Arts & Culture
Women’s Resource Center provides help To sexual assault victims
The Pointer
kshan945@uwsp.edu
When walking home from the library or other places late at night, female students may not realize the chance of becoming a victim of sexual assault on campus. Being alone late at night is a target that many predators see and utilize to make their move. The Women’s Resource Center on campus is currently working on a special program for sexual assault prevention and victims.
“Sexual assault is a sexual act that is committed either by physical force, violence, threat or intimidation. Sexual assault ignores the overt objections of another person or takes advantage of another person’s incapacitation, state of intimidation, helplessness, or other inability to consent,” said Giordano.
According to the American Association of University Women, 20–25% of women will be raped during their college career. But you don’t have to be the person assaulted to be affected.
“The threat of a potential assault affects all women. Warnings and subsequent fears of being assaulted affect where women go, when they go out, how they behave, what they wear, etc. Being paranoid, afraid, and hyper-vigilant of your surroundings has become sort of a norm for women,” said Giordano.
The WRC has been cooperating with Sexual Assault Victim Services, a program of CAP Services. Amanda Brown, the outreach coordinator of the WRC, explained this partnership with the WRC has a lot to offer to students.
“The WRC is a student organization and resource for the student body, male or female. We are dedicated to raising awareness on women and gender issues. We provide information and support on sexual assault, eating disorders, body image and domestic violence. That’s a lot of serious stuff, but we like to have fun too and put on programs that celebrate women and sexuality,” said Brown.
The WRC has been trying to get this issue across campus by showing students how serious the issue can be. Posters are hung in buildings throughout, stating startling statistics – the WRC hopes that these numbers catch the eye of students.
“We decided that a poster campaign near the start of the semester would help raise awareness of this issue on campus. College age women are four times more likely to be assaulted than other groups. It’s something students need to know about, protect themselves from and inform themselves of,” said Brown.
Simple precautions to prevent sexual assault are easy to follow, but if you are sexually assaulted, please report this to someone. The WRC tries to help out with sexually assaulted victims as much as possible.
“We mainly provide a place where survivors of sexual assault, whether male or female, can feel safe. If an individual discloses to one of our staff or volunteers, we can offer resources, information and unwavering belief in them. We want to give control back to the victim and empower them to make choices regarding their own safety,” said Brown.
