Sexual Assault Response Service (SARS)

The Sexual Assault Response Service is a 24-hour/7 day a week hospital response team providing services to recent survivors of sexual assault. A SARS advocate can respond to any Tucson hospital emergency department to provide victim/survivors with immediate crisis intervention and advocacy, as well as information about the victim/survivor's options and rights. When authorized by Law Enforcement, a specially skilled Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner is able to provide a forensic medical exam and evidence collection. SARS also facilitates a victim/survivor's entry into longer-term support, as well as into Arizona's criminal justice system.

The success of the SARS program relies on significant community-wide collaboration. Since 1995, the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault has facilitated this collaboration, which now includes fourteen law enforcement agencies, numerous hospital emergency departments, victim service providers, and the Pima County Attorney's Office. Until recently, we were the only program of this kind in the state of Arizona.