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Show Local resources promote rape prevention and recovery BY KYLEE EHMANN /STAFF WRITER espite national and local efforts to create an environment that combats sexual assault, including the "It's On Us" campaign, sexual violence is still common on college campuses. Sexual violence, which includes forced intercourse, attempted rape, child molestation, incest and fondling, affects 19 percent of women and six percent of men during their college years, according to a National Institute of Justice report. A victim of sexual violence faces emotional and physical trauma and is often left without resources or counseling. The U is hoping to change that. One of the first places a victim can turn to on campus is the Center for Student Wellness. Katie Stiel, program manager for the center, said the office answers questions about reporting, counseling and future protection depending on the individual student's needs. And everyone in the center is a confidential communicator, meaning conversations will not be shared. Jodi Petersen, the center's campus victim advocate, meets with students who have experienced violence and helps them navigate the university after an assault. "My goal in counseling a victim through this process is to provide them with all of the facts, and then empower them to make them to make an educated decision about how they want to proceed': Petersen said. This includes helping students file a complaint with the Dean of Students Office and the Office for Equal Opportunity, withdraw from classes retroactively, apply for a tuition reimbursement, and file criminal charges. "When it comes to making an official report, it is an intimidating process': Petersen said. "Most people's only reference for this is what they see on TV and in movies, which is incredibly inaccurate:' Stiel said two of the biggest challenges are that victims are unaware of the services the U offers and that they are afraid of reporting in the first place. The Center for Student Wellness is also a community partner with the Rape Recovery Center, a nonprofit that provides counseling and support to women, men and gender-nonconforming people 14 years of age and older. They are the state's only organization that focuses exclusively on sexual assault recovery. The center offers a 24-hour crisis telephone line that operates every day and is run by volunteers who have completed 40 hours of victim advocacy training. This center also offers additional therapy and a 24-hour hospital response program that is dispatched to 16 emergency rooms in Salt Lake County. These responders work with forensic nurses and do everything from aiding a victim with his/her paperwork to helping the victim through a medical exam that can last up to eight hours. Holly Mullen, director of the Rape Recovery Center, recommends that victims get help immediately after an assault and go to their nearest emergency room within 24 hours of an attack without showering beforehand so medical professionals can collect DNA samples. She said even if victims do not want to file a report or go through the medical exam to complete a rape kit, a medical procedure that gathers evidence for a sexual assault case, it's important for victims to get tested for STDs or pregnancy, never see jail time, though there has been an increase in reporting. as well as receive treatment for physical injuries. A sexual "Just because now there are more people coming forward assault nurse examiner can also give antibiotics and supply a doesn't mean that there's more sexual violence on campus': morning-after contraceptive, if the person desires. Stiel said. "It means more people are coming forward and getMullen said rape recovery also has to address the broad ting the resources that they need:' damage that can occur after a sexual assault, which includes Another way individual students can help victims is to be acphysical pain, insomnia, depression, headaches, post-traumattive in dismantling rape culture. This culture occurs when rape ic stress disorder, anxiety and feelings of helplessness. and sexual violence is accepted because of social attitudes "Rape is the ultimate robbery of someone's deepest held about gender and sexuality. Changing this culture requires reindependence and control;' Mullen said. "And when that is thinking stereotypes about victims and educating people about taken, that is deeply traumatizing:' what constitutes sexual assault and rape. Like the Center for Student Wellness, the Rape Recovery Vincent Fu, a sophomore in biology and music, said combatCenter does not pressure clients to file a report. ting these stereotypes starts with education. Fu is the vice president of internal programming and philanthropy for Beta Theta "One of the things we work on very hard is to assist the victim in gaining empowerment back because this crime really does Phi, a U fraternity that partners with the Rape Recover Center. play a number on your head': Mullen said. "One of the big steps "The goal of [this] is to start a conversation about endin that is to be really clear reporting the crime is up to them:' ing sexual assault and addressing the problem as a group of Mullen said rape recovery starts from the moment after an millennial-aged college men': Fu said. act of sexual violence for as long as the person needs, which One stereotype these on-campus advocates are working on usually lasts a year but can last longer. is that a victim asks for rape. "There's no judgment around that at all',' she said. "It's a "Many survivors of rape and sexual assault do not report healing process:' their rape because of the victim-blaming that runs rampant Mullen said people who experience sexual assault never in society" Fu said. "Our hope is to shed the light back onto completely get over it, but they can work to overcome the the perpetrators of rape so that victims are not afraid to psychological damages of rape. report the crime." "We're always a product of what's happened to us ... but Mullen said fighting rape culture has to start early with [those experiences] never have to take over our lives," she said. teaching children, especially young boys, about consent Petersen said in addition to professional victim advocates, and boundaries. While places like the Rape Recovery Center family and friends play an integral role in a victim's recovery. are seeing more male victims, most of their clients are still These people's reactions can females. She said the thing to keep in mind is that no one ever help in the recovery process. PHONE NUMBERS "I can't emphasize asks for rape. Center for Student Wellness, victim advocacy: "The responsibility for rape is enough how important it is 801.581.7779 to believe a person when on the perpetrator always': she Rape Recovery Center, crisis line: 801.467.7273 they disclose to you that said. "People can say whatever they have been raped," they want about social society Student Health Center: 801.581.6431 Petersen said. "I try to or modesty, but the bottom line University of Utah Health Care, community crisis set a