelter to escape an ongoing abusive situation. They want emotional support from something that may have happened in the past, past, or are trying to find a path to financial independence."

"Our advocates work hard to empower the individual and my own. My favorite expressions as I do this work is, you may not be able to change your past, but you can start here today and change your future."

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.