On June 7, 2024, SOLPRC and the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA) held a one-day conference titled Investing in Safety and Survivors: A Discussion of Sexual Violence Prevention and Accountability in Minnesota at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
This conference built upon SOLPRC’s April 2024 report on sex offense civil commitment in Minnesota. The theme of the conference was how Minnesota could reinvest the operating budget of the state’s sex offense civil commitment program–approximately $112M/year–into more effective, evidence-based interventions to prevent and address sexual violence that are starved for funding in Minnesota. Panels of experts spoke about the importance–and significant underfunding–of victim/survivor support services, primary prevention and education, and treatment and reentry for people convicted of sex offenses.
Legal and treatment experts also addressed what could be done in the interim to reduce harm within the civil commitment process (e.g. timely and appropriate reductions in custody).
The conference was attended by a very diverse group of approximately 120 people including civil commitment defense attorneys, county attorneys, victim/survivor advocates, treatment providers, state corrections officials, and impacted people. Download the program here
