There are people who don”t understand how they have been affected by sexual assault. On the average American university campus, one in four women and one in 71 men will experience sexual assault, Heydon Hensley said.
“If you know four women, odds are at least one of them has been assaulted,” said Hensley, who works for Alternatives to Violence on the Palouse (ATVP).
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Bekah MillerMacPhee, Emily Tuschhoff and Heydon Hensley table for Sexual Assault Awareness Month Monday in the Idaho Commons.
He said victims don”t always feel comfortable or prepared to disclose what happened to them, which may be why some people don”t know how they have been indirectly or directly affected by sexual assault.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness month, and the Women”s Center, ATVP and Vandal Health Education have teamed up to help bring awareness to the UI campus. Events will be held throughout the month of April.
The Clothesline Project, which was held Tuesday and Wednesday, invited students and staff to decorate t-shirts to express their personal experience with sexual assault or their solidarity with victims. All the materials were provided, and the shirts will be displayed April 27 in the Idaho Commons food court.
On Wednesday there will be a student presentation of “Standards of Beauty: Under My Jeans” that discusses what a victim is wearing, where they are or how much they”ve drank doesn”t hold the victim responsible for their assault.
“Listen to Me,” the keynote speech, will be held Thursday in the Idaho Commons, and will feature multiple survivors sharing their stories.
A Zumbathon will be held April 22 as a fundraiser to raise money for ATVP.
April 27 is Denim Day, where students and staff are encouraged to wear denim to raise awareness about sexual assault.
Assistant Director for Programs for the UI Women”s Center Bekah MillerMacPhee said Denim Day was started after a judge in Italy during the 1990″s found a man not guilty of sexual assault because the victim was wearing tight jeans and therefore would have had to help her assaulter take them off. MillerMacPhee said this caused international outcry and led to the creation of Denim Day.
Vandal Health Education intern Ashton Mitchell said students typically feel more comfortable talking with people their own age about their experience. She said her job is to connect with students who are the same age as her to help them get through their experience and direct them to the Counseling and Testing Center or to ATVP.
MillerMacPhee said many people don”t understand that sexual assault is a health issue as well, which is why it”s important for the Vandal Health Education office to be involved.
MillerMacPhee said she encourages students to get involved with the events, and that while sexual assault can be a difficult topic to talk about, is important to be educated to be able to stop it, or at least recognize how to help someone who has experienced it.
Hensley said that those indirectly affected still play a vital role in sexual assault awareness.
“My advice would be just to educate yourself, know what the dynamics are, make sure that you understand how we can help,” Hensley said. “One of those ways is just to believe.”
Only about 2 percent of instances of sexual assaults are falsified Hensley said.
“Believe survivors when they disclose,” he said.
Marisa Casella can be reached at [email protected]