POUGHKEEPSIE – Family Services and the Dutchess County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) launched a vital new public awareness campaign, “Swap the Shame, Shift the Blame” in December 2025. This ongoing initiative aims to transform societal norms surrounding sexual violence by encouraging greater offender accountability and dismantling the culture of victim blaming.
What Is Victim Blaming?
Sexual violence is any type of unwanted sexual contact, ranging from sexist attitudes and actions to rape and murder. Victim blaming is a psychological and social phenomenon whereby the victim of sexual assault is held entirely or partially responsible for the harm inflicted upon them. Oftentimes, bystanders and others scrutinize survivors asking questions such as “What was she wearing?” or “Why was she drinking?”
Conversely, “Swap the Shame, Shift the Blame” inverts the burden of culpability from survivors to perpetrators of violence.
“The campaign was created in response to the harm I continue to see inflicted upon sexual assault survivors,” said Kathy Peluso, SART Coordinator, who brings over 21 years of experience in the sexual assault advocacy field. “The culture of shame and blame of survivors of sexual assault has not only continued but has increased.”
When society blames a survivor for an offender’s actions, it causes psychological harm, leading to secondary trauma, isolation, and an intensified sense of shame. It also discourages survivors from reporting assaults or participating in investigations out of fear of scrutiny and judgment: out of every 1,000 survivors of sexual violence, only 310 report their experience to law enforcement. Of those 310 reports, approximately 50 lead to arrests, 28 lead to felony convictions, and 25 lead to incarceration.[1] By clouding public perception and influencing jury pools, victim-blaming biases can play a role in hindering the prosecution process, making it difficult to secure convictions and hold perpetrators legally accountable.
“When we shift responsibility onto the person who was harmed, we do two kinds of damage. We make it harder for survivors to heal and we lose the chance to hold the person who caused the harm accountable in a way that actually prevents it from happening again,” said Kelly Bunt, President of the New York State Chapter of the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (NYS ATSA)
In the ongoing process of recognizing harm, accepting responsibility, understanding its impact on others, and taking meaningful steps to reduce the likelihood of future harm, victim-centered and accountability-based approaches reinforce each other. When survivors are believed and supported, and when people who have caused harm are expected to take responsibility and change, communities are better positioned to heal, prevent future victimization, and build lasting safety.
What Is The Sexual Assault Response Team?
Lead by Family Services’ SART Coordinator, the Dutchess County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is a multidisciplinary partnership providing a victim-centered, trauma-informed response to sexual violence. SART members include: Family Services’ Center for Victim Safety and Support, Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, Dutchess County Office of Probation and Community Corrections, Dutchess County Department of Community and Family Services, KB Forensics, the Child Advocacy Center, Law Enforcement, Dutchess County Department of Health, NY National Guard at Stewart Air Force Base, Northwell Health at Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Northern Dutchess Hospital, and WMC Health Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital.
By combining the expertise of law enforcement, healthcare providers, community programs, county resources, and victim advocates, SART improves survivors’ safety and wellbeing, enhances the systemic response to sexual assault, and increases offender accountability.
“Those victimized by sexual offenders have already faced extremely difficult emotional and physical circumstances, and it is completely unacceptable for them to then have to deal with being blamed by those truly responsible,” shared Dutchess County Sheriff Kirk Imperati.
“We must continue to fight against offenders trying to turn the tables on the victims of these disturbing crimes, and so I fully support the “Swap the Shame, Shift the Blame” campaign. As your Sheriff, my focus will continue to be strongly supporting victims while holding the offenders – and only the offenders – strictly accountable for the choices that they’ve made. I applaud this campaign along with the efforts of Family Services and Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi, and it is my pleasure to join them in the ongoing effort to prioritize victims.”
“No victim of sexual violence should ever be made to feel responsible for the crimes committed against them. The responsibility lies solely with the offender. Victim blaming not only causes additional trauma to survivors, but it also discourages reporting, undermines investigations, and creates barriers to justice,” said Dutchess District Attorney Anthony Parisi. “As a community, we must reject the harmful myths and assumptions that shift responsibility away from perpetrators and onto those they have harmed. Through initiatives like ‘Swap the Shame, Shift the Blame,’ we can foster a culture that supports survivors, encourages accountability, and makes it clear that sexual violence will never be excused, minimized, or tolerated.”
What Is Rape Culture?
Victim blaming emerges from rape culture, a social environment in which sexual violence is normalized, trivialized, or excused. Norms that promote violence, unhealthy concepts about masculinity, the subjugation of women, and silence about abuse contribute to the occurrence of sexual violence as well.
Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino said, “We have a responsibility to stand with survivors and confront the harmful attitudes that allow sexual violence to persist. In Dutchess County, we believe the victim must be supported and never shamed. It is the perpetrator that deserves the blame and must be held accountable. And we have a strong record of doing just that. Dutchess County Government has funded and been a part of Sexual Assault Response Team since its inception and this dynamic collaboration of agencies work together to strengthen accountability, uplift and support survivors, and build a safer future for all.”
The “Swap the Shame, Shift the Blame” campaign acknowledges that each member of society has a role to play in changing these norms to prevent sexual violence, ensure survivors are believed, and hold perpetrators responsible for their actions.
Melissa Hardisty, Director of Family Services’ Center for Victim Safety and Support stated, “We stand firmly with survivors, acknowledge their experiences, and validate their accounts. Survivors deserve to be believed, protected, and supported without being subjected to shame for a crime committed against them.”
To ensure survivors have immediate access to help, the Family Services Center for Victim Safety and Support has advocates available to provide support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through a secure and confidential hotline. If you or a loved one need support after a sexual assault, call 845.452.7272.
