Ramsey County Attorney John Choi honored for work advocating for sexual assault victims

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi has been nationally recognized for his work to more effectively advocate for and assist victims of sexual assault.

Choi was presented the Professional Impact Award this month at the International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Fighting for Change, an annual conference held by the nonprofit End Violence Against Women International. Choi said there has been significant progress in helping victims of sexual violence across Minnesota.

"But there's a lot more work to do. There's no finish line in this work," Choi said. "We're more on the beginning end of creating better system responses, and we're on the beginning part of better societal norms and culture and conversations around gender-based violence."

Choi's efforts to change societal norms around the issue date back to 2016. Training by a nationally recognized expert led to a county-wide initiative referred to as "Ramsey County: A Start by Believing Community." That initiative aimed to raise public awareness in order to improve the way police and public officials respond to sexual violence.

At the time, about 20% of sexual assaults were reported to law enforcement and less than 3% of those reports ended with an assailant's conviction and incarceration. It's unclear how that data has changed, but the most recent survey of Twin Cities college students conducted by the University of Minnesota found that just 3% of students who reported a sexual assault had reported it to the police.

As supervisor of SOS Sexual Violence Services, a Ramsey County program launched in 1996 that connects victims with services, Emily Huemann has been a part of local efforts to help sexual assault victims.

"There's been a lot of things that have happened in my 25-year tenure with SOS, but the last five years or so has been a lot of reform that's been trying to take place in Ramsey County in response to sexual violence," Huemann said. "Trying to change the victims' experience when they report a sexual assault in Ramsey County – that's partly the work that I've been doing with the County Attorney's Office."

More reform could be around the corner. Artika Roller, executive director for the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said she's in support of a crime victim services bill that could funnel $25 million towards organizations tackling intimate partner violence, sexual violence, general crime and child abuse. The bill is moving through the Minnesota House and Senate.