a student newspaper of the university of tulsa
october 14, 2013 issue 6 ~ volume 99
Advocacy Alliance launches sexual assault awareness campaign
18.3 % & 1.4% OF MEN OF WOMEN
The TU Sexual Violence Prevention and Educational Programming Committee aims to raise awareness of and prevent sexual assault. The most underreported form of violent crime, sexual assault is both endemic to college campuses and widely misunderstood. Kyle Walker
will be raped in their lifetime (National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010)
28.5%
Managing Editor
“C
onsent has no blurred lines” declared posters that drew around fifty students to ACAC’s Great Hall Friday. For about an hour,students listened to a presentation by Jennifer Steward, a graduate student working with the University of Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Abuse and Neglect (TITAN). TITAN is a interdisciplinary research institute at TU dedicated to investigating and understanding trauma, including “why it happens, what we can do to prevent it from ever happening, (and) once it does happen, what we can do to ameliorate the effects of it,” said Dr. Joanne Davis, co-director of the Institute. Steward’s presentation drew on decades of research on the prevalence of sexual violence and applied it to TU. “Around five percent of female students may be victimized each calendar year,” she said. “That means as many as 88 females each year are affected by sexual assault” at TU. Steward also emphasized the active nature of consent. Consent “is active, it is an act. It is not assumed. It requires verbal agreement,” she said. “The absence of ‘no’ does not mean ‘yes.’ Silence does not equal consent.” “It is not okay to have sexual contact with someone without consent.” The presentation was sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs and TITAN. It was advertised through digital signage and on a newly-formed Facebook page called “iStand TU.” The Facebook page is operated by TU’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Educational Programming Committee, also known as the Advocacy Alliance. Comprised of faculty, staff and
UP TO
5%
OF COLLEGE WOMEN
(National College Women Sexual Victimization Study, 2000)
reported having experienced an attempted or completed sexual assault either before or since entering college
3
(Campus Sexual Assault Survey, 2007)
students from Student Affairs, Counseling Services, Campus Security, TITAN, Athletics and Housing and Residential Life, the committee exists to educate “faculty, staff and students on what sexual assault is” and on “resources for victims of sexual violence,” according to committee chair Joey
by DVIS (Domestic Violence Intervention Services), which graciously allowed us to format it for TU,” Oneal said. Oneal emphasized that iStand TU is an awareness program that will rely on the participation of members of the TU community. “Students can expect to see com-
“‘As many as 88 females each year are affected by sexual assault (at TU),’ Steward said” Oneal, Coordinator of Student Activities. The committee’s programming has so far included trainings for orientation leaders, resident assistants and hall directors. Members of TITAN have been developing and administering the training programs which focus on how to support a survivor of sexual assault, what options survivors have available to them and what sexual violence is and how to prevent it. Among these programs is the iStand TU campaign, which the Advocacy Alliance expects to fully launch in time for homecoming. iStand “is an initiative started
mitments (in opposition to sexual violence) from administration, faculty, staff and other students during the campaign,” she said. The campaign revolves around personal, public statements usually beginning “I stand against sexual violence because…” iStand TU will feature training sessions for students, also run by TITAN. Oneal says the committee’s next focus is training TU’s faculty and staff on how to respond to a report of sexual violence. TU has a broad spectrum of other resources and programming available for students. Campus Security officers act
Sexual Assault
4.8% 19.1%
Reporting Unreported rapes Reported rapes among all women
(National Violence Against Women Survey, 1996)
Reported rapes among college women
80.9%
(National College Women Sexual Victimization Study, 2000)
According to a 1996 National Violence Against Women Survey, 19.1 percent of rapes among women were reported. According to a similar study done among college women, only 4.8 percent of rapes and sexual assaults among college women were reported.
Reading Partners Reading can change a child’s life! Become a True Blue Neighbors Reading Partner at Kendall-Whittier Elementary, commit to 1 hour a week and a 45 minute training session and you can be the catalyst to launch a child’s education to a higher level. Make a Difference Day This is a national event to spotlight community service in your neighborhood. TU will be joining other Kendall-Whittier community partners to clean-up, plant flowers, stripe the parking lot. The date is October 26 from 1 P.M. – 4 P.M. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty and closed-toed shoes.
of female students may be victimized each calendar year
the number of forcible sex offenses in calender years 2010–2012 included in TU’s annual crime report
as instructors in a class offered at Collins Fitness Center on the Rape Aggression Defense System (RAD). RAD is a “comprehensive, women-only course” in “awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance” with “handson defense training,” according to materials provided by Campus Security. Students can also access free psychotherapy services at TU’s Counseling and Psychological Services Center in Alexander Health Center. Dean of Students Yolanda Taylor is also a member of the Advocacy Alliance. “We’ve tried to cover a large portion of our campus with individuals who might be in a position to respond if a student were to report” being a victim of sexual violence, she said. “Our number-one goal is that we have the resources available for students,” Oneal said, “and to get people to talk about how to prevent things like this from happening.”
What is sexual violence? According to the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, “Sexual violence … refers to physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person’s will or where a person is incapable of giving consent due to the victim’s use of drugs or alcohol.” This includes rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking and some instances of domestic violence. Each year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) collects a national dataset of crime reports made to local and state police agencies. These reports are tabulated and made public through the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) program. In 2010, the UCR record 80,000 reports.
But not all sexual assaults are reported to the police. Several studies have been done to estimate the real number of rapes and sexual assaults committed in the U.S. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), for instance, conducted from Jan. to Dec. of 2010, estimated that in the 12 months preceding the study approximately 1.27 million women had been raped. This number is a rough estimate of the number of sexual assaults that occur within the United States each calendar year. A more telling statistic concerns lifetime prevalence, or the likelihood that someone experiences rape or sexual assault during their lifetime. The NISVS estimated that 18.3 percent of women and 1.4 percent of men will be a victim of attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. The National College Women Sexual Victimization (NCWSV) study concluded in 2000 that “over the course of a college career … the (prevalence) of attempted or completed rape victimization among women in higher education” could climb to 20 or 25 percent. The Campus Sexual Assault Study (CSA, 2007) found that 28.5 percent of its sample reported “having experienced an attempted or completed sexual assault either before or since entering college.” “This is something that, when you look back into the research from the 90s till now, you’re getting that same statistic,” said Rachel Micol, a graduate student working with TITAN. “I will tell you that, having done sexual assault research since the mid-90s, in my experience (the prevalence of sexual victimization) has been pretty stable,” Davis said.
See Sexual Violence page 5
Meals on Wheels The Meals on Wheels program provides well over one million meals to seniors who need them each day. Some programs serve meals at congregate locations like senior centers, some programs deliver meals directly to the homes of seniors whose mobility is limited. Volunteers are needed Monday – Friday, volunteer opportunities include site packer/helper, meal deliverers/drivers, site coordinators, office volunteers, van drivers, and many others.
For additional information on volunteer opportunities, contact Kathy Shelton in the True Blue Neighbor Volunteer Center at kathy-shelton@utulsa.edu or call 918-631-3535.