Program to focus on campus rape
By Nicole LaPrade
A new education program hopes to raise awareness regarding the dangers of rape and sexual harassment, amid national findings and statistics that show women in college are not immune to dangers.
"Every Two Minutes" is a program Assistant Dean in the Office of Student Life Lisa Millora is bringing to Santa Clara, starting next week.
It is the single-sex female peer-education program that is intended to be the counterpart to the "One in Four" program, the peer-based male program that was brought to Santa Clara two years ago. The name comes from the statistic compiled from the U.S. Department of Justice, which states that every two minutes a woman is raped in America.
"It's about getting the conversation started, getting people educated, because when it does happen, a lot of people don't know where to go or they don't know who to talk to," junior Mairead Burke, a program presenter, said.
The program coincides with the release of a national survey conducted by the American Association of University Women's Educational Foundation released last month that finds that two-thirds of women students say they've been sexually harassed in college.
The study found that only seven percent of students who said they had experienced sexual harassment reported it to faculty or another college employee.
According to Associate Dean for Student Life Matthew Duncan, 11 incidents of forcible sexual assault were reported by Santa Clara female students in 2005.
However, not all of the assailants were Santa Clara students, nor did all of the assaults take place on campus.
But, Millora said, these statistics could be misleading, as many incidents may not have been reported.
"Some of the time, when a sexual assault happens, the victim won't know where to go, and a lot of times, especially with women, the first place they go is their really close friends. A lot of it is educating how to help a friend," Burke said.
The founding group of Santa Clara's chapter of "Every Two Minutes" began their training this past fall and will give their first formal presentation Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Commons as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Week, Feb. 13-17.
"I just hope that women, as a community, and everyone will be able to talk about it. The biggest problem is that there's not enough communication and education."
"So, hopefully this program can open up lines for communication and really help to educate Santa Clara students so they can help each other and help anyone else that they might encounter," Burke said.
Conchita Serri, director of the Affirmative Action Office, mediates and handles all disputes of discrimination and harassment at Santa Clara that involve employees, invited guests and visitors. This includes sexual harassment.
Serri said "education helps change behaviors," and to help educate Santa Clara employees, she offers conversational sexual harassment prevention training programs through her office.
In addition to those sessions, all those in supervisory positions take an online course about sexual harassment in the workplace.
Contact Nicole LaPrade at (408) 554-4546 or nlaprade@scu.edu.