A new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin shows that many sexual assault victims in Texas are not getting the help they need. The study’s authors conclude that more funding is needed for sexual assault services, including for hiring sexual assault nurse examiners who work with victims after incidents to collect evidence and provide medical treatment as needed.

In a state where an estimated 20 percent of females and 5 percent of males have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime, these findings affect a huge portion of the population—and researchers hope they will serve as a catalyst for future improvements to sexual assault victim services. The study was funded by the Criminal Justice Division of the Office of the Governor, and is the first study to have specifically examined the needs of adult Texans who have been sexually assaulted.

Dr. Noël Busch-Armendariz of the School of Social Work directed the study, with post-doctoral fellow Dr. Shetal Vohra-Gupta serving as project director. Researchers examined whether Texans were getting the help they needed following sexual assault by interviewing victims, rape crisis center advocates, law enforcement officers, victim services professionals, nurses and prosecutors from all over the state.

“Little is known about the factors that promote or hinder victims to seek services from law enforcement and/or victim service organizations,” said Busch-Armendariz. “And less is known about how these gaps in services impact a victim’s experience for a return to full physical, mental and emotional health.”

Many sexual assaults go unreported, and according to researchers’ interviews, many victims who did go to emergency rooms for rape kits left before receiving help due to the long wait times. Wait times for exams were usually several hours.

Based on their findings, researchers believe that more sexual assaults would be prosecuted if wait times were decreased through the hiring of more sexual assault nurse examiners, and if sexual assault services were more widely available.

In addition to hiring more examiners, researchers also recommend increasing funding generally for organizations that provide sexual assault services and that work toward preventing sexual violence. They also suggest several other ways to encourage victims of sexual assault to come forward, including taking victim-centered approaches to treatment, encouraging collaboration among organizations that work with sexual assault victims, and developing new campaigns to decrease the stigma of sexual assault.

Researchers hope that their study will encourage changes to be made in the way sexual assaults are handled in Texas.

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Read the full study here, and visit the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault for information on how to help.