Raising Awareness Of Sexual Assault And Recovery Resources

By Hannah Fierle

Miami University journalism student

1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men will be sexually assaulted or experience interpersonal violence during their college years.

While these numbers may seem disturbing, advocates hold them up as evidence of the need for information and education on preventing and responding to sexual assault on college campuses.

Two programs held on Miami University's campus last Wednesday and Thursday were meant to educate students and faculty about the issue while also pointing out resources available to them on and off campus.

The programs were helmed by Kathie Wollney, Miami’s sexual and interpersonal violence education and outreach coordinator, Becca Getson, Miami’s sexual response coordinator and deputy Title IX coordinator, and Nora McVey, the sexual and interpersonal violence campus specialist at Women Helping Women.

"I wish that Becca and Nora didn’t have jobs," Wollney says. "That would mean that our prevention was effective, that these events aren’t happening, and there was no need for a response."

Recognizing Violence On Campus

The programs started by defining terms like sexual misconduct and consent, as stated in Miami’s handbook.

The university defines sexual misconduct as "any sexual conduct directed against another person, forcibly and/or against that person's will; or where the victim does not give consent." Consent is defined as "when a person agrees or gives permission to another person to engage in certain sexual acts."

Wollney, Getson, and McVey noted that these definitions are broad and likely different from the legal definitions.

According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), a little more than 11 percent of students "experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation." On college campuses, where 8 in 10 survivors report they know their attacker, campus resources give survivors the means to rearrange a living or class situation, if needed.

"We want to get away from the myth that this is happening in dark alleys with strangers," Getson says. "The fact is that a majority of victims know the attacker and it’s someone they see on campus."

Seeking Support

The main point program organizers wanted students and faculty to understand is that sexual assault or interpersonal violence survivors do not need to cope on their own.

Resources at Miami include the health services department and the Office of Equity & Equal Opportunity. These require some type of formal report of the incident to be made, although a victim’s name would be kept private. Survivors are then provided with an overview of their options moving forward.

In addition to campus resources, Women Helping Women provides a confidential service for any needs a survivor may have. This could mean accompanying them to hospital visits or legal dates, or simply one-on-one or group support options. (You can learn more about the work of Women Helping Women by reading this earlier Patch story.)

"Survivors of trauma who tell someone about the event and receive support and validation are more likely to move forward with filing charges and seeking justice," Getson says.

However, while these events continue to occur, they are underreported. This is a trend that is not exclusive to just Miami, but is present at college campuses around the country.

Survivors may not want to report an incident for fear of not being believed or further action from the perpetrator -- in fact, 40 percent of survivors say they fear reprisal by their attacker the Miami experts noted.

Building a Strong Network

The women outlined how the community can help to prevent and reduce sexual assault and interpersonal violence. This can mean participating in programming like bystander invention training or the It’s On Us campaign, or simply knowing how to be a supportive friend.

"We want to normalize and empathize with survivors," McVey says. "The right things to say when someone discloses trauma are 'I believe you, it’s not your fault' and 'there are resources available.'"

For more information on university resources and programs, visit Miami’s website.

Photo: Campus leaders in sexual assault prevention and response lead a program in the Farmer School of Business. --Photo by Hannah Fierle