tone of 'I will always is that the victim never asks intervention: 801.587.3000 for it." believe you, I will support you and we will get through This is the source for recent STATISTICS this together.'" Utah legislation House Bill Mullen cautions that 74, sponsored by Rep. Angela 1 in 3 women in Utah are a victim of sexual viohelping victims through rape lence Romero (D-Salt Lake City). The recovery can be traumatizing bill hopes to update state stat1 in 8 report being raped to therapists, advocates and utes Romero argues are unclear Source: Rape Recovery Center friends of victims as well. about what qualifies as consent To avoid secondary trauma, between sexual partners. It which involves many of the passed unanimously in the Utah same symptoms primary victims experience, she encourages House on Tuesday and will move on to the senate next. people to do activities completely unrelated to sexual assault Mullen, Stiel and Petersen said due to a rise in advocacy advocacy and to remember their own psychological needs. programs and national initiatives, such as the "It's On Us" An obstacle for people believing rape victims is the common campaign started by President Barack Obama last year, which myth that most rape reports are false. The National Center for the U joined in Fall 2014, they feel hopeful that a cultural shift the Prosecution of Violence Against Women estimates that is changing how society perceives sexual violence. false reports occur at a rate of just two percent, which is similar "We are also creating an environment where the promotion to the rate of false accusations for other violent crimes. of rape culture won't be tolerated," Petersen said. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network reports that k.ehmann@chronicle.utah.edu @Ehmannky 68 percent of rapes go unreported and 98 percent of rapists will 4 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015 } SexWeek: Everybody's doing it BY TAYLOR ALMOND /STAFF WRITER PHOTO BY CHRIS AYERS n conjunction with Valentine's Day this week, the U's Center for Student Wellness is hosting "Sex Week." The week of events continues today with a Wellness Fair at the Student Life Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday's event will be a showing of the film "Obvious Child" at the Union Saltair Room beginning at noon. Students for Choice, a campus group focused on reproductive health, partnered with Planned Parenthood to give away a year's worth of birth control. Every event that students attend during the week gives them an entry ticket, and winners can choose from a variety of methods, including 365 condoms, a year of birth control pills or a vasectomy. Cody James, a sophomore in sociology and political science, hasn't attended an event but said the week is a "good idea." "People are gonna have sex no matter what — might as well prevent them [from] dropping out of school if they get pregnant," he said. But he had a caveat. "Whether you get the people who need to know is actually a better question," James said. "The people that actually need to know might be shy. It's a taboo subject, and they might feel awkward attending" Merritt Cook, a freshman in French, said Utah's typically conservative ways could be a barrier to the information. Ilirr ■•■ "I could see, in the Mormon culture, it being a bad thing to go to that because sex is something you're not supposed to do until you're married," Cook said. The student group Right to Life has petitioned to defund and relocate the Sex Week event, citing the birth control giveaway as "promoting wanton and negligent sex among U students" in a released statement. "If Sex Week is supposed to be an educational event, why are sexual assault and sexual responsibility not the primary focuses? Sex Week gives horny students an opportunity to become even hornier, yet it does not offer any condolences to victims nor aid for future victims," the group's statement continues. Funding for the events was provided by Planned Parenthood and ASUU, a funding pool to which student fees contribute. Cook doesn't see why the two groups are in conflict and said an event like this could be co-sponsered by Right to Life, Students for Choice and the LDS Institute on campus. "[The event] could be for anyone sexually active," Cook said. "It's always good to have a place to ask questions ... even if you are married, you could still make a mistake. It's still smart to have safe sex, regardless of what place in your relationship you're at." For more information on the Sex Week events, visit Students for Choice Utah's Facebook page. talmond@chronicle.utah.edu @SeymourSkimmer BY CAROLYN WEBBER /STAFF WRITER DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO N eed a date for Valentine's Day? Look no further than the Union tonight. The Union Programming Council (UPC) is hosting speed dating tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Crimson View on the fourth floor of the Union. Connor Hyde, director of development for UPC, said the event costs $5 to enter — a $2 increase from the past two years. The extra money will go toward the U's Union leadership scholarship. But Hyde hopes the price will also add to a good time for the participants. "It's a cool chance to meet at least 25 new people in a way you normally wouldn't," he said. Stephanie Gladwin, a sophomore in international studies and sociology, went to the annual event last year. She was nervous going in because she I •111 \4[\\ 9 , 'Co' voYM? thought it would be awkward, but she ended up enjoying the night. "They made it fun. It was a lot more inviting than I was expecting," she said. "UPC set it up in a great way, so I felt comfortable." Even though Gladwin said she had her fair share of socially awkward encounters with guys who did not know how to start a conversation, she was able to get some dates out of it as well. She said the getting-to-know-you questions helped shy participants get conversations started, and Hyde had a fun time coming up with some thought-provoking ones for this year. "There's been a huge blizzard, and you're trapped inside your home. What are you going to do?" is one of the questions on the list. Each person gets three minutes to answer and chat. "We designed it in a way so ... that you can get to know the person on a deeper lever Hyde said. The event begins with about an hour of speed dating and then transitions to a karaoke activity — a new addition this year. Food will also be provided by the U's Dining Services. Gladwin said at last year's speed dating event there were more guys than girls, but the people she met were fairly diverse, including many graduate students. That diversity might include some LGBTQ+ students, and Hyde said they are not closing their doors to anyone. He said if someone wants to do speed dating according to their preferences, they will do their best to cater to their needs. Previous years have brought in about 70 participants. Hyde is hoping for 130 attendees this year. "It's a time of year when people are a lot more friendly,' he said. c.webber@chronicle.utah.edu @carolyn_webber 5 |