Every Tuesday afternoon, the Campus Women’s Center closes its doors to the public so survivors of sexual assault can come together to heal.
The center is just one participant in campus-wide initiative End Violence On Campus, which works in coalition with student and community groups to end sexual assault, dating violence and stalking on campus.
Campus groups part of EVOC are also working to prevent sexual violence to foster a climate where victims feel more comfortable disclosing and reporting sexual assault.
Gethsemane Herron, the center’s support services coordinator, said when groups coordinate together it is easier for survivors, whose experiences are so different, to find solace where they feel most comfortable.
“There are so many ways to be a woman. Not only can very different groups come together but they can work together for a common goal and find commonality with this diverseness,” Herron said.
If a victim discloses an incident of sexual assault to a university employee, the employee is required to anonymously report the incident to the Dean of Students. The details and people involved in the incident are not disclosed.
But it is fully the victim’s choice whether or not they want to take further legal action by filing a report with the Dean of Students or the City of Madison Police Department.
“When a student has been victimized, our role is to help give them some power back,” said University Housing Associate Director Kay Reuter-Krohn. Helping survivors come to their own conclusions about what they need is part of that.
Reuter-Krohn said it is even more important for student groups like PAVE and the Campus Women’s Center to be present on campus because disclosing can be difficult for victims. They help victims know it is okay to be unsure of what actions they should take.
“It’s a journey making the right decision. Nobody can tell the victim what the right decision is,” Reuter-Krohn said.
PAVE, in addition to helping survivors decide on whether or not to report, offers a safe space for students to discuss sexual violence. Through programming often in conjunction with groups like CWC or Sex Out Loud, they raise awareness about the nature of sexual assault and the misconceptions that surround it.
For PAVE Chair Val Kowis, the UW community can best address preventing sexual assault by understanding it affects all members of campus.
“Sexual violence is a community problem, so we all must shoulder some responsibility and be involved in the process for change to happen.”
Neither PAVE members nor house fellows are trained to counsel victims that disclose to them. Individuals in both groups can help victims connect with services they need.
The work EVOC is doing is not limited to student groups. The initiative also helps streamline how administrative offices, like the Center for the First Year Experience, frame public safety information to incoming students.
After studies showed students usually did not retain violence prevention messages from Student Orientation, Advising and Registration, Carren Martin, the orientation’s assistant director, said they are trying more effective ways address students.
In years past, a University Health Services employee and UW police officer lectured students about safety on campus. This year, SOAR student leaders will weave violence prevention topics into broader discussions about building positive communities.
“Students hearing things from other students can have a really powerful impact,” Martin said.
Martin emphasized they will be focusing on “extending” orientation throughout the year using social media to complement events.
“If you’re not following [SOAR programming] up with a lot of careful things throughout the Fall … you potentially missed a lot of people and a lot of opportunity,” Martin said.
Martin said she hopes collaboration throughout the university community shows students they can have a part in ending sexual assault on campus.
“Because this is a large decentralized campus that’s why connections … are so important to try to help people understand that it is a bigger campus issue and movement rather than the responsibility of one place,” Martin said.